Ancient Woodland Inventory

This dataset comprises of the boundaries of Ancient Woodland sites in Wales. Each site is categorised as either Ancient Semi Natural Woodland (ASNW), Restored Ancient Woodland Site (RAWS), Plantation on Ancient Woodland Site (PAWS) or Ancient Woodland Site of Unknown Category (AWSU). Initially all woods greater than 2 ha shown on the Ordnance Survey (OS) 1:25 000 1st Series maps surveyed between 1880 and 1960 were considered. Evidence as to which of these were ancient was provided by presence on the earlier 19th century OS 1st Edition Maps (surveyed 1805 - 1873; scale 1:63 360). The general presumption was that woodland on 1800s maps was ancient, unless there was other evidence that the wood originated between 1600AD and 1800. Supportive indications of ancient status included the woo
d's name, its situation in the landscape, and the nature of both the surrounding pattern of enclosure and the pattern of boundaries within the wood. Where available, field survey data such as the presence of indicator species, or other historical maps and documents were also used. In mountainous areas such as Wales the first edition Ordnance Survey 1 inch maps were hard to interpret because the heavy hatching used to indicate steep slopes tended to obscure tree symbols.

The 2021 update to the ancient woodland inventory includes changes to the 2011 version resulting from the provision of additional evidence presented to NRW through public enquiries. This includes private estate maps, tithe maps, management records and photographs. The evidence has been considered by a panel of NRW experts and the inventory amended if the evidence indicates that a site has had another land use for a significant period, i.e. woodland is absent from the site in two consecutive epochs of OS historic maps, or there has been significant ground disturbance to the site, e.g. quarrying, mining or development.
Amendments include removal of sites from the inventory, adjustments to boundaries or changes to the ancient woodland category of sites.
The 2011 version remained static until it was replaced by the 2021 version
The 2021 version is being updated at least annually as new evicence becomes available.
An older 2004 version of the dataset also exists - please see metadata for dataset number NRW_DS125363 - Ancient Woodland Inventory for Wales 2004 (AWI2004) https://libcat.naturalresources.wales/folio/?oid=125363

本数据集收录了威尔士古代林地遗址的边界。每个遗址被划分为古代半自然林地（ASNW）、恢复的古代林地遗址（RAWS）、古代林地遗址上的种植园（PAWS）或未知类别的古代林地遗址（AWSU）。最初，所有在1880年至1960年间绘制的1:25 000比例尺的第一系列地形图上显示的面积超过2公顷的林地都被纳入考虑。通过早期19世纪地形图（1805-1873年绘制，比例尺1:63 360）上的存在，提供了这些林地是否古老的证据。普遍的假设是，19世纪的地图上的林地是古老的，除非有其他证据表明林地起源于1600年至1800年之间。支持古老身份的迹象包括林地的名称、其在景观中的位置，以及周围围栏模式和林地内部边界模式的性质。在可能的情况下，还会使用实地调查数据，如指示物种的存在，或其他历史地图和文件。在威尔士等山区，由于表示陡坡时使用的密集阴影线往往会掩盖树木符号，因此第一版地形图难以解读。2021年对古代林地目录的更新包括了对2011年版本的修改，这些修改是由于NRW通过公众咨询提交的额外证据。这包括私人地产图、什一税地图、管理记录和照片。NRW专家小组考虑了这些证据，并在证据表明一个遗址在一段显著时期内有过其他土地利用，即在地形图的历史地图的两个连续时期中，该遗址上没有林地，或者该遗址经历了重大的地面破坏，例如采石、采矿或开发时，对目录进行了修订。修订包括从目录中删除遗址、调整边界或更改遗址的古代林地类别。2011年版本保持不变，直至被2021年版本所取代。2021年版本至少每年更新一次，以适应新的证据。该数据集还存在一个更早的2004年版——请参阅元数据以获取数据集编号NRW_DS125363——威尔士古代林地目录2004（AWI2004）https://libcat.naturalresources.wales/folio/?oid=125363。