Land Use
The South West covers a total physical land area of 2.3 million hectares (ha) of which half is grassland. The second largest use of land is arable and horticulture, covering 23% of the total land area. Urban (built up) areas cover around 10%.
Table 17 summarises land cover in the South West, in 2001.
| Land cover type | Total land area (hectares) | % of total land area |
| Total land area | 2,345,043 | 100% |
| of which… | ||
| Woodland | 293,009 | 12% |
| Arable & horticulture | 536,572 | 23% |
| Grassland | 1,173,462 | 50% |
| Dwarf shrub heath | 33,275 | 1% |
| Fen, marsh, swamp & bog | 18,941 | 1% |
| Water & canals | 7,934 | 0.3% |
| Inland rock | 2,093 | 0.1% |
| Built up areas | 240,834 | 10% |
| Rock & sediment | 38,923 | 2% |
| Source: ONS, 2001a | ||