dataset · England

National Forest Inventory England 2025

The National Forest Inventory (NFI) woodland map covers all forest and woodland area over 0.5 hectare with a minimum of 20% canopy cover, or the potential to achieve it, and a minimum width of 20 metres. This includes areas of new planting, clearfell, windblow and restock. The woodland map excludes all 'tarmac' roads and active railways, and forest roads, rivers and powerlines where the gap in the woodland is greater than 20 meters wide. All woodland (both urban and rural), regardless of ownersh

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Source details

Licence: ["There are no public access constraints to this data. Use of this data is subject to the licence identified.", "There are no public access constraints to this data. Use of this data is subject to the

Evidence quality: 44.6

Listed in data.gov.uk public catalogue API on 2026-10-16; relevance/value screened (haiku).

Metadata checked: 2026-10-14T13:20:00.000Z

What's in it

Data offered docs-verified: woodland map polygons (forest and woodland over 0.5 ha, min. 20% canopy cover or potential, min. 20 m wide) · interpreted forest type (IFT) classes, e.g. Conifer, Broadleaved, Felled, Windblow · interpreted open area (IOA) classes, e.g. Grassland, Open water, Urban, Road, River
Coverage docs-verified: England
Resolution docs-verified: No pixel size stated; minimum woodland mapping unit 0.5 ha and minimum width 20 m
Update frequency docs-verified: annually
Access docs-verified: Free and open; no public access constraints; Open Government Licence v3.0

Useful for

Use cases llm-inferred: FRA and site constraints screening: identify woodland cover within a development boundary · BNG habitat baseline: woodland extent and forest type as input to habitat mapping · Catchment context for drainage and flood assessments: woodland cover change between annual releases
Audience llm-inferred: ecologists · planners · GIS analysts · flood consultants

Limitations

Constraints docs-verified: woodland under 0.5 ha is not in the main map; it is covered only by a separate sample survey · assumed woodland and low density areas can be 0.1 ha or greater · canopy changes rely on Sentinel-2 or aerial imagery; transition areas can use sources over 19 years old · tarmac roads, active railways and forest roads, rivers and powerlines with gaps over 20 m are excluded from woodland · no pixel size stated in the docs

Evidence

Check upstream coverage, uncertainty and licence before use. Station observations are not forecasts or design levels.