Technical Supplement
This supplement provides technical details about the Recreational Potential model. This includes a mathematical description of the model, details regarding the source data, and technical aspects of the code.
While there have been several publications citing the RP model, so far none have included a detailed technical description of the model itself.
We begin by defining some notation.
Let \(I : \mathbb{R}^2 \to \{0, 1\}\) be a binary-valued function that maps pairs of coordinates \(x \equiv (x_1, x_2) \in \mathbb{R}^2\) to either \(0\) or \(1\). This is a mathematical representation of a single raster layer in a ‘one-hot’ representation, where a value of \(I(x) = 1\) indicates presence of a feature at the coordinate \(x\), and \(I(x) = 0\) indicates absence.
The RP model currently includes 87 features/items grouped into four components (see Section 3). Each of these has its own presence/absence raster. We will therefore introduce two subscript indices and write each layer as \(I_{ij}(x)\), where
As a concrete example, if \(j=1\) labels the ‘pond’ item, then \(I_{41}(x)\) takes a value of \(1\) whenever there is a pond at \(x\), and a value of \(0\) elsewhere.
| \(i\) | Component | Short code |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Landscape | SLSRA |
| 2 | Natural Features | FIPS_N |
| 3 | Infrastructure | FIPS_I |
| 4 | Water | Water |
For certain features like rivers and lakes it does not make sense to restrict their contributions to the Recreational Potential to the pixels in which they are present. One does not need to be standing in a lake to appreciate it!1
It makes sense to attempt to account for the presence of these features nearby.
Let \(\mathcal{P}_{ij} \subset \mathbb{R}^2\) denote the set of coordinates in which the feature \((ij)\) is present, i.e.2
\[ \mathcal{P}_{ij} := \left\{ x' \in \mathbb{R}^2 \mid I_{ij}(x') = 1 \right\} \, . \tag{1}\]
We first compute a ‘distance raster’ in which each pixel is assigned a value that is the (Euclidean) distance to the nearest pixel in which the feature \((ij)\) is present,
\[ d_{ij}(x) = \min_{x'\in \mathcal{P}_{ij}} \lVert x - x' \rVert_2 \, , \tag{2}\]
where \(\lVert x - x' \rVert_2 = \sqrt{(x_1 - x'_1)^2 + (x_2 - x'_2)^2}\).
These distances must be mapped to the unit interval \([0, 1]\) such that \(0 \mapsto 1\) and \(\infty \mapsto 0\), i.e. so that presence of the feature in this pixel results in the highest value of \(1\), tailing off to \(0\) when the feature is very far away.
There are many different ways to achieve this. Following Paracchini et al. (2014, p. 374 – Eq. 1), the function chosen is a smooth, monotonically decreasing function in the logistic family,
\[ u(d_{ij}(x) \,; \alpha, \kappa) = \frac{\kappa + 1}{\kappa + \exp(\alpha \, d_{ij}(x))} \, . \tag{3}\]
It remains to specify values for the parameters \(\kappa\) and \(\alpha\), the latter of which is most important since it determines the rate at which the value of \(u\) declines as the distance to the nearest feature increases.
The parameters chosen in the original version of this code were3
\[ \kappa = 6 \, , \qquad \alpha = 0.01011 \, , \tag{4}\]
resulting in a function, Figure 1, that halves at \(d\approx200\) (metres) and drops to \(0.1\) at \(d\approx400\).4 At this distance, features with a user-provided score of \(10\) (i.e. the highest) would be equivalent to a local feature given a score of \(1\) (the lowest). It is safe to assume that at distances greater than this the contribution from the feature would be indiscernible to the user.
alpha <- 0.01011
kappa <- 6
logistic_func <- function(d) {
(kappa + 1) / (kappa + exp(alpha * d))
}
d <- seq(0, 500, by = 1)
u <- logistic_func(d)
plot(d, logistic_func(d), ylim=c(0, 1), type="l", lwd=2,
xlab=expression("d"), ylab=expression("u(d, alpha, kappa)"))
As mentioned previously, there are 87 features in total, each of which corresponds to (a) persona score between \(0\) and \(10\),
\[ \rho_{ij} \in \{0, 1, \ldots, 10\} \, , \tag{5}\]
and (b) a raster layer \(f_{ij}(x)\). For the landscape and natural features components (i.e. \(i = 1,2\)) the feature rasters are precisely the binary presence/absence rasters discussed previously,
\[ f_{ij}(x) = I_{ij}(x) \, , \qquad i = 1, 2 \, . \tag{6}\]
For the infrastructure and water components (\(i=3, 4\)) the features rasters contain the proximity contributions described above,
\[ f_{ij}(x) = u(d_{ij}(x) \,; \alpha, \kappa) \, , \qquad i = 3, 4 \, . \tag{7}\]
Each component is calculated as a simple weighted sum of the features contained within it,
\[ F_i(x \,; \rho_i) = \sum_{j=1}^{n_i} \rho_{ij} f_{ij}(x) \, , \tag{8}\]
where we have permitted \(\rho_i\) to denote the set of persona scores \(\{\rho_{i1}, \rho_{i2}, \ldots, \rho_{i n_i} \}\) for the \(i\)-th component.
Let \(F \vert_{\mathcal{R}}\) denote the restriction of a function \(F\) to a subdomain \(\mathcal{R} \subset \mathbb{R}^2\) which defines the ‘region of interest’ in which we wish to compute Recreational Potential. We now define a family of rescaled functions,
\[ \hat{F}(x \,; \mathcal{R}) := \frac{F(x) - \min F \big\vert_{\mathcal{R}}}{\max F \big\vert_{\mathcal{R}} - \min F \big\vert_{\mathcal{R}}} \, , \tag{9}\]
each of which corresponds to a particular choice of restriction, i.e. a particular region of interest.
Assuming that \(F(x)\) is not a constant function on \(\mathcal{R}\),5 these rescaled functions are ‘normalised’ to the unit interval within the region of interest, i.e.
\[ \min_{x\in\mathcal{R}} \hat{F}(x \,; \mathcal{R}) = 0 \, , \qquad \max_{x\in\mathcal{R}} \hat{F}(x \,; \mathcal{R}) = 1 \, . \tag{10}\]
It is important to be aware that with this approach to rescaling introduces a dependence on the region of interest. That is,
\[ \hat{F}(x \,; \mathcal{R}_1) \neq \hat{F}(x \,; \mathcal{R}_2) \, . \tag{11}\]
Thus, the RP value at any given pixel should be expected to change when a different area is selected, even if the persona and the input data stays the same.
To compute the Recreational Potential value, the four rescaled components are summed,
\[ F_{\mathrm{RP}}(x \,; \rho, \mathcal{R}) = \sum_{i=1}^4 \hat{F}_i(x \,; \rho_i , \mathcal{R}) \, , \tag{12}\]
and rescaled \(F_{\text{RP}} \longrightarrow \hat{F}_\text{RP}\) using Equation 9 once more (with the same \(\mathcal{R}\)) so that the result falls in the interval \([0, 1]\).
The data production, or raster pre-processing stage refers to the production of the rasters that are directly multiplied by the persona scores in the dynamic part of the model. That is, the output of this stage is four multi-layered rasters \((f_1, f_2, f_3, f_4)\) corresponding to the four components, where \(f_i := (f_{i1}, f_{i2}, \ldots, f_{i n_i})\), whose individual layers \(f_{ij}\) are defined by Equation 6 (for \(i = 1, 2\)) and Equation 7 (for \(i=2,3\)).
The process of producing these rasters is currently split into two distinct parts:
R.The scripted part is executed by running inst/scripts/data_production/main.R (or the containerised version) with the manually-produced categorical rasters already present. This script mostly just calls functions defined in R/data_production.R.
