dataset · Scotland

National Forest Inventory Scotland 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 extent polygons (NFI woodland map, >=0.5 ha) · interpreted forest type (IFT) classes · interpreted open area (IOA) classes
Coverage docs-verified: Scotland (bounding box 54.63°N to 60.86°N, 8.65°W to 0.72°W) · Canopy-change imagery from spring/summer 2025; dataset reference date 2026-09-09
Resolution docs-verified: No pixel size stated. Minimum mapping unit 0.5 ha (0.1 ha for Assumed woodland or Low density areas) and minimum woodland width 20 m.
Update frequency docs-verified: Annually
Access docs-verified: Free/open. No public access constraints; use is subject to the Open Government Licence (OGL v3.0).

Useful for

Use cases llm-inferred: Woodland constraint screening for a Scottish site (tree root zones and felling risk near foundations, highways or drainage) · Land-cover input for runoff or FRA catchment assessments, separating woodland from open ground · Woodland baseline and change check (new planting, clearfell, restock) for planning or ecology screening
Audience llm-inferred: GIS analysts · ecologists · planners · geotechnical engineers · hydrologists · civils engineers

Limitations

Constraints docs-verified: Woodland under 0.5 ha is not in the main dataset (covered only by a separate sample survey) · Roads, active railways, and forest roads, rivers and powerlines with gaps over 20 m are excluded from the woodland map · Forest type and open-area classes are interpreted from aerial photography and satellite imagery · Scotland only · Attribution required: © Forestry Commission copyright. Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database right 2026

Evidence

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