Client: Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht

BEC Consultants Ltd was commissioned by the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht to carry out a survey of Rhododendron within and adjacent to selected woodland areas within Killarney National Park. The occurrence of Rhododendron was recorded using a series of ground transects with surveyors recording the number of plants within the transect and recording the location of any flowering plants. Using an estimate of area for transects the data was interpreted to give an estimated count per hectare within each woodland zone. A further requirement was for three of the areas to be in more detail with all Rhododendron plants identified to allow an assessment of the accuracy of the transect approach. In addition, digitised boundaries of the 72 Management Zones referenced in the 2018 Rhododendron Management Plan for Killarney National Park were prepared to provide area calculations of each of the Management Zones and to facilitate future management of the zones.