The Landscape component raster consists of 40 layers, each representing one of its features (see Section 3 for full list). These features can be grouped into different sub-categories:
CP (1 feature) : The Country Parks (CP) feature was sourced from NatureScot (2020).
HNV (1 feature): The High Nature Value farming feature was sourced from European Environment Agency (2023).
LCM (28 features): The Land Cover Map (LCM) featured were sourced from NatureScot and Space Intelligence (2023).
NNR (1 feature): The Natural Nature Reserves (NNR) feature was sourced from NatureScot (2022a).
NP (1 feature): The National Parks (NP) feature was sourced from Stirling Council (2024)
NR (1 feature): The Nature Reserves (NR) feature was sourced from NatureScot (2021).
RP (1 feature): The Regional Parks (RP) feature was sourced from NatureScot (2022b).
RSPB (1 feature): The Protected sites for birds feature was sourced from Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (2024).
SAC (1 feature): The Special Area for Conservation (SAC) feature was sourced from NatureScot (2023a).
SPA (1 feature): The Special Protection Areas (SPA) feature was sourced form NatureScot (2023b).
SSSI (1 feature): The Sites of Specific Scientific Interest (SSSI) feature was sourced from NatureScot (2024).
SWT (1 feature): The Scottish Wildlife Trust (SWT) feature was sourced from Scottish Wildlife Trust (2024).
WLA (1 feature): The Wild Land Area (WLA) feature was sourced form NatureScot (2014).
The datasets used for this component were clipped to a Scotland Boundary shapefile (Office for National Statistics, 2018), and they were rasterized to a 20m x 20m resolution.
The 24 features in this component are grouped into three main categories:
Landform features (16 features): The landform data was extracted from the Scotland 250K Soils Map. (The James Hutton Institute, 2022). The following methodologies were applied:
Dissolve: the dataset was “dissolved” in QGIS using the “Landform“ attribute, reducing it to 334 unique polygon features.
Reclassification: the 334 landform types were manually grouped into 16 broader categories based on descriptive keywords (e.g. “hills”, “foothills” etc…). See Table 7.
Rasterization: the dataset was converted into a raster at a 20 m x 20 m resolution.
Slope features (6 features): Slope data were derived from the Copernicus GLO-30 Digital Elevation Model (DEM), a global 30 m resolution dataset (European Space Agency, 2021). The following methodology was applied:
Slope calculation: the DEM was converted into a matching CRS (EPSG: 27700) using Warp (Reproject) using QGIS, with a slope raster calculated using GDAL Slope with its default settings.
Up-sampling: the raster was resampled to a 20 m x 20 m resolution.
Soil features (2 features): The landform data was derived from the Scotland 250K Soils Map (The James Hutton Institute, 2022) The following methodology was applied:
Initial dissolve: The dataset was “dissolved” by field “genSoilTyp” in QGIS, reducing it to 12 unique attribute values.
Grouping: The values were manually aggregated into two soil classes: organic (peat) and mineral based on the original classifications (see Table 8).
Rasterization: the dataset was converted into a raster at a 20 m x 20 m resolution.
The 10 features are grouped into three main categories:
Roads Tracks (5 features): Road Tracks data was sourced from the OS OpenRoads dataset (Ordnance Survey, 2023b). The following methodologies were applied:
Dissolve: The OpenRoads dataset (Ordnance Survey, 2023b) was “dissolved” in QGIS by the field “Road type” and “Tracks”.
Adding access roads: the attribute field “Access roads” from the OSM_Roads dataset (OpenStreetMap, n.d.) was merged into the dissolved dataset.
Rasterization: the combined dataset was rasterized at a 20 m x 20 m resolution.
Cycle Network (4 features): The National Cycle Network data was sourced from the Sustrans National Cycle Network dataset (Sustrans GIS, 2024). The following methodology was applied:
Dissolve: The dataset was “dissolved” in QGIS using the two attribute fields “Desc_” and “Surface”.
Grouping: The “Desc_” features were then grouped in (1) on road, and (2) off road; whilst the “Surface” features grouped in (3) paved and (4) unpaved. This produced four distinct feature classes
Rasterization: The dataset was converted into raster format at a 20 m x 20 m resolution.
Local Path Network (1 feature): The “Local Path Network” data was sourced from the Scotland’s Core Paths dataset provided by the Improvement Service (2024). The dataset was converted into raster format at a 20 m x 20 m resolution.
The 13 features can be divided into two categories:
Rivers (6 features): The river data was sourced from the Os Open Rivers (Ordnance Survey, 2023a) and the OS Boundaries dataset. The following methodology was applied:
merging: To avoid naming inconsistencies, the “Region” field from the OS Boundaries dataset was joined to the Os Open Rivers dataset (Ordnance Survey, 2023a).
initial dissolve: the merged dataset was “dissolved” in QGIS using the “name” and “Region” fields. This combined river segments sharing the same name and region into single features, reducing the dataset into 74 997 features.
Reclassification: To simplify the river data at a national scale, a reclassification was carried out (see Table 9 for examples). This is a subjective and based on: the “form” attribute (indicating water type), or keywords searches in the “name” field, and researcher knowledge of major rivers of national and regional importance.
Rasterization: the dataset was converted into raster format at a 20 m x 20 m resolution.
Lakes (7 features): The lakes data was sourced from the Spatial inventory of UK waterbodies dataset (Taylor, 2021). The following methodology was applied:
Reclassification: The dataset contained 25404 features for Scotland. To make it into a relevant and scorable dataset it was reduced to six features based on the given size (in hectares) of a waterbody using the attribute “Poly_Area_Ha” (see Table 10).
Rasterization: the datasets were converted into raster format at a 20 m x 20 m resolution.
With one exception, every raster layer produced by the manual process is an integer-valued categorical raster. The single exception is a ‘slope’ raster containing the average absolute gradient \(s(x)\) within each pixel.
We use terra::classify to quantise this continuous range into six categories according to their steepness (expressed in degrees). These values are based on the six slope intervals from Dick et al. (2022) (expressed in percentages).
\[ C_{\text{slope}}(x) = \begin{cases} 1 & &0 \leq s(x) < 1.72 \\ 2 & &1.72 \leq s(x) < 2.86 \\ 3 & &2.86 \leq s(x) < 5.71 \\ 4 & &5.71 \leq s(x) < 11.31 \\ 5 & &11.31 \leq s(x) < 16.7 \\ 6 & &16.7 \leq s(x) \, . \end{cases} \tag{13}\]
The categorical rasters produced in the previous stage do not necessarily share the exact same coordinate grid. They can be coerced to share the same grid using terra::project.
We projected all rasters onto a reference raster with the following properties:
We used the ‘nearest’ interpolation mode (method="near") since the data is categorical. The reprojected rasters therefore contain the same set of integer values as the original rasters.
The next stage converts the categorical rasters (\(C_i(x) \in \{0, 1, \ldots, n_i\}\) into a set of presence/absence rasters for each feature. These binary-valued rasters are referred to as the one-hot representation of the data.
