Changes in Land Cover and Parcel Size of British Lowland Woodlands over the Last Century in Relation to Game Management

Abstract

The area and number of woodlands within landscapes managed for shooting pheasants and other lowland game birds are contrasted with those not managed for game. The study locations were sample 1-km squares from the Countryside Survey (CS), a survey of the land cover of Great Britain. Two-hundred-and-thirty-two appropriate CS squares were divided into game and non-game squares on the basis of evidence of management for game. No significant differences were found in changes in woodland area or parcel number during the periods 1984-90 and 1990-98. Twelve matched pairs of game and non-game squares were selected, and the disposition of woodland was taken from maps of the 1870s, 1940s, 1960s and 1980s, recording total area, number of woodland parcels and parcel sizes. The number of parcels of woodland in game squares increased more than that in non-game squares during the period 1960s-1980s, but mean parcel size changed little. Landscapes where management for game has taken place have retained a greater proportion of the woodland present in the 1870s. It seems that game shooting has encouraged landowners to retain existing woodlands, and to plant new ones, during the period 1960s-1980s.