Forgotten fields: mid-nineteenth century land use and characterisation in the South Downs National Park using the tithe surveys of England and Wales.

Abstract

ABSTRACTThe map and underlying geodatabase presented here at a scale of 1:25,000 (Main map) covers approximately 300 km2 of the catchment of the lower Rother valley in West Sussex, within the South Downs National Park, southern England. It offers a unique view of land use based on the Tithe Surveys created during the early part of 1840s. This new and rigorously compiled empirical material serves as an exceptionally robust research resource to inform river catchment management planning, with potential to guide landscape restoration, steer sustainable farming activities and, conceivably, to facilitate scenario modelling of plausible land use futures during a period of great uncertainty regarding rural land management in the United Kingdom. The current map and geodatabase are the products of the Forgotten Fields Project, the intention being to extend the coverage to neighbouring catchments and thus provide a large-scale mapping resource and information portal for wide-ranging land management applications.