Consider the following categorical raster,
\[ C_i = \begin{bmatrix} \ddots \\ & 1 & 0 & 0 \\ & 2 & 1 & 0 \\ & 2 & 1 & 3 & \\ & & & & \ddots \end{bmatrix} \, . \tag{14}\]
The one-hot encoding of this raster is written
\[ C_i \overset{\text{one hot}}{\longrightarrow} ( I_{i0}, I_{i1}, I_{i2}, I_{i3}, \ldots) \, , \tag{15}\]
where the binary-valued presence/absence rasters are, in this case,
\[ \begin{align} I_{i0} &= \begin{bmatrix} \ddots \\ & 0 & 1 & 1 \\ & 0 & 0 & 1 \\ & 0 & 0 & 0 & \\ & & & & \ddots \end{bmatrix} \, , \quad I_{i1} = \begin{bmatrix} \ddots \\ & 1 & 0 & 0 \\ & 0 & 1 & 0 \\ & 0 & 1 & 0 & \\ & & & & \ddots \end{bmatrix} \, , \\ I_{i2} &= \begin{bmatrix} \ddots \\ & 0 & 0 & 0 \\ & 1 & 0 & 0 \\ & 1 & 0 & 0 & \\ & & & & \ddots \end{bmatrix} \, , \quad I_{i3} = \begin{bmatrix} \ddots \\ & 0 & 0 & 0 \\ & 0 & 0 & 0 \\ & 0 & 0 & 1 & \\ & & & & \ddots \end{bmatrix} \, . \end{align} \tag{16}\]
The implementation of this step involves the use of terra::lapp to parallelise the calculation over the spatial domain. In practice we use NA instead of 0 to denote absence.
one_hot_pixel <- function(x) {
out <- matrix(0, nrow = length(x), ncol = length(feature_mapping))
for (i in seq_along(feature_mapping)) {
out[, i] <- ifelse(x == as.numeric(feature_mapping[i]), 1, NA)
}
return(out)
}
layer <- terra::lapp(
layer,
fun = one_hot_pixel,
filename = outfile,
overwrite = TRUE,
wopt = list(
names = names(feature_mapping),
datatype = "INT1U"
)
)x) of a single-layered raster and return the one-hot representation at that point, i.e. a vector of n_i values of which up to one is 1 (present) and the remainder are NA (absent).
outfile as they are computed, to reduce memory requirements.
This stage is nothing more than combining many single-layered rasters files into a single multi-layered raster for each component. Roughly speaking, we do
# Construct a list of rasters from each .tif file in `infiles`
rasters <- lapply(infiles, terra::rast)
# Construct a single multi-layered raster from this list
stacked <- terra::rast(rasters)
# Re-apply layer names
layer_names <- unlist(lapply(rasters, names))
names(stacked) <- layer_names
# Write the combined raster to disk
terra::writeRaster(stacked, outfile)Note that terra::rast(rasters) does not preserve layer names when rasters is a list of rasters, hence the need for the two lines prior to writeRaster.
It is very unfortunate that the names we have used for the layers follow the same format (filename_i for integers i) as the names that are automatically generated by terra::rast. Because of this, if these two lines that re-apply layer names are omitted, it is not obvious that anything is wrong; no error will be thrown and one can go onto compute RP values, since the names are as expected.
However, the results will be wrong, since terra::rast will apply the right names in the wrong order.
Future developers are strongly recommended to fix this problem by using different layer names. This issue and suggested solutions are discussed in depth in the Developers’ Report.
This stage applies Equation 2 and Equation 3 to each layer of the Infrastructure and Water components.
In fact Equation 2 is the most challenging computation in the whole processing pipeline, due to the fact that its memory requirements scale poorly with the size of the input raster.
Every single other processing step is entirely local; all of the information required to generate an output value for a pixel at coordinate \(x\) is contained in the input pixels at coordinate \(x\). This makes it trivial to process the data in chunks, and memory costs scale linearly with the area of the chunks.
In contrast, calculating distance to the nearest feature is strongly non-local; the output value at \(x\) is a function of the full set of input values. Naively, the entire raster must be loaded to compute the output at a single location.
To perform this calculation we used terra::distance. It is not necessarily true that the underlying C++ implementation of GDALComputeProximity, which is called by terra::distance, actually loads the entire raster into memory immediately. However, for Scotland at 20 metre resolution, we found that the memory requirements for this distance calculation (several 10s of GB) surpass the typical memory available on a standard personal computer by an order of magnitude.
To get around this issue, the original Scotland-wide raster was divided into 20 overlapping spatial ‘windows’. Note that the size of the overlap needed to be at least as large as the effective cutoff distance of 500m. After the distance step was complete within each window, the windows were stitched together, discarding the overlaps.
The distance raster was also truncated at 500m, setting any values above this to NA which simply passes through the function applying Equation 3 and ensures that we don’t waste disk space storing high-precision floats that are functionally equivalent to zero.
Here we provide a visual demonstration of how a ‘proximity’ raster is obtained from a raster containing just the presence/absence data. The example provided is for the FIPS_I_RoadsTracks_2 feature layer, which corresponds to ‘A’ roads.
The presence/absence raster traces out the path of the road. The distance from each cell to the nearest present cell is then calculated using the terra::distance() function . The resulting raster, labeled distance in the example map, contains the distance in meters from the center of each cell to the nearest feature. Application of Equation 3 results in the ‘proximity’ layer.
The three layers can be toggled using the control panel in the top-right corner.
Here we list the full set of 87 items/features that make up the layers of the input rasters, and must be scored by the user to construct a persona.
| Component | Short code | Num. layers | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Landscape | SLSRA |
40 | Land cover type, landscape designations and conservation, and farmland of high nature value. |
| Natural Features | FIPS_N |
24 | Landform types, soil types and slope. |
| Infrastructure | FIPS_I |
10 | Roads, tracks, footpaths and cycle networks. |
| Water | Water |
13 | Lakes and rivers. |
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| SLSRA_CP_2 | Country Park |
| SLSRA_HNV_2 | Designated High Nature Value (HNV) farmland |
| SLSRA_LCM_1 | Alpine and subalpine grassland |
| SLSRA_LCM_2 | Arable land and market gardens |
| SLSRA_LCM_3 | Arctic, alpine and subalpine scrub |
| SLSRA_LCM_4 | Bare field or exposed soil |
| SLSRA_LCM_5 | Base-rich fens and calcareous spring mires |
| SLSRA_LCM_6 | Broadleaved deciduous woodland |
| SLSRA_LCM_7 | Built-up area |
| SLSRA_LCM_8 | Coastal dunes and sandy shore |
| SLSRA_LCM_9 | Coastal shingle |
| SLSRA_LCM_10 | Dry grassland |
| SLSRA_LCM_11 | Freshwater |
| SLSRA_LCM_12 | Inland cliffs, rock pavements and outcrops |
| SLSRA_LCM_13 | Lines of trees, small planted woodlands, early-stage woodland and coppice |
| SLSRA_LCM_14 | Littoral sediment or saltmarsh |
| SLSRA_LCM_15 | Mesic grassland |
| SLSRA_LCM_16 | Mixed deciduous and coniferous woodland |
| SLSRA_LCM_17 | Non-native coniferous plantation |
| SLSRA_LCM_18 | Raised and blanket bog |
| SLSRA_LCM_19 | Riverine and fen scrubs |
| SLSRA_LCM_20 | Rock cliffs, ledges and shores |
| SLSRA_LCM_21 | Scots pine woodland |
| SLSRA_LCM_22 | Screes |
| SLSRA_LCM_23 | Seasonally wet and wet grassland |
| SLSRA_LCM_24 | Temperate montane scrub |
| SLSRA_LCM_25 | Temperate shrub heathland |
| SLSRA_LCM_26 | Valley mires, poor fens and transition mires |
| SLSRA_LCM_27 | Windthrown woodland |
| SLSRA_LCM_28 | Woodland fringes and clearings and tall forb stands |
| SLSRA_NNR_2 | National Nature Reserve (NNR) |
| SLSRA_NP_2 | National Park |
| SLSRA_NR_2 | Nature Reserve |
| SLSRA_RP_2 | Regional Park |
| SLSRA_RSPB_2 | Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) Reserve |
| SLSRA_SAC_2 | Special Area of Conservation (SAC) |
