Predicted outcomes from land use change scenarios in upland Wales catchments

A spatial approach was developed to interpret qualitatively expressed scenarios, and predict the probability and amount of change for 10 land-cover types across 127 sub-catchments in upland Wales. Existing data, which have a temporal coverage of 1998-2007, were used for the underpinning mapping, and fed into the tabular land cover change summary data. For each scenario, the maximum and minimum land-cover change was projected using rules based on current land cover, agricultural land quality, ownership type, and nature conservation status. For each combination, total land-cover change summaries have been created, which indicate how land cover within the 127 sub-catchments may respond to change in the future. This work was part of the Diversity in Upland River Ecosystem Service Sustainability (DURESS) project, NERC grant NE/J014826/1.