Projects

Aerial photograph interpretation and assessment of land cover change

We have a very wide range of expertise in the interpretation of aerial photographs in relation to natural resource survey and evaluation, ranging from soil and peat surveys to the assessment of semi-natural vegetation, land cover types, and the burning management of heather moorland. We also hold an extensive archive of aerial photographs at a range of scales from the 1940s and 1960s, along with a complete set of 1:25 000 aerial photographs for Scotland, taken in 1988/89.

Recent projects:

The Land Cover of Scotland, 1988.
A major project (1988-1993) to create a dataset of the land cover and associated features of Scotland using expert interpretation of 1:25 000 scale aerial photographs and detailing area, linear and point data. This was based on a hierarchical classification with principal land cover features (e.g. woodland, agricultural land, semi-natural vegetation) major features (e.g. heather moorland, grassland, blanket bog) main features (e.g. dry heather moor, wet heather moor) and sub-categories. The latter included physical features, such as rockiness and the presence of scattered trees, along with management features such as muirburn and forestry ploughing. The dataset is in digital format and has provided a very valuable source of information for resource evaluation, the devising of sampling strategies and the modelling of land cover change.

A review of current muirburn management practice on Upper Deeside.
A project carried out for Scottish Natural Heritage in 1998, based on aerial photograph interpretation and field survey, to review the current muirburn management practice on Upper Deeside, north-east Scotland. The survey was based on an assessment of 3000 individual burns within 15 discrete sample areas, extending in total to 200 sq km. A classification of best practice was devised and muirburn assessed on a km square basis into 'best', 'acceptable' and 'poor' categories. This provided objective and very informative data on the current management of heather moorland in north-east Scotland.