| SLSRA_SPA_2 | Special Protection Area (SPA) |
| SLSRA_SSSI_2 | Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) |
| SLSRA_SWT_2 | Scottish Wildlife Trust Reserve |
| SLSRA_WLA_2 | Wild Land Areas |
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| FIPS_N_Landform_1 | Foothills |
| FIPS_N_Landform_2 | Mountains |
| FIPS_N_Landform_3 | Terraces |
| FIPS_N_Landform_4 | Flood plain |
| FIPS_N_Landform_5 | Beaches or Dunes |
| FIPS_N_Landform_6 | Rocks or Scree |
| FIPS_N_Landform_7 | Depressions |
| FIPS_N_Landform_8 | Hills |
| FIPS_N_Landform_9 | Lowlands |
| FIPS_N_Landform_10 | Rock Walls |
| FIPS_N_Landform_11 | Uplands |
| FIPS_N_Landform_12 | Valley sides |
| FIPS_N_Landform_13 | Valley bottom |
| FIPS_N_Landform_14 | Built-up areas |
| FIPS_N_Landform_15 | Saltings |
| FIPS_N_Landform_16 | Hummocks, mounds or moraines |
| FIPS_N_Slope_1 | No slope |
| FIPS_N_Slope_2 | Gentle slope |
| FIPS_N_Slope_3 | Medium slope |
| FIPS_N_Slope_4 | Steep slope |
| FIPS_N_Slope_5 | Very steep slope |
| FIPS_N_Slope_6 | Extremely steep slope |
| FIPS_N_Soil_1 | Peat or Organic |
| FIPS_N_Soil_2 | Mineral |
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| FIPS_I_LocalPathNetwork_2 | Path |
| FIPS_I_RoadsTracks_4 | Minor or local road |
| FIPS_I_RoadsTracks_2 | A Road |
| FIPS_I_RoadsTracks_1 | Motorway |
| FIPS_I_RoadsTracks_5 | Access roads or Track |
| FIPS_I_RoadsTracks_3 | B Road |
| FIPS_I_NationalCycleNetwork_1 | On Road: Paved Surface |
| FIPS_I_NationalCycleNetwork_2 | Traffic Free: Unpaved Surface |
| FIPS_I_NationalCycleNetwork_3 | Traffic Free: Paved Surface |
| FIPS_I_NationalCycleNetwork_4 | On Road: Unpaved Surface |
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Water_Lakes_1 | Pond |
| Water_Lakes_2 | Lochan |
| Water_Lakes_3 | Small Lochs |
| Water_Lakes_4 | Medium Lochs |
| Water_Lakes_5 | Large Lochs |
| Water_Lakes_6 | Major Lochs |
| Water_Rivers_1 | Minor river or tributary |
| Water_Rivers_2 | Unnamed minor stream or tributary |
| Water_Rivers_3 | Major river or tributary |
| Water_Rivers_4 | Named minor stream or tributary |
| Water_Rivers_5 | Lake |
| Water_Rivers_6 | Tidal river or estuary |
| Water_Rivers_7 | Canal |
| Name | Component | Description | Source | Attribute statement | Conditions of use | Data Owner/IPR | Version |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scotland Boundary | NA | Shapefile of the Scotland boundary - NUTS level1 | Office for National Statistics, 2018 | Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2024 | Freely available for any use (public domain or CC0) | UK Govt. | Jan-18 |
| Core paths network | FIPS_I | shapefile containing the core path network | Improvement Service, 2024 | Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. | NA | Improvement Service | 15/02/2024 |
| Roads | FIPS_I | Shapefile contains road types | Ordnance Survey, 2023b | Contains Ordnance Survey data licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. | Freely available for any use (public domain or CC0) | Ordnance Survey (OS) | Oct-23 |
| Tracks | FIPS_I | Shapefile containing road types within OpenStreetMap (OSM) filtered for tracks. | OpenStreetMap, n.d. | Map data copyrighted OpenStreetMap contributors and available from https://www.openstreetmap.org | Freely available for any use (public domain or CC0) | Ordnance Survey (OS) | NA |
| National Cycle Network | FIPS_I | shapefile containing the National Cycle Network | Sustrans GIS, 2024 | Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. | NA | NA | 18-Feb-24 |
| Landform classes from Scotland Soil Map | FIPS_N | A shapefile containing polygons of the soil types and landorm at a 250k:1 scale | The James Hutton Institute, 2022 | National Soil Map of Scotland v1.4 copyright and database right The James Hutton Institute 2024. Used with the permission of The James Hutton Institute. All rights reserved. Any public sector information contained in these data is licensed under the Open Government Licence v.2.0 | Freely available with obligation to quote the source | James Hutton Institute | 1.4 |
| Slope | FIPS_N | Created from Copernicus GLO-30 Digital Elevation Model | European Space Agency, 2021 | European Space Agency, Sinergise (2021). Copernicus Global Digital Elevation Model. Distributed by OpenTopography. https://doi.org/10.5069/G9028PQB. Accessed: 2024-02-15 | Freely available with obligation to quote the source | ESA | 01/01/2011 - 07/01/2015 |
| Soilclasses from Scotland Soil Map | FIPS_N | A shapefile containing polygons of the soil types and landorm at a 250k:1 scale | The James Hutton Institute, 2022 | National Soil Map of Scotland v1.4 copyright and database right The James Hutton Institute 2024. Used with the permission of The James Hutton Institute. All rights reserved. Any public sector information contained in these data is licensed under the Open Government Licence v.2.0 | Freely available with obligation to quote the source | James Hutton Institute | 1.4 |
| Spatial inventory of UK waterbodies | Water | Lakes | Taylor, 2021 | Contains data supplied by UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. | Freely available with obligation to quote the source | UKCEH | v3.6 |
| OS Open Rivers | Water | Rivers | Ordnance Survey, 2023a | Contains Ordnance Survey data licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. | Freely available with obligation to quote the source | Ordnance Survey (OS) | 2.3 - (04/2023) |
| Land Cover Map | SLSRA | EUNIS L2 Raster containing pixels of land cover habitat type | NatureScot and Space Intelligence, 2023 | Maps and data created by Space Intelligence with input and support from NatureScot , © SNH | Freely available with obligation to quote the source | UKCEH | 2022 |
| NNR | SLSRA | Shapefile containing areas designated as NNR | NatureScot, 2022a | Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. | Freely available for any use (public domain or CC0) | Nature Scot | 24/07/2023 |
| National Parks | SLSRA | Shapefile containing Scotlands National Parks | Stirling Council, 2024 | © Scottish Government, contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database right 2024. | Freely available for any use (public domain or CC0) | Scottish Govt. | 20/02/2023 |
| NR | SLSRA | Shapefile containing areas designated as Nature Reserves | NatureScot, 2021 | Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. | Freely available for any use (public domain or CC0) | Nature Scot | 24/07/2023 |
| Regional Park | SLSRA | Shapefile containing areas designated as Regional Park | NatureScot, 2022b | Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. | Freely available for any use (public domain or CC0) | Nature Scot | 24/07/2023 |
| RSPB Reserves | SLSRA | Shapefile containing RSPB reserves | Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, 2024 | Data reproduced with the permission of RSPB. © Crown Copyright. Ordnance Survey licence number 100021787 (2024) | Freely available with obligation to quote the source | RSPB | NA |
| SAC | SLSRA | Shapefile containing areas designated as Special Areas of Convervation (SAC) | NatureScot, 2023a | Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. | Freely available for any use (public domain or CC0) | Nature Scot | 29-Aug-23 |
| SPA | SLSRA | Shapefile containing areas designated as SPA | NatureScot, 2023b | Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. | Freely available for any use (public domain or CC0) | Nature Scot | 24/07/2023 |
| SSSI | SLSRA | Shapefile containing areas designated as SSSI | NatureScot, 2024 | Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. | Freely available for any use (public domain or CC0) | Nature Scot | 15/02/2024 |
| SWT Reserves | SLSRA | Shapefile containing Scottish Wildlife Trust (SWT) reserves | Scottish Wildlife Trust, 2024 | Scottish Wildlife Trust | Freely available with obligation to quote the source | Scottish Wildlife Trusts | NA |
