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Priority Habitats - Grassland Inventory Update

This data represents NIEA surveys and may not represent the entire extent of habitat or species across Northern Ireland. The research focused on identifying grassland habitats that are a priority within the Northern Ireland biodiversity strategy and also those identified as being of particular importance within Annex 1 of the Habitats Directive. The research methodology used well established survey techniques to identify high nature conservation value grasslands from high incidence study areas throughout Northern Ireland.

Data and Resources

Additional Info

Field Value
Creation Date August 29, 2019, 12:49 (UTC)
Topic Category
  • Farming
  • Environment
  • Geoscientific Information
Lineage

The dataset is not complete and does not cover the whole of Northern Ireland’s important grassland resource.A landscape filter was used to predict high incidence of species rich grasslands from the Northern Ireland Countryside Survey (NICS) data. Areas with the highest cover were targeted for modified phase 1 survey and complete survey was carried out in these areas. This only accounts for a small percentage of the Northern Ireland countryside. Additional sites have been identified via an in-depth survey of ortho-photography by Habitat Survey Team, Conservation Science. These were mainly located in areas where there were significant geographical gaps in coverage due to the NICS predictive area targeting methodology used in the Phase 1 surveys. The aerial interpretation survey has added significant resources to the grassland inventory but has only been able to identify species-rich wet grasslands and some areas of calcareous grassland.
Frequency of Update Irregular
Contact Name NIEA GIS
Contact Email NIEA.GIS@daera-ni.gov.uk
Additional Information

Credits Habitat Survey Team, Conservation Science: 1985 - 2014 University of Ulster: 1999 ADAS: 2000 - 2005 Allen & Mellon Environmental: 2005 - 2007

Owner: Alistair Church - Northern Ireland Environment Agency
Visibility False