Dudley Stamp's maps revisited

Thanks to Steve Brace for the link to a new research project making use of Dudley Stamp's Land Utilisation Survey UK project.

We scanned Dudley Stamp maps & compared them with modern satellite data to record the extent of land-use change across Britain in mid-20thC. Our map outlines land conversion for every 10km x 10km sq. @andysuggitt & @AGAuffret#geographyteachers #NEA https://t.co/UIEk3Sw9Lj

— Steve Brace (@SteveBraceGeog) November 5, 2023

The full piece in 'The Conversation' explores a new project. 

Our answer was to use the detailed maps that a huge army of volunteer citizen scientists (many were schoolchildren!) collected under the leadership of Sir Dudley Stamp in the 1930s/40s. His team visited every county of Britain, noting down the land-use of the time... 🗺️(3/17). pic.twitter.com/2PVljhHbA2

— Andy Suggitt (@andysuggitt) November 1, 2023

The outcomes are reported in this research paper. (Open Access at the time of posting).

We estimate that roughly 90% of lowland meadow and pasture has been lost. Land was converted either to arable farmland, which saw a 22% increase, or to agriculturally improved grassland, which now occupies 27% of Britain’s land area.

Urbanisation saw the nation’s built area expand from 4% to 5%. And woodland cover doubled from 6% to 12%, largely due to a concerted effort to increase the country’s reserve of timber. For better or worse, the nation’s land use became less mixed and more consolidated.

All of this environmental change is thought to have had a profound effect on biodiversity. According to the recent State of Nature Report, the abundance of UK species has declined by an average of 19% since 1970. Some 1,500 species (or 16% of those analysed) are now threatened with national extinction.

The full piece outlines further changes affecting particular species.

All the maps are available for free download.

Our answer was to use the detailed maps that a huge army of volunteer citizen scientists (many were schoolchildren!) collected under the leadership of Sir Dudley Stamp in the 1930s/40s. His team visited every county of Britain, noting down the land-use of the time... 🗺️(3/17). pic.twitter.com/2PVljhHbA2

— Andy Suggitt (@andysuggitt) November 1, 2023