| Wildland | SLSRA | Shapefile containing areas designated as Wildland | NatureScot, 2014 | Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. | Freely available for any use (public domain or CC0) | Nature Scot | 2014 (24/7/2024) |
| CountryParks | SLSRA | Shapefile containing areas designated as CountryParks | NatureScot, 2020 | Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. | Freely available for any use (public domain or CC0) | Nature Scot | 24/07/2023 |
| High Nature Value (HNV) farmland | SLSRA | Shapefile containing HNV farmland land parcels | European Environment Agency, 2023 | N/A available via EEA data portal under open access (ODC-by) | Freely available for any use (public domain or CC0) | EEA | NA |
| Landform | Reclassification |
|---|---|
| Undulating foothills and valley sides with gentle and strong slopes: non-rocky | Foothills |
| Valley sides with steep and very steep slopes: non- to moderately rocky | Valley sides |
| Lowland with dry ridges and wet hollows with gentle and strong slopes: slightly rocky | Lowlands |
| Undulating lowlands and uplands with gentle and strong slopes: non-rocky | Undulating ground |
| Hills with strong slopes | Hills |
| Ridged hills with gentle to strong slopes: very rocky | Hills |
| Mountains with gentle and strong slopes: non- to very rocky | Mountains |
| Undulating hills with gentle and strong slopes: moderately rocky | Undulating ground |
| Lowlands with complex gentle and strong slopes: moderately rocky | Lowlands |
| Rugged dissected lowlands and hills with gentle and strong slopes: very rocky | Hills |
| Hill sides with valley sides and hills with steep and very steep slopes: moderately and very rocky | Hills |
| Foothills with strong and steep slopes | Foothills |
| Hills and valley sides and undulating lowlands with gentle to steep slopes | Hills |
| Hill sides with steep and very steep slopes: moderately and very rocky | Hills |
| Lowlands with gentle slopes: non-rocky | Lowlands |
| Hill and valley sides with gentle and strong slopes | Valley sides |
| Hills and valley sides with steep and very steep slopes: non-rocky | Hills |
| Undulating uplands with complex gentle slopes: slightly to moderately rocky | Uplands |
| Hills and valley sides with gentle to steep slopes: slightly to moderately rocky | Hills |
| Hills and undulating lowlands with gentle and strong slopes: moderately rocky | Hills |
| Hills with simple strong and steep slopes | Hills |
| Hills and valley sides with gentle and strong slopes: non-rocky | Hills |
| Mountains with gentle to very steep slopes: slightly to very rocky | Mountains |
| Hills with gentle and strong slopes: slightly rocky | Hills |
| Hill sides and undulating lowlands with strong and steep slopes: moderately rocky | Hills |
| Hill sides with gentle and strong slopes: slightly and moderately rocky | Hills |
| Hills with complex strong slopes: moderately rocky | Hills |
| Hills with complex gentle to strong slopes: slightly to moderately rocky | Hills |
| Drumlins and undulating lowlands with gentle and strong slopes | Undulating ground |
| Lowlands with gentle and strong slopes: non- and slightly rocky | Lowlands |
| Unknown | Built-up Areas |
| Undulating lowlands and hills with gentle to steep complex slopes: slightly to moderately rocky | Undulating ground |
| Hills and valley sides with strong slopes: non-rocky | Hills |
| Mountains with gentle and strong slopes: slightly and moderately rocky | Mountains |
| Hummocky moraines on valley sides | Hummocks / Moraines |
| Hill sides with steep and very steep slopes: moderately to very rocky | Hills |
| Hummocky moraines: often bouldery | Hummocks / Moraines |
| Terraces with gentle slopes: non-rocky | Raised beach / Terrace / Coastal flats |
| Undulating lowlands and hills with gentle and steep slopes | Undulating ground |
| Undulating lowlands and uplands with gentle and strong slopes | Undulating ground |
| Hill sides with steep slopes: non-rocky | Hills |
| Beaches and dune slacks with minor dunes with gentle and strong slopes | Beaches / Dunes |
| Hummocky valley and slope moraines: often bouldery | Hummocks / Moraines |
| Hill sides with steep and very steep slopes: slightly to very rocky | Hills |
| Undulating foothills with gentle slopes: slightly rocky | Foothills |
| Peat | Valley bottom / Peats |
| Hill sides with steep and very steep slopes: non-rocky | Hills |
| Hummocky valley moraines: non-rocky | Hummocks / Moraines |
| Valley and hill sides with gentle and strong slopes | Valley sides |
| Valley sides and floors with gentle to steep slopes: often with landslips | Valley sides |
| Ridged low hills with gentle to very steep slopes: very rocky | Hills |
| Hill and valley sides with simple and complex strong slopes | Valley sides |
| Depressions and foothills with gentle slopes | Depressions |
| Hills and valley sides with generally concave with strong and steep slopes | Hills |
| Mounds with terraces and undulating lowlands with gentle to steep slopes | Undulating ground |
| Hill summits with gentle and strong slopes: slightly rocky with bouldery | Hills |
| Hill sides with gentle and strong slopes: non-rocky | Hills |
| Mountains with gentle and strong slopes: non- to moderately rocky | Mountains |
| Hills with strong and steep slopes: moderately rocky with boulders | Hills |
| Undulating lowlands with gentle slopes: slightly rocky | Undulating ground |
| Hummocky valley and slope moraines | Hummocks / Moraines |
| Strongly terraced hills with steep slopes: slightly rocky | Hills |
| Hills with steep slopes: slightly to moderately rocky | Hills |
| Raised beach terraces and mounds with minor undulations and very gentle slopes | Raised beach / Terrace / Coastal flats |
| Hills with gentle to steep slopes: slightly rocky | Hills |
| Hills with strong and steep slopes: non- and slightly rocky | Hills |
| Terraced hills with gentle and strong slopes: moderately rocky | Hills |
| Hills and valley sides with strong to very steep slopes: moderately rocky | Hills |
| Hill sides with steep slopes: moderately rocky | Hills |
| Hill and valley sides with steep slopes: slightly to moderately rocky | Valley sides |
| Undulating foothills with gentle slopes: non-rocky | Foothills |
| Terraces of fluvioglacial and riverine origin with gentle slopes | Raised beach / Terrace / Coastal flats |
| Undulating lowlands with gentle and strong slopes: non-rocky | Undulating ground |
| Hills with strong and steep slopes | Hills |
| Valley sides with gentle and strong slopes | Valley sides |
| Uplands and northern lowlands with gentle and strong slopes | Uplands |
| Weakly terraced hill sides with steep and very steep slopes: very rocky | Hills |
| Valley floors with terraces and mounds with with gentle and strong slopes | Valley bottom / Peats |
| Undulating uplands with strong slopes | Uplands |
| Hill sides with gentle to steep slopes: moderately and very rocky | Hills |
| Hill sides with gentle to steep slopes: moderately rocky | Hills |
| Hummocky valley moraines: often bouldery | Hummocks / Moraines |
| Broad valley bottoms and depressions with rock knolls | Valley bottom / Peats |
| Undulating lowlands and hills with gentle and strong slopes: slightly rocky | Undulating ground |
| Undulating uplands with strong and gentle slopes | Uplands |
| Hills and valley sides with strong and steep slopes: moderately rocky | Hills |
| Mounds and ridges with gentle to steep slopes | Undulating ground |
| Hills with complex strong slopes: slightly to moderately rocky | Hills |
| Valley sides and undulating lowlands with gentle and strong slopes: slightly rocky | Valley sides |
| Undulating lowlands and foothills with gentle and strong slopes with hummocky moraines: non- and slightly rocky | Foothills |
| Depressions and foothills with gentle slopes: slightly rocky | Depressions |
| Hills with gentle to steep slopes: very rocky with boulders | Hills |
| Hills with gentle to steep slopes: moderately rocky | Hills |
