Datafile: Estimated distribution of high nature value forest in the Republic of Ireland
Name:
HNV_ForestMap_HighProbability_ ...
Size:
1.447Mb
Format:
PDF
Description:
HNV_ForestMap_HighProbability_Map: ...
Name:
HNV_ForestMap_HighProbability_ ...
Size:
14.12Kb
Format:
Microsoft Word 2007
Description:
HNV_ForestMap_HighProbability_ ...
Name:
HNV_ForestMap_HighProbability_ ...
Size:
38.16Mb
Format:
Unknown
Description:
HNV_ForestMap_HighProbability_ ...
Citation
Sara Ruas, John A. Finn, James Moran, Julien Carlier, Marie Doyle & Daire Ó hUallacháin. 2024. Estimated distribution of High Nature Value forest in the Republic of Ireland. Land Use Policy 145: 107277.Abstract
High Nature Value (HNV) farmland and forest systems play a vital role in supporting biodiversity and delivery of ecosystem services. Estimates of HNV forest area and distribution in the European Union (EU) are rarely conducted, despite having been a requirement of Rural Development Programmes. This work represents the first attempt to identify and estimate the area of HNV forest in the Republic of Ireland in a repeatable and transparent way. Relevant geo-datasets available for Ireland were collated and analysed. We investigated whether the datasets contained information on the indicators used in a recently-developed Nature Value (NV) index, and explored the potential of proxy indicators to determine the likelihood of a mapped area of forest being HNV. Based on these analyses, a likelihood map of the distribution of forest in different NV categories was produced and an accuracy assessment conducted. Results from this study suggest that HNV forest accounts for approximately 1 % of the Irish land area, or 8 % of the total forest area. Accuracy assessments indicated substantial agreement between the likelihood map classifications and the calculated NV status of National Forest Inventory plots. The methodology presented here could also be applied to existing similar datasets to estimate the extent and distribution of HNV forest in other regions. The mapped output provides a likelihood of a forest area being HNV and can provide evidence to inform the development of forest conservation policies.Funder
Research Stimulus Fund (2019R425); Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine.Grant Number
2019R425Scopus Count
Collections
Related items
Showing items related by title, author, creator and subject.
-
The role of extension and forest characteristics in understanding the management decisions of new forest owners in IrelandMany European countries have seen significant changes in forest ownership structure, with the emergence of a cohort commonly referred to as new forest owners, mainly within the non-industrial, private forest (NIPF) owner group. The drivers of this change differ between countries but these owners frequently lack an existing knowledge base to draw on regarding forest management decisions and practices and may possess different objectives to traditional owners. As a result there is uncertainty concerning the management intentions of these owners. The provision of extension services is a recognised approach to supporting decision-making by NIPF owners but there have been relatively few studies that have sought to quantify the effectiveness of such initiatives in terms of management outcomes. In addition to measuring the outcome of extension initiatives, exploring the positive or negative outcomes can assist with the design of future initiatives. Ensuring that such initiatives are designed for appropriate phases in the forest life-cycle is important. This paper reports the results from a number of surveys that sought to explore the impact of an extension initiative, a thinning demonstration, on actual management outcomes and what characteristics of owners and their forests might explain observed management decisions. A retrospective pre-post test questionnaire was used at the demonstration to capture knowledge impacts and management intentions. A follow up survey was conducted 18 months later to investigate what, if any, practices had been undertaken. Data from a national household survey of land owners were also analysed to investigate whether the observations from the demonstration had significance for the wider population. The results suggest that the demonstration was successful in imparting knowledge to forest owners both in terms of self-reported learning and actual management outcomes. However, from an Irish perspective management decisions are dominated by forest age as the majority of the private estate is still in its first rotation. This presents a challenge to extension service personnel and to research seeking to explain management practices at a national level.
-
An outline of achievements in selected areas of forest research in Ireland 1960–2021In this paper, we provide an overview of achievements in forest research in Ireland carried out by various agencies over the past 60 yr. Many of the outcomes of the research have ensured that policy and practice are well-founded, and many of the research results form the basis of current forest standards and practice. Forest research has, and will continue to have, a significant role in national policy development and international reporting commitments. The achievement of future goals and targets is increasingly dependent on the maintenance of the goods and services that forests provide; these can be enhanced through the establishment of new forests and by appropriate management of the resource (e.g. The EU Green Deal and EU Forest Strategy). We outline the current state of knowledge which can be used to inform afforestation goals and the importance of tree improvement, forest management and forest protection to improve competitiveness and sustainability. Research into forestry and carbon provides a focus on the opportunities and challenges of climate change to Irish forestry. Future efforts will involve longer-term monitoring of environmental change commensurate with the forest rotation to reduce the uncertainties associated with climate change. Research into forestry economics, attitudinal surveys and behavioural studies may help inform the achievement of future policy goals. Reducing the impacts of biotic attack through efficient surveying, disease monitoring and assessing future risk is likely to be the focus of future research effort.
-
Addressing the challenge of wood mobilisation through a systemic innovation lens: The Irish forest sector innovation systemIn the face of growing demand for sustainable sources of biomass, the challenge of mobilising non-industrial private forest landowners (NIPF) with varying management objectives, to actively manage their forests and increase the supply of wood biomass, is an area of growing research and policy focus. While innovation and knowledge exchange is increasingly viewed as a means of promoting sustainable wood mobilisation, structural weaknesses in the sector such as deficiencies in the institutional and infrastructural setting or capacity of stakeholders, can negatively influence innovation processes. Addressing these overarching challenges requires a systemic analysis of the barriers to innovation across the forest sector as a whole. This case study of the Irish forest sector develops a comprehensive innovation systems framework, integrating structural and functional streams of innovation systems research. This `coupled structural–functional’ framework is applied to identify a number of interconnected systemic problems that hinder the functioning of the forest sector innovation system and negatively influence the potential for co-innovation and wood mobilisation in the sector. Three sets of key systemic wood mobilisation problems are identified, among which there is negative feedback. These so called `blocking mechanisms' have developed over time as a result of historical patterns of practice, prevailing culture, attitude and regulation and are defined here as (i) weak networks blocking capacity development of new forest owners, (ii) infrastructural problems blocking the reach and effectiveness of knowledge networks, (iii) rigid institutional structures and policy blocking co-innovation. To address these deficiencies in the current forest policy and institutional environment, this study makes a number of policy recommendations to promote co-innovation and tackle the multi-dimensional challenge of wood mobilisation.
