The England Ecosystem Survey is a project delivered by Natural England with the goal of delivering a comprehensive and up to date understanding of the condition of England’s terrestrial environment and natural capital assets.
To achieve this the survey is collecting data on attributes of extent, condition and connectivity relating to habitats, vegetation and landscape features and landscape character. It is also collecting data on soil physical and chemical properties and soil and water biota eDNA.
England Ecosystem Survey (EES) is part of the Natural Capital and Ecosystem Assessment Programme (NCEA); a multi-partner programme led by Defra. EES and other projects in the NCEA have been created to provide systematic and robust evidence that supports policy making, including the UK Governments 25 Year Environment Plan.
The basic survey unit for EES is a 1km2 area based on Ordnance Survey National Grid squares, or monads. Each year a new sample of monads is surveyed through a combined sampling approach of randomly selected squares stratified by ITE land classes, and a proportion targeted to increase the likelihood of covering certain habitat, soil and landscape character types. The baseline sample will be established over the first five-year period.
The first full field surveys took place in 2023-24, with a ramping up of delivery in subsequent years. Surveys are scheduled to continue up to March 2028 which will mark the completion of the first EES five-year cycle of data collection.
Data and supporting information will be published in stages.
Datasets will be made available on Defra’s dedicated Data Services Platform for NCEA
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