| Lower valley sides and floors with gentle to steep slopes: often with landslips | Valley sides |
| Hills and valley sides with steep and strong slopes | Hills |
| Mountain summits with strong to very steep slopes: moderately to very rocky | Mountains |
| Hills with strong to very steep slopes: very rocky | Hills |
| Hills and undulating uplands with strong and steep slopes | Hills |
| Rock walls and scree: very rocky | Rock Walls |
| Lowlands and hillsides with strong and steep slopes: slightly rocky | Lowlands |
| Valley floors and lowland with gentle slopes | Valley bottom / Peats |
| Dissected lowlands and hills with gentle and strong slopes: moderately rocky | Lowlands |
| Mountain summits with gentle to steep slopes: moderately and very rocky with scree | Mountains |
| Gentle complex hill slopes and occasional flats: moderately rocky | Hills |
| Undulating lowlands and hills with gentle and strong slopes: non-rocky | Undulating ground |
| Undulating lowlands with mounds and terraces with gentle slopes | Undulating ground |
| Hills and undulating uplands with gentle and strong slopes | Hills |
| Hills and valley sides with gentle to steep slopes | Hills |
| Hillocky lowlands with gentle and strong slopes: slightly rocky | Hills |
| Hill sides with steep complex slopes: moderately rocky | Hills |
| Mounds on valley sides with strong slopes | Undulating ground |
| Rugged hills with gentle to strong slopes: very rocky | Hills |
| Undulating lowlands and hills with gentle and strong slopes: non- and slightly rocky | Undulating ground |
| Gently undulating to hilly with gentle and strong slopes: non-rocky | Undulating ground |
| Foothills with strong slopes | Foothills |
| Hill sides with very steep slopes: moderately rocky with with cliffs | Hills |
| Hill and valley sides with gentle to steep slopes: non-rocky | Valley sides |
| Undulating foothills with gentle slopes | Foothills |
| Foothill with gentle slopes | Foothills |
| Hills and valley sides with gentle to strong slopes: non-rocky | Hills |
| Hummocky valley and slope moraines: slightly rocky with often bouldery | Hummocks / Moraines |
| Lowlands with gentle and strong complex slopes: slightly to moderately rocky | Lowlands |
| Foothills with gentle and strong slopes | Foothills |
| Undulating lowlands with gentle and strong slopes and hummocky moraines: non- to slightly rocky | Undulating ground |
| Beaches and dunes with gentle and strong slopes | Beaches / Dunes |
| Mountain summits with gentle and strong slopes: non- to slightly rocky | Mountains |
| Rugged hills with gentle and strong slopes: very rocky | Hills |
| Undulating lowlands and foothills with strong and gentle slopes | Undulating ground |
| Lochs | Fresh Water |
| Undulating hills with strong slopes: non-rocky | Hills |
| Hill and valley sides with steep and very steep slopes: moderately and very rocky | Valley sides |
| Hill and valley sides with strong and steep slopes | Valley sides |
| Undulating lowlands and hills with strong and steep slopes: non-rocky | Undulating ground |
| Depressions and undulating uplands with gentle slopes | Depressions |
| Depressions and footslopes | Depressions |
| Rugged hill sides with strong and steep slopes: very rocky | Hills |
| Mountain or hill summits with gentle and strong slopes: non- to very rocky with bouldery | Mountains |
| Raised beach terraces and undulating dunes (machair) with gentle and steep slopes: non-rocky | Raised beach / Terrace / Coastal flats |
| Mountain summits with gentle to very steep slopes: very rocky with scree | Mountains |
| Hills with simple convex strong and steep slopes | Hills |
| Undulating uplands and depressions with gentle and strong slopes | Uplands |
| Weakly terraced hill sides with gentle to steep slopes: moderately rocky | Hills |
| Undulating lowlands and foothills with gentle slopes: non-rocky | Undulating ground |
| Hills and undulating uplands with gentle to steep slopes | Hills |
| Depressions and hill sides with gentle slopes | Hills |
| Undulating lowlands with gentle and strong slopes and stepped hillsides with steep slopes: non- to moderately rocky | Undulating ground |
| Dunes and slacks with wide slope range | Beaches / Dunes |
| Undulating foothills with gentle and strong slopes | Foothills |
| Undulating lowlands and hill sides with gentle and strong slopes: non-rocky | Undulating ground |
| Lowland with gently sloping terraces | Lowlands |
| Undulating lowlands with gentle and strong slopes: slightly to moderately rocky | Undulating ground |
| Foothills and undulating lowlands with gentle and strong slopes | Foothills |
| Hill crests and ridges with gentle slopes | Hills |
| Hill sides with gentle and strong slopes: moderately rocky | Hills |
| Mountain summits with gentle and strong slopes | Mountains |
| Undulating lowlands and foothills with gentle and strong slopes: non- and slightly rocky | Undulating ground |
| Basins and valleys | Valley bottom / Peats |
| Undulating lowland and foothills with gentle and strong slopes: non- and slightly rocky | Undulating ground |
| Valley floors with mounds and terraces | Valley bottom / Peats |
| Hummocky valley moraines | Hummocks / Moraines |
| Mounds and undulating lowlands with gentle slopes | Undulating ground |
| Hills and valley sides with strong and steep slopes: non-rocky | Hills |
| Undulating uplands with complex and short gentle and strong slopes | Uplands |
| Valleys and depressions amongst hills and uplands with gentle slopes | Depressions |
| Depressions and undulating uplands with complex gentle slopes: moderately rocky | Depressions |
| Undulating uplands with strong simple slopes | Uplands |
| Valley sides with concave and regular with gentle and strong slopes: non-rocky | Valley sides |
| Undulating lowlands and foothills with gentle to steep slopes: moderately rocky | Undulating ground |
| Undulating lowlands and hills with strong slopes | Undulating ground |
| Immature soils | Rocks / Scree |
| Undulating foothills with gentle and strong slopes: slightly rocky | Foothills |
| Drumlins and complex gentle slopes: non- and moderately rocky | Hummocks / Moraines |
| Mounds and terraces with gentle slopes | Undulating ground |
| Undulating hill and upland with gentle and strong slopes | Hills |
| Hills and lowlands with gentle to steep slopes: slightly and moderately rocky | Hills |
| Rugged hills and valley sides with strong and steep slopes: very rocky with scree | Hills |
| Raised beach terraces and mounds with gentle slopes | Raised beach / Terrace / Coastal flats |
| Undulating lowlands and hills with gentle and strong slopes: slightly rocky to rocky | Undulating ground |
| Undulating lowlands and foothills with strong slopes | Undulating ground |
| Undulating uplands and hills with gentle and strong slopes: non- and slightly rocky | Undulating ground |
| Hills with gentle to steep slopes: moderately to very rocky | Hills |
| Ridged lowland and hills with gentle and strong slopes: slightly rocky | Hills |
| Hills with simple convex strong slopes | Hills |
| Valleys and depressions with concave gentle slopes | Valley bottom / Peats |
| Hills with steep slopes: moderately and very rocky | Hills |
| Valley sides with steep and very steep slopes: moderately and very rocky | Valley sides |
| Undulating lowlands and valley sides with gentle and strong slopes | Undulating ground |
| Hills with complex strong and steep slopes: non-rocky | Hills |
| Hills with gentle to steep slopes: non- and slightly rocky | Hills |
| Rugged hills and valley sides with steep and very steep slopes: very rocky with scree | Hills |
| Mountains with gentle to very steep slopes: non- to very rocky | Mountains |
| Undulating uplands with gentle slopes | Uplands |
| Mounds and discontinuous terraces with gentle slopes | Undulating ground |
| Hills with strong and steep slopes: slightly rocky | Hills |
| Hills with simple convex steep and strong slopes | Hills |
