Habitats, mapping & assessment Deirdre Lynn NPWS There is no standardised terrestrial habitat map of Ireland. EPA will have touched on this earlier

Definitions: HABITATS VS ECOSYSTEMS A habitat is the physical location where species live Ecosystems are multifunctional communities of living organisms interacting with each other and their environment There are lots of definitions The terms are interchangeable I may use either term throughout this presentation

Fossitt 2000 Classification No Irish classification when I was in college. Heritage Council brought all of the vegetation scientists and ecologists together to devise Fossitt. Current Irish Vegetation Classifications being undertaken by BEC Consultant and hosted by NBDC will refine these categories.

Habitats Directive Habitats Water courses of plain to montane levels with the Ranunculion fluitantis and Callitricho-Batrachion vegetation 220 habitats listed on the HD. We have 58 (and rising). A strange mix that range from a vegetation community (e.g. Rynchosporion depression) to a landform (e.g. limestone pavement) that harbours many habitat types I have listed how they are commonly referred to in Ireland. These “habitats” are a priority for NPWS as we are obliged to protect them and we need to know where they are and what condition they are in.

Can range from a vegetation community to a landform Can range from a vegetation community to a landform. Limestone pavement, Chenopodium rubri Lagoons, Yew Woodland

The guidance for how to map and survey habitats was produced by the Heritage Council in 2011. This guidance includes field preparation, how to use GNSS receivers, Habitat size thresholds, Linear habitats, Mosaics, Digitisation, QA, Metadata.

Crosswalk between Classifications This guide also gives a cross walk between the 2 classification schemes

Monitoring/Reporting Requirements Assess conservation status of each habitat Report every 6 years Next report due in 2019 Ireland is obliged to report on the conservation status of all habitats listed on the Habitats Directive.

Assessing Conservation Status Attribute Assessment Range (distribution) Area Structures & Functions (Condition) Future Prospects (Pressures & Measures) Overall Assessment ↑↓═ ↑↓═ Each attribute is assessed as Favourable, inadequate, bad following a rules based approach. Distribution & Range. Where the habitat occurs. Where it should occur. Full natural range covered? What are the trends. Area. How much habitat exists. How much is needed. Areas large enough? Fragmentation? Trends. Structure & Functions. How much is in good condition (need at least 90% for favourable). Trends After examination of the pressures and measures what are the prospects for the habitat over the next 12 years. Overall assessments with improving, declining stable operators

For many groups we have undertaken a national baseline. Indicators Positive indicator species Negative indicators species Sward height Grass:forb ratio Habitats are grouped by type for survey e.g. woodland, dune, saltmarsh, grassland For many groups we have undertaken a national baseline. National grassland survey covered 1192 sites across Ireland (not total resource) Fossitt and HD habitats identified and mapped. Suites of indicators assessed at monitoring stops within each annexed habitat. Stops Pass or Fail. Proportion of Passes or Fails determines whether structures and functions are assessed as green, amber or red. Any pressures or measures are noted. For follow on monitoring a representative sample of the baseline of annexed habitats are selected for resurvey.

Collation of all relevant data For the national assessments all available data is collated. Many data sets external to NPWS are validated and verified areas/samples of annexed habitats are included to represent the current distribution

The distribution is overlain with the 10 km grid

Distribution Range A range envelope is drawn around the distribution.

Assessing Conservation Status Attribute Assessment Range (distribution) Area Structures & Functions (Condition) Future Prospects (Pressures & Measures) Overall Assessment ↑↓═ ↑↓═ Condition data is scaled from site level to national level. All other pressures that may not be observed at site level are considered e.g. climate change, EPA water quality data etc.

Potential indicators Trends in conservation status Trends in area Trends in condition Trends in pressures Trends in measures

Where data sets are located

These data are collated at EU level and can be viewed via the EIONET portal.

National Ecosystem and Ecosystem Services Mapping Pilot Ecosystems provide a series of services for human well-being: e.g. food, fuel, water filtration, water and climate regulation. Biodiversity plays a key role in the functioning of ecosystems and their ability to provide ecosystem services. For example functional groups such as pollinators or decomposers. 2015 pilot for a suite of prioritised services based on available data (Managed by Gemma Weir) Response to EU Biodiversity Strategy. Member states required to map and assess the state of ecosystems and their services

Data from Habitats Directive habitats, Corine, LPIS, Forest service etc

Story boards on our website for a selection of services that have been prioritised. Habitat register used in conjunction with soil type and slope to indicate where there is a higher contribution to promoting good water quality.

https://www.npws.ie/research-projects/ecosystems-services-mapping-and-assessment/story-map-viewer-and-data-downloads

Potential indicators Trends in the provision of selected services Trends in the value of selected services Trends in the consequences of degradation (e.g. flood costs, insurance costs etc) Needs better underlying data A lot of piecemeal research that gets dated Valuation and accounting statistics likely to become mandatory We need to progress our valuation of these services and ensure they are integrated into our national accounts.