Key Scottish Environment Statistics 2012

Land - Footnotes

1) Due to changes in definitions that have been applied retrospectively, the estimates from 1990 are not in all cases directly comparable to the later surveys.

2) UK Biodiversity Steering Group (1995). Biodiversity: The UK Steering Group Report. HMSO.

3) Norton, L. R., Murphy, J., Reynolds, B., Marks, S., Mackey, E.D. (2009). Countryside Survey: Scotland Results from 2007. Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Scottish Government, Scottish Natural Heritage. Countryside Survey data owned by NERC - Centre for Ecology & Hydrology Countryside Survey. © Database Right/Copyright NERC- Centre for Ecology & Hydrology. All rights reserved.

4) Statistically significant change between 1998 and 2007, p < 0.05.

5) During 2010, historical data for the years 2002-2009 were revised to remove sites that had been taken out of the survey for definitional reasons and to correct any other previous errors highlighted in the 2010 survey returns.

6) A small number of councils did not participate in every survey. In these cases, the most recent available data is used to provide an estimate for the appropriate year. Sites must be at least 0.1 hectares in size to be included.

7) Land also qualifies as derelict if it has an unremedied previous use which could constrain future development.

8) Scottish Government (2012). Scottish Vacant and Derelict Land Survey 2011.

9) From 2009, data on land use was obtained from the Single Application Form (SAF). In 2011, 25,000 holdings claimed Single Farm Payments. These data have been combined with the land use data from all other holdings, collected through the June Agricultural Census Forms, to generate overall 2011 June Agricultural Census results. This development has led to a substantial reduction in statistical data collection and an overall improvement in the quality of land use statistics. The use of SAF data has resulted in a step change in some of the land use results for 2009, especially for rough grazing and grass. This means that the trends between 2008 and 2011 for these land use categories do not represent genuine changes to land use, but do represent differences in the way these data have been reported between the 2008 June Agricultural Census and 2009 to 2011 SAF. These trends should be treated with caution.

10) Only includes woodland on agricultural holdings. For total woodland area see pp 56.

11) Figures from the annual Scottish Government June Agricultural Census.

12) Minor revisions have been made to the published data for 2003 to 2005. These revisions have been made to correct an error in the programs used to estimate agricultural activity for non-responders. Although most of these revisions are small, they are all in a downward direction. Minor revisions were also made to 2010 results when the 2011 results were published in September 2011. Tables showing the extent of the revisions are available from Agriculture, Fisheries and Rural Census Revisions.

13) Manufactured fertilisers only - excludes organic fertilisers such as manure and slurry or sewage sludge.

14) Excludes Orkney, Shetland and the Western Isles.

15) Total quantity of nutrient used (kg) divided by the total extent of crop area (ha) (including any areas without application of the nutrient). These overall application rates provide a means of estimating the tonnage of nutrients from manufactured fertiliser used during the year.

16) Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Scottish Government (2012). The British Survey of Fertiliser Practice 2011.

17) Annual figures based on financial year April - March.

18) Data are obtained from forest inventories. Data for 2012 are early provisional results. Data from 2010 are derived from the National Forest Inventory. Most inventories have slightly different definitions of woodland, so some apparent changes in area over time are due to changing definitions. More detailed information on differences is available from Forestry Statistics 2011.

19) Woodland is defined as land under stands of trees with a canopy cover of at least 20%, or having the potential to achieve this, including integral open space, wooded agricultural land, and felled areas that are awaiting restocking.

20) Forestry Commission (2012). First Release: Woodland Area, Planting and Restocking 2012 Edition. Forestry Commission (2011). Forestry Statistics 2011. See website www.forestry.gov.uk/statistics for further information.