Introduction to Habitat Survey and Mapping (Ireland)

This course will provide an introduction to habitat survey and mapping. Habitat surveying is a fundamental method of gathering information about the ecology of a site. It is a main focus of Preliminary Ecological Appraisal and a basic requirement of Ecological Impact Assessment. Habitat mapping provides important baseline information for managing and monitoring ecosystems or species and also for ecological research.

The Heritage Council’s Best Practice Guidance for Habitat Survey and Mapping will form the foundation for the course. We will begin with an indoor session that will cover habitat survey objectives and how these influence survey planning, preparation, and the data to be gathered. The two main habitat classification schemes used in Ireland, A Guide to Habitats in Ireland (Fossitt, 2000) and the Habitats Directive types, will be reviewed. We will learn about the importance of conducting a desk study and some of the sources of habitat information that are available. We will discuss approaches to surveying habitats in the field and how to use the data gathered to prepare informative habitat maps and reports that address our survey objectives. In the afternoon, we will go out into the field to gain some practical experience in habitat surveying.

Ecological consultants, environmental managers, students, researchers.

• Plan habitat surveys in line with survey objectives
• Conduct a desk study to gather existing habitat information
• Use the Heritage Council habitat classification (Fossitt, 2000)
• Survey and map habitats in the field
• Prepare a habitat map and report