Client: National Parks & Wildlife Service

Under Article 17 of the EU Habitats Directive, Ireland has an obligation to monitor and assess the conservation status of Annex I habitats, including woodlands.  BEC Consultants completed a National Survey of Native Woodlands in 2008.  Using baseline data from that survey, a 2-year project was initiated in 2011 to monitor two of Ireland’s Annex I woodland types:

• Old Sessile Oak Woods with Ilex and Blechnum (91A0)
• Alluvial Forests with Alnus glutinosa and Fraxinus excelsior (91E0)

This woodland monitoring survey is the first monitoring survey of Annex I woodlands to be carried out in Ireland. Between 2011 and 2012, 100 samples of woodlands, ranging in size between 4 and 10 ha, will be surveyed across Ireland.  Condition and conservation status will be assessed by comparing measured indicators, such as presence of indicator species, amount of dead wood and numbers of tree saplings, with target threshold values.  The results of the survey will feed into Ireland’s reporting input under Article 17 and enable an assessment to be made of the conservation status of sessile oak woods and alluvial forests in Ireland.