Rapid Landscape Monitoring: 2015, 2016/17 survey

This report looks to:

• assess the impact of Environmental Stewardship (ES) on landscape character and quality in selected areas to be agreed with Natural England at the inception of the contract;

• allow potential comparative research into landscape change over time on holdings where agri-environment agreements cease;

• further develop the survey work undertaken during 2014 to provide a comprehensive baseline to underpin the future monitoring of the landscape outcomes of both ES and CS schemes. This will involve utilising field monitoring techniques developed by ‘BD5303 (Annex 2) and further refined during 2014 in a rapid field survey approach; to propose any further refinements to the rapid assessment methodology where these are identified including provision of recommendations for improvements to future field work undertaken in terms of logistics, potential for co-ordination with other survey teams, recording and reporting mechanisms;

• analyse the field survey results and compare findings with those of the 2014 survey, BD5303 and the NCA threshold results of the LM0429 project (LM0429)