Summary reports on NI Countryside Survey 2000 are available at:
Habitat Change in the Northern Ireland Countryside: Summary Report
Northern Ireland Countryside Survey 2000 | Summary report on Broad Habitats
The technical report describes in more detail the quantitative distribution of wildlife habitats recorded in 1998 and shows how they have changed since baseline surveys: Habitat change in the Northern Ireland countryside - technical report of the NI Countryside Survey 2000
The habitat change data presented by NI Countryside Survey 2000 provided an ecological context for government and public discussion about landscape-scale biodiversity and sustainable development, and provided definitive and crucial information in a number of key policy areas, especially in relation to biodiversity, sustainable agriculture, environmental pollution and climate change.
Key findings NI Countryside Survey 2000
- Loss of semi-natural habitats by conversion to agricultural grassland.
- Damage to bog by peat cutting.
- Detrimental effects of heavy grazing on heath and bog.
- Issues of succession to scrub and woodland in semi-natural vegetation.
- Increased rural building.
- Much decreased area of arable crops.
- Habitat change was least in lakeland fen, swamp and reedbeds and in coastal saltmarsh, sand dune and sea-cliff vegetation.
NI Countryside Survey 2000 reports can be found in the NI Countryside Survey report repository.