| Undulating lowlands and foothills with gentle and strong slopes: non-rocky | Undulating ground |
| Undulating lowlands and hills with gentle to very steep slopes: non-rocky | Undulating ground |
| Hills with complex strong and steep slopes: moderately to very rocky | Hills |
| Lowlands with gentle slopes | Lowlands |
| Mounds with ridges and terraces with gentle to steep slopes | Undulating ground |
| Undulating uplands with gentle and strong slopes | Uplands |
| Mountains with gentle and strong slopes: non-rocky | Mountains |
| Undulating lowlands and uplands with gentle slopes: non-rocky | Undulating ground |
| Hill and valley sides with gentle and strong slopes: non-rocky | Valley sides |
| Mountains with gentle to very steep slopes: moderately rocky | Mountains |
| Undulating lowlands and hills with gentle and strong slopes | Undulating ground |
| Undulating lowlands and terraces with gentle slopes | Undulating ground |
| Hill sides with steep slopes: slightly rocky | Hills |
| Valley sides with gentle and strong slopes: slightly and moderately rocky | Valley sides |
| Depressions and hill sides with gentle and strong slopes | Depressions |
| Rugged hills with strong and steep slopes: very rocky with some scree | Hills |
| Terraces and mounds with gentle slopes | Hummocks / Moraines |
| Undulating foothills and uplands with gentle and strong slopes | Foothills |
| Valley sides with strong to very steep slopes: moderately rocky | Valley sides |
| Broad ridge with gentle and strong slopes | Hills |
| Undulating lowlands with gentle and strong slopes: slightly rocky | Undulating ground |
| Rugged hills with strong and steep slopes: very rocky with scree | Hills |
| Undulating lowlands with gentle and steep slopes | Undulating ground |
| Foothills and lowlands with gentle and strong slopes | Foothills |
| Foothills with gentle slopes | Foothills |
| Valley floors and lowlands with rock knolls and moundy moraines: complex gentle slopes | Valley bottom / Peats |
| Hillsides with steep and very steep slopes: slightly to very rocky | Hills |
| Hills and uplands with gentle slopes | Hills |
| Hummocky valley moraines: slightly to very bouldery | Hummocks / Moraines |
| Undulating lowlands and hills with gentle and strong slopes: moderately rocky | Undulating ground |
| Valley sides with gentle and strong slopes: non-rocky | Valley sides |
| Hill sides and undulating land with gentle and strong slopes: non-rocky | Hills |
| Mountains with gentle to steep slopes: moderately and very rocky | Mountains |
| Hillocky and weakly terraced land with gentle to strong slopes: moderately rocky | Hills |
| Uplands with gentle slopes | Uplands |
| Undulating lowland and lower hill slopes with gentle to strong slopes: non-rocky | Undulating ground |
| Hills and valley sides with very steep slopes: some crags with scree and boulders: very rocky | Hills |
| Hills and valley sides with gentle and strong slopes: non-rocky with some scree | Hills |
| Hills with gentle and strong slopes | Hills |
| Ridged lowland with gentle to steep slopes: very rocky | Lowlands |
| Saltings | Beaches / Dunes |
| Gently sloping lowlands: slightly and moderately rocky | Lowlands |
| Drumlins and depressions with gentle and strong slopes: slightly rocky | Hummocks / Moraines |
| Terraces with gentle slopes: slightly rocky | Raised beach / Terrace / Coastal flats |
| Mountain summits with gentle to steep slopes: non- to very rocky with scree | Mountains |
| Hills and valley sides with gentle to steep slopes: non-rocky | Hills |
| Lowlands and hill sides with gentle to very steep slopes: moderately rocky | Lowlands |
| Undulating hill sides with gentle and strong slopes: moderately rocky | Hills |
| Raised beach terraces and undulating dunes (machair) with gentle slopes: moderately rocky | Raised beach / Terrace / Coastal flats |
| Hills and valleys with gentle to steep slopes | Hills |
| Hills and valley sides with frequently terraced with with gentle and strong slopes: slightly rocky | Hills |
| Undulating lowlands with gentle slopes | Undulating ground |
| Hills and undulating lowlands with gentle and strong slopes | Hills |
| Undulating lowlands and hills with gentle to steep slopes: slightly rocky | Undulating ground |
| Ridged low hills with strong slopes: moderately rocky | Hills |
| Mountain summits with gentle and strong slopes: non- and slightly rocky | Mountains |
| Hills and valley sides with steep and very steep slopes: very rocky | Hills |
| Gently undulating lowlands: slightly rocky | Lowlands |
| Hill and mountain summits with gentle and strong slopes: slightly and moderately rocky | Hills |
| Undulating lowlands and foothills with gentle and strong slopes | Undulating ground |
| Depressions and gentle slopes | Depressions |
| Hill sides with strong to very steep slopes: moderately to very rocky | Hills |
| Valley sides and undulating lowlands with gentle and strong slopes: moderately to very rocky | Valley sides |
| Hillocky lowland with gentle and strong slopes: moderately rocky | Hills |
| Mountain summits with strong to very steep slopes: very rocky | Mountains |
| Undulating uplands with gentle and strong slopes: non-rocky | Uplands |
| Hills and valley sides with very steep slopes | Hills |
| Undulating lowlands and stepped hillsides with strong and very steep slopes: moderately rocky | Undulating ground |
| Mounds and terraces with gentle and strong slopes | Undulating ground |
| Hill and valley sides with strong and steep slopes: moderately rocky | Valley sides |
| Hill sides with strong and steep slopes | Hills |
| Valley sides with simple and complex gentle and strong slopes | Valley sides |
| Undulating lowlands with gentle slopes: moderately rocky | Undulating ground |
| Hill sides with steep and very steep regular slopes: moderately rocky | Hills |
| Foothills and undulating uplands with gentle slopes | Foothills |
| Ridged hills with gentle to strong slopes: moderately rocky | Hills |
| Raised beach platform: moderately rocky | Raised beach / Terrace / Coastal flats |
| Hill and valley sides with strong to very steep slopes: moderately rocky and bouldery | Valley sides |
| Foothills and depressions with gentle slopes | Foothills |
| Elongated depressions | Depressions |
| Mounds and undulating lowlands with gentle and strong slopes | Undulating ground |
| Hills and valley sides with gentle and strong slopes: slightly rocky | Hills |
| Undulating lowlands and foothills with gentle slopes | Undulating ground |
| Hills with strong and steep complex slopes: moderately to very rocky | Hills |
| Rugged hills with strong and steep slopes: very rocky | Hills |
| Hill and mountain summits with gentle to steep slopes: slightly rocky | Hills |
| Hill sides with often with mounds with terraces and depressions: gentle slopes | Hummocks / Moraines |
| Hummocky moraines and depressions | Hummocks / Moraines |
| Drumlins and undulating lowlands with simple and complex gentle and strong slopes: slightly rocky | Undulating ground |
| Undulating lowlands with gentle and strong slopes | Undulating ground |
| Foothills and lowlands with simple and complex gentle and strong slopes | Foothills |
| Rugged hills with steep and very steep slopes: very rocky with scree | Hills |
| Hill and valley sides with strong to very steep slopes: moderately rocky | Valley sides |
| Undulating lowlands with complex strong slopes: moderately rocky | Undulating ground |
| Undulating lowlands and stepped hill sides with strong and very steep slopes: moderately rocky | Undulating ground |
| Hills and depressions with gentle and strong slopes | Hills |
| Hills with gentle and strong slopes: moderately rocky | Hills |
| Stabilized dunes and undulating raised beaches | Beaches / Dunes |
| Flood plains with river terraces and former lake beds | Flood plain |
| Undulating foothills with gentle to steep slopes: moderately rocky | Foothills |
| Hill summits with gentle slopes: slightly rocky with stony | Hills |
