The Caledonian Partnership 'Millennium Guide' Project is establishing a national site-based GIS inventory of all woods in Scotland greater than 0.1 Ha using a range of existing remote sources of information.

To achieve this, the Caledonian Partnership has developed a three-tiered survey protocol, the first level of which is the GIS Inventory. The second and third levels are designed to provide increasingly detailed new field survey information. The aim of the Argyll Pilot Project is to evaluate the second and third level survey methodologies which will validate and enhance the remote survey data and to provide new information suitable for management planning. Argyll was selected for this study as it is an area with a large, diverse and largely unmanaged semi-natural woodland resource which is recognised as being of high environmental value.