Northern Ireland Countryside Survey 2000 results
NI Countryside Survey 2000 described the amount, distribution and types of habitats in NI and shows how they have changed since the late 1980s and early 1990s.
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.
