Landscapes, land covers and linear features in a river catchment in Northern England

Abstract

Abstract A national land classification developed by the Institute of Terrestrial Ecology (ITE) was used to stratify a sample‐based survey of land cover and linear boundary features within the catchment of the River Tyne, Northern England. A total of 115 1‐km grid‐squares from four land classes representative of Lowland Pastoral, Lowland Arable, Marginal Upland and Upland landscapes were surveyed in the field. The land classes are described with an emphasis on the variability of land cover types and linear features. Considerable variation between squares of the same land class was observed, but statistically significant differences between the land classes were identified. Variation in the lengths of linear features was related to the land cover compositions of sample squares. The origins of the intra‐land class variation and the application of the ITE land classification in large‐scale surveys are discussed.