| Mounds and hollows with gentle slopes | Undulating ground |
| Hills and valley sides with strong and steep slopes | Hills |
| Mountian summits with gentle and strong slopes: non-rocky | Mountains |
| Valley floors with terraces and mounds with gentle and strong slopes | Valley bottom / Peats |
| Drumlins with intervening simple and complex gentle slopes | Hummocks / Moraines |
| Foothills with complex gentle and strong slopes | Foothills |
| Undulating hills and uplands with gentle and strong slopes | Hills |
| Hill sides with strong and very steep slopes: very rocky with bouldery | Hills |
| Very steep rock walls and stabilised scree: very rocky | Rock Walls |
| Mountain summits with gentle and strong slopes: non-rocky | Mountains |
| Mountains with gentle to very steep slopes: moderately and very rocky: bouldery | Mountains |
| Ridged lowland with gentle and strong slopes: moderately rocky | Lowlands |
| Hill sides with gentle and strong slopes | Hills |
| Hill and valley sides with strong to very steep slopes: slightly and moderately rocky | Valley sides |
| Undulating lowlands with gentle slopes: non-rocky | Undulating ground |
| Hills and lowlands with gentle to steep slopes: non-rocky | Hills |
| Hills with gentle to strong slopes | Hills |
| Raised beach terraces with gentle slopes | Raised beach / Terrace / Coastal flats |
| Hummocky valley moraines with often bouldery | Hummocks / Moraines |
| Hummocky moraines | Hummocks / Moraines |
| Undulating lowlands and hills with gentle to steep slopes: slightly to very rocky | Undulating ground |
| Dune slacks and undulating raised beaches | Beaches / Dunes |
| Weakly terraced hill sides with steep and very steep slopes: moderately rocky | Hills |
| Valley sides with gentle slopes: non-rocky | Valley sides |
| Hills and hill sides with gentle and strong slopes: moderately rocky | Hills |
| Hills with gentle to strong slopes: slightly rocky | Hills |
| Hills and valley sides with strong to very steep slopes: moderately rocky with scree | Hills |
| Moundy terraces with gentle and strong slopes | Undulating ground |
| Undulating lowlands with gentle to strong slopes: non-rocky | Undulating ground |
| Hill sides and hills with steep and very steep slopes: moderately and very rocky | Hills |
| Hills and undulating lowlands with gentle and strong slopes: non-rocky | Hills |
| Hill and valley sides with steep slopes: non-rocky | Valley sides |
| Hills and valley sides with strong and steep slopes: slightly and moderately rocky | Hills |
| Undulating lowlands and valley sides with gentle and strong slopes: non-rocky | Undulating ground |
| Terraced hills with gentle and strong slopes: slightly to moderately rocky | Hills |
| Undulating lowlands with gentle and strong slopes: moderately rocky | Undulating ground |
| Foothills and depressions with with gentle slopes | Foothills |
| Hills with steep and strong slopes | Hills |
| Reclassification | genSoilTyp |
|---|---|
| Organic | Peaty podzols, Peaty gleys, Peat, |
| Mineral | Mineral podzols, Mineral gleys, Brown soils, Montane soils, Immature soils, Alluvial soils, Calcareous soils |
| Class | Example search terms or process |
| Major river or tributary | Specific e.g. “Tay”, “Spey” etc… |
| Tidal river or estuary | taken from dataset attribute “form” |
| Minor river or tributary | e.g. “River”, “Abhainn”, “Uisge” |
| Named minor stream or tributary | e.g. “Allt”, “Alltan”, “Burn”, “Feadan”, “Sruth”, “Caochan” |
| Unnamed minor stream or tributary | Waterways with no names |
| Canal | taken from dataset attribute “form” |
| Lake | taken from dataset attribute “form” |
.csv by clicking on this link.
| Class | size (ha) |
|---|---|
| Pond | \(<0.2\) |
| Lochan | \(0.2-2\) |
| Small loch | \(2-10\) |
| Mediun loch | \(10-100\) |
| Large loch | \(100-500\) |
| Major loch | \(>500\) |
Code for the Recreational Potential model is available as an R Package hosted on GitHub at https://github.com/BioDT/uc-ces-recreation. These reports relate specifically to the version 1.0 release, which is also available on Zenodo at https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15705544.
The model requires some input data that is too large to be bundled in with the package, but which can be downloaded from Dropbox after package installation using biodt.recreation::download_data(). This data is also included in the Zenodo listing.
The source for these documents and this website can be found at https://github.com/BioDT/ces-recreation-reports.
Funding for OpenNESS came from the European Community’s Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013) under grant agreement no 308428, OpenNESS Project (Operationalisation of Natural Capital and Ecosystem Services: From Concepts to Real-world Applications.)
Funding for BioDT came from the European Union’s Horizon Europe Research and Innovation Programme under grant agreement No 101057437 (BioDT project, https://doi.org/10.3030/101057437). Views and opinions expressed are those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Commission. Neither the European Union nor the European Commission can be held responsible for them.
Funding for SPEAK came from the Natural Environment Research Council – Growing Shoots Partnership and application co-creation bursary. NE/Y005805/1 _Growing Shoots.
JMR: software; visualisation; writing. MT: software; visualisation; writing. CA: conceptualisation; data curation; funding acquisition; software. JD: conceptualisation; funding acquisition; project administration. SR: funding acquisition; software.
We wish to acknowledge significant contributions to a previous version of the Recreational Potential model by Will Bolton. JMR would also like to thank Tomáš Martinovič for assisting with understanding the requirements of BioDT.
We are very grateful to all the participants of the SPEAK project which this output is based on including: Alastair Leaver, Alice MacSporran, Brian Cassidy, Chris Pollock, David Giles, Jean Cowie, Joanna Gilliatt, Justyna Olszewska, Laura Taylor, Maddi Bunker, Rebecca MacLennan, S Mayes, Shaila Rao, Steve MacKinnon and Tom Gebbie, Active Stirling. We are equally grateful to an additional 18 participants who preferred to remain anonymous.
{jand,chan}@ceh.ac.uk for enquiries relating to the BioDT or SPEAK projects, or ongoing and future work.
chan@ceh.ac.uk for enquiries relating to the data sources and QGIS processing.
{joemar,madtig}@ceh.ac.uk for enquiries relating to the code and anything else appearing in the technical supplement and/or developer’s report.
simrol@ceh.ac.uk for enquiries relating to the biodiversity component of the BioDT project.
Indeed this is true for almost every type of feature, but these proximity contributions were only computed for roads/paths and water features.↩︎
The right-hand-side of Equation 1 can be read as “The set of all 2d coordinates \(x'\) for which the condition \(I_{ij}(x') = 1\) is satisfied.”↩︎
The provenance of these values, which date back to the earliest version of the code, has been lost. The precision with which \(\alpha\) is given is a particular curiosity.↩︎
Note that this does not exhibit the classic ‘S’ shape of logistic curves since the domain is restricted to the positive real line (distances are non-negative!).↩︎
If \(F(x)\) is constant in the region of interest then the right-hand-side of Equation 9 diverges and \(\hat{F}\) is undefined.↩︎
@report{ukceh2025,
author = {Marsh Rossney, Joe and Tigli, Maddalena and Andrews,
Christopher and Dick, Jan and Rolph, Simon},
publisher = {Zenodo},
title = {Reports on the {BioDT} {Recreational} {Potential} {Model} for
{Scotland}},
version = {1.0},
date = {2025-06},
url = {https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15715070},
doi = {10.5281/zenodo.15715070},
langid = {en},
abstract = {These reports describe the BioDT Recreational Potential
Model for Scotland (1.0), at the end of the BioDT project in June
2025.}
}