Assessing Regional Habitat Change (ARCH)

Assessing Regional Habitat Change (ARCH) was a project partly funded by the Interreg IVA-Two Seas Cross Border Co-operation Programme. The project aim was to improve the way in which habitats are maintained, restored and expanded in Kent and Nord-Pas de Calais. These aims were achieved through better mapping and better assessment of the condition of the habitats and the use of new, innovative techniques for future mapping efforts.

Project activities

The project comprised three main activities:

Habitat assessment

The habitat assessment was an assessment of the extent and condition of biodiversity across Kent and Nord-Pas de Calais, through the development of a regional and cross-border vectorial and georeferenced database of natural habitats. This workstream also developed a habitat connectivity/fragmentation index assessment tool.

Outputs from this project:

• Kent Habitat Survey 2012 report:
  • Section 1 – executive summary (PDF, 833.7 KB)
  • Section 2 – introduction to Kent (PDF, 3.3 MB)
  • Section 3 – IHS classification (PDF, 1.4 MB)
  • Section 4 – methodology (PDF, 3.3 MB)
  • Section 5 – results and habitat distribution by districts (PDF, 6.4 MB)
  • Section 6 – change analysis and results (PDF, 2.1 MB)
  • Section 7 – appendices (PDF, 1.9 MB)
• Mission reports:
  • Report on mission 1 (PDF, 690.4 KB)
  • Report on mission 2 (PDF, 1.4 MB)
  • Report on mission 3 (PDF, 1.2 MB)
  • Report on mission 4 (PDF, 889.6 KB)
  • Report on mission 5 (PDF, 697.9 KB)
  • Report on mission 6 (PDF, 2.5 MB)
• Kent land cover change analysis 1961-2008 (PDF, 5.7 MB)
• Change analysis of UK BAP priority habitats 2003-2012 (PDF, 3.0 MB)

Habitat mapping techniques

We analysed the feasibility of using innovative techniques, such as satellite pictures in comparison with aerial photography, in order to update natural habitats and biodiversity data at both regional and cross border levels. The aim was to identify a long term and cost effective system to monitor changes in extent of natural habitats.

Outputs from this project:

• needs analysis for monitoring the evolution of natural habitats
• inventory of significant experiences in Europe with regards to the use of remote sensing for monitoring biodiversity
• inventory of remote sensing technologies and related services applicable to the ARCH Project
• sampling of pertinent technologies and related services
• update mapping scenarios
• experimentation on test areas and recommendations.

Planning tools

You can view the habitat survey data layer on the Kent Landscape Information System.

The Kent and Medway Biological Records Centre (KMBRC) are the custodians of the Kent Habitat Survey 2012 data and provide a full data enquiry service. To get access to the data, contact the KMBRC at info@kmbrc.org.uk or call 01795 532385.

Project partners

Project partners included:

• Kent County Council
• Region Nord-Pas de Calais
• CBN Bailleul, Environment Agency
• Kent and Medway Biological Records Centre
• Kent GIS
• Tunbridge Wells Borough Council
• Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council

If you have any further questions, please contact info@kentnature.org.uk.