En:mapping was commissioned by the University of Sheffield to mine data for a model of the effectiveness of statutory protected areas and agri-environment schemes to effectively support species of conservation concern within the UK.

The project involved liaising with Defra, the Scottish Executive and the Welsh Assembly Government to obtain up-to-date agricultural statistics which were then merged and standardised within a database. The standardised data was imposed on to a 1km grid of the UK, and key agricultural statistics for each 1km cell were calculated (for example, price information on arable output and information on livestock numbers, rescaled to ewes per km.) The 1km grid was then intersected with 1km grids showing the total area under statutory protection and the numbers of species of conservation concern.

This work was written up with academics from the University of Sheffield and published by the peer-review journal Proceedings of the Royal Society series B, reference:

Eigenbrod, F., Anderson, B.J., Armsworth, P.R., Heinemeyer, A., Jackson, S.F., Parnell, M., Thomas, C.D. & Gaston, K.J. (2009) Ecosystem service benefits of contrasting conservation strategies in a human-dominated region.  Proceedings of the Royal Society: Series B, 276, 2903 - 2911.