A high-resolution habitat map for England (LCM 3m)

Map England's habitats at 3 metre resolution

LCM 3m is UKCEH's highest-resolution national habitat map for England, providing habitat and land cover information at 3 metre resolution. It classifies England into 72 habitat and land cover categories and complements UKCEH's established Land Cover Map products by providing finer spatial detail for habitat-focused applications.

Key benefits

3 metre spatial resolution
72 habitat and land cover categories
England-wide coverage
Broad alignment with UK Habitat Classification (UKHab)
90.89% overall classification accuracy

The product documentation provides information on the methodology, habitat classification, accuracy assessment, applications and licensing options.
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Why use LCM 3m?

UKCEH's existing Land Cover Maps provide a valuable evidence base for understanding environmental change at national scale. However, smaller and fragmented landscape features can be difficult to represent in coarser-resolution datasets.

LCM 3m was developed to improve the representation of habitats and landscape structure by combining high-resolution satellite imagery with LiDAR-derived terrain and vegetation information. The result is a more detailed picture of England's landscapes while maintaining national consistency.

The higher spatial resolution improves the representation of:

Hedgerows
Individual trees
Shrubs
Field margins
Woodland edges
Agricultural cropping
Small habitat patches
Habitat corridors
Urban green infrastructure

Compared with previous 10 metre national products, LCM 3m is better able to identify and characterise fine-scale habitat features that are often poorly represented in coarser-resolution mapping.

Applications

LCM 3m can support a wide range of environmental and land management applications, including:

Habitat mapping and environmental assessment
Support understanding of habitat extent, distribution and landscape structure across England.

Nature recovery and ecological networks
Identify habitat connectivity, corridors and opportunities for habitat restoration and enhancement.

Natural capital and ecosystem service assessment
Provide spatial evidence to support analysis of environmental assets and ecosystem services.

Infrastructure and transport corridors
Support habitat mapping and environmental assessment associated with transport, energy and utility networks.

Urban green infrastructure
Map trees, gardens, green spaces and other urban habitat features with greater spatial detail.

Research and environmental monitoring
Support analysis of habitat distribution, landscape change and environmental monitoring programmes.

Map examples

Figure 1. National scale: LCM 3m land cover map for England, displayed in a simplified classification schema.

Figure 2. Urban scale: LCM 3m land cover map for England, displaying a built-up area in London.

Figure 3. Agricultural scale: LCM 3m land cover map for England, displaying a predominantly arable area in the region surrounding March, Cambridgeshire.

Access and licensing

Academic and Educational access is provided through EDINA's Environment Digimap Service.

Public sector, third sector and commercial organisations will be offered access in the near future through UKCEH licensing arrangements permitting innovation activities, internal business use and commercial re-use.

To express your interest in this data product, please complete this enquiry form.

Frequently asked questions

How does LCM 3m differ from UKCEH Land Cover Maps?

How does LCM 3m differ from UKCEH Land Cover Maps?
LCM 3m complements UKCEH's existing Land Cover Maps by providing finer spatial detail and improved representation of smaller and fragmented landscape features, including hedgerows, individual trees and field margins.

What habitat types are included?

What habitat types are included?
LCM 3m classifies England into 72 habitat and land cover categories, including woodland, grassland, heath and shrub habitats, wetlands, cropland, urban environments, rivers and lakes, and coastal habitats.

How accurate is LCM 3m?

How accurate is LCM 3m?
The dataset achieved an overall classification accuracy of 90.89% based on validation against more than 35,000 reference points collected across England.

How was LCM 3m created?

How was LCM 3m created?
LCM 3m combines 3 metre PlanetScope satellite imagery, LiDAR-derived terrain and canopy height data, contextual environmental datasets and machine learning classification techniques.

Is LCM 3m a land cover map?

Is LCM 3m a land cover map?
Yes. LCM 3m is a national land cover map for England that combines habitat and land cover information, categorising the landscape into 72 classes.

Is LCM 3m a topographic map?

Is LCM 3m a topographic map?
No. LCM 3m is a habitat and land cover map rather than a topographic map. However, elevation, slope and aspect data derived from LiDAR were used as inputs to improve classification accuracy.

How can LCM 3m be accessed?

How can LCM 3m be accessed?
Non-commercial academic access is available through EDINA's Environment Digimap Service. Public sector, third sector and commercial organisations will soon be able to access the dataset through UKCEH licensing arrangements. Please complete this enquiry form to register your interest.

Who is LCM 3m for?

Who is LCM 3m for?
LCM 3m is designed for researchers, conservation organisations, planners, infrastructure managers, policymakers and land managers who require detailed habitat and land cover information at national scale.

Citation

Marston, C., Rowland, C., Redhead, J., Ridding, L., Rowe, R., Stevens, R., Serra Gallego, J., Williams, E., Upcott, E., Orsler, Z., Marshall, Z., Bolton, M., O'Neil, A., Tabor, M. and Pywell, R. (2026). A high resolution habitat map for England (LCM 3m). NERC EDS Environmental Information Data Centre. https://doi.org/10.5285/8d275321-b5ce-4a10-b15f-ec37eaf6c971