Abstract
Abstract. A survey of the natural environment was undertaken in Shetland in 1974, after concern was expressed that large-scale development from the new oil industry could threaten the natural features of the islands. A framework was constructed by the Institute of Terrestrial Ecology on which to select samples for the survey. The vegetation and habitat data that were collected, along with the sampling framework, have recently been made public via the following doi:10.5285/06fc0b8c-cc4a-4ea8-b4be-f8bd7ee25342 (Terrestrial habitat, vegetation and soil data from Shetland, 1974) and doi:10.5285/f1b3179e-b446-473d-a5fb-4166668da146 (Land Classification of Shetland 1974). In addition to providing valuable information about the state of the natural environment of Shetland, the repeatable and statistically robust methods developed in the survey were used to underpin the Countryside Survey, Great Britain's national long-term integrated environmental monitoring programme. The demonstration of the effectiveness of the methodology indicates that a repeat of the Shetland survey would yield statistics about ecological changes in the islands, such as those arising from the impacts of the oil industry, a range of socio-economic impacts, and perhaps climate change. Currently no such figures are available, although there is much information on the sociological impacts, as well as changes in agriculture.
Highlights
In the 1960s, the discovery of North Sea oil off the coast of Shetland, Scotland, meant that the islands had to face the prospect of large-scale development to accommodate the infrastructure surrounding the industry
In 1974, a survey was commissioned by the Nature Conservancy Council ( Scottish Natural Heritage in Scotland) and organised by the Institute of Terrestrial Ecology (ITE) to assess the natural environment of the islands
The terrestrial habitats and vegetation survey are the focus of this paper, assessments of freshwater and littoral habitats, sea-bird populations, geology and geomorphology were undertaken around the same time as part of a larger integrated survey (Milner, 1975)
Summary
In the 1960s, the discovery of North Sea oil off the coast of Shetland, Scotland, meant that the islands had to face the prospect of large-scale development to accommodate the infrastructure surrounding the industry. The Shetland Survey was a stage in the development by ITE of the methodology of strategic ecological survey, as described by Sheail and Bunce (2003). Bunce: Survey of the terrestrial habitats and vegetation of Shetland, 1974 relatively homogenous areas (strata, or “land classes”). The other factor was that the senior author had other commitments This is the first time that the data and results have been made widely available. There have been many changes in the islands since the survey, both socio-economic and environmental, and the data provide a unique opportunity to explore the changes that have taken place in the vegetation, should a repeat survey be undertaken. CS started in 1978 and was most recently undertaken in 2007
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