Habitat suitability modelling for 20 wildlife species for the Wendling Beck Environment Project

We were commissioned to produce Habitat Suitability Models for 20 wildlife species for the Wendling Beck Environment Project - a pioneering conservation project taking place on a 700-ha site in Norfolk, UK. Over the next 30 years, the project aims to create, enhance, and maintain habitats to support native species, and to reintroduce species to the area. To meet these aims, it is important to understand the complex relationship each species has with the environment and to identify optimum locations for targeted conservation efforts. To help answer these questions, we used a spatially hierarchical process to build multi-level, multi-scale models for each species that predict the suitability of habitats across the entire project site.

The resulting habitat suitability maps and outputs will be used for decision-making and spatial targeting of conservation efforts, and to predict the effects of future scenarios (such as planned habitat modifications), inform future surveys, and engage members of the public and stakeholders.

Berthinussen, A. & Bellamy, C. (2024) Habitat Suitability Modelling for the Wendling Beck Environment Project – Final Report. Report by Conservation First for the Wendling Beck Environment Project (WBEP).