This chapter provides Ireland’s national ecosystem extent accounts for 2018 and 2021, including additions, reductions, net changes and conversions between ecosystems. The ecosystems covered include 11 terrestrial and transitional ecosystems at level one of the EU ecosystem typology, which are further broken down into 30 ecosystems at level two of the typology.
The ecosystem extent accounts presented in this chapter are based on ecosystem extent maps compiled at levels one and two of the EU ecosystem typology. These are illustrated for 2021 in Map 2.1 and Map 2.2, respectively.
The largest ecosystem in Ireland in 2021 was Grassland, which had a total extent of 4,311,800 hectares (Table 2.1, Figure 2.1). This represented 60.9% of Ireland’s total terrestrial and transitional ecosystem accounting area (EAA). Grassland mainly comprised Sown Pastures & Other Grass (3,903,800 hectares, 90.5%) but also included 408,000 hectares (9.5%) of Natural & Semi-Natural Grassland (Table 2.1, Figure 2.2).
Forest & Woodland was the second largest ecosystem at 809,900 hectares and represented 11.4% of Ireland’s EAA (Table 2.1, Figure 2.1). Most of this was Plantations (i.e. coniferous forestry) at 604,400 hectares (74.6%). However, it also included 137,100 hectares (16.9%) of Broadleaved Deciduous Forest, 49,300 hectares (6.1%) of Mixed Forests, 15,500 hectares (1.9%) of Transitional Forest & Woodland Shrub and 3,600 hectares (0.4%) of Coniferous Forest (i.e. Scots pine forests; Table 2.1, Figure 2.2).
Inland Wetlands (470,800 hectares, 6.6%), Heathland & Shrub (454,400 hectares, 6.4%) and Cropland (449,000 hectares, 6.3%) had very similar extents (Table 2.1, Figure 2.1). Inland Wetlands was mostly composed of Mires, Bogs & Fens (468,900 hectares, 99.6%). A marginal level two ecosystem type of this class was Inland Marshes & Other Wetlands on Mineral Soil (1,900 hectares, 0.4%). Heathland & Shrub corresponded entirely to the level two ecosystem type Scrub & Heathland, whereas Cropland was composed almost exclusively of Annual Cropland (447,100 hectares, 99.6%). Marginal level two Cropland ecosystem types were Other Farmland (i.e. willow coppices and areas growing Christmas trees; 1,200 hectares, 0.3%) and Permanent Cropland (i.e. orchards; 700 hectares, 0.2%; Table 2.1, Figure 2.2).
Settlements & Other Artificial Areas (281,000 hectares) was the sixth largest ecosystem, occupying 4% of Ireland’s EAA (Table 2.1, Figure 2.1). This included 97,700 hectares (34.8%) of Urban Greenspace (e.g. grass sports fields and urban greenery), 87,500 hectares (31.1%) of Discontinuous Settlement Area (e.g., residential, commercial and industrial areas outside of built-up urban areas), 67,300 hectares (24.0%) of Continuous Settlement Area, 26,700 hectares (9.5%) of Infrastructure & Industrial Areas (e.g. transport networks, airports, dumps and extraction sites) and 1,800 hectares (0.6%) of Other Artificial Areas (e.g. graveyards and greenhouses; Table 2.1, Figure 2.2).
Altogether, these ecosystems covered 136,500 hectares (1.9%) of Ireland's EAA in 2021 (Table 2.1, Figure 2.1). At level one of the EU ecosystem typology, this included Lakes & Reservoirs (130,900 hectares, 95.9%) and Rivers & Canals (5,600 hectares, 4.1%). Lakes & Reservoirs could be further split into 130,500 hectares (99.7%) of Lakes & Ponds and 400 hectares (0.3%) of Artificial Reservoirs. Rivers & Canals included 5,500 hectares (98.2%) of Rivers & Streams and 100 hectares (1.8%) of Canals, Ditches & Drains (Figure 2.2). It should be noted however, that most small (i.e. narrow) Rivers & Canals tend to be accounted for (i.e. mapped) as part of their adjacent ecosystems (e.g. Settlements & Other Artificial Areas, Grassland or Inland Wetlands). Therefore, the Rivers & Streams accounted for here tend to be limited to major tributaries and rivers.
Combined, coastal ecosystems extended over 130,800 hectares (1.8%) of Ireland's EAA in 2021 (Table 2.1, Figure 2.1). This included Marine Inlets & Transitional Waters (99,600 hectares, 76.1%) and Coastal Beaches, Dunes & Wetlands (31,200 hectares, 23.9%). At level two of the EU ecosystem typology, Marine Inlets & Transitional Waters comprised 81,500 hectares (81.8%) of Estuaries & Bays, 15,500 hectares (15.6%) of Intertidal Flats and 2,600 hectares (2.6%) of Coastal Lagoons. Coastal Beaches, Dunes & Wetlands included 18,200 hectares (58.3%) of Coastal Dunes, Beaches & Sandy & Muddy Shores, 9,000 hectares (28.8%) of Rocky Shores and 4,000 hectares (12.8%) of Coastal Saltmarshes & Salines (See Table 2.1, Figure 2.2).
Sparsely Vegetated Ecosystems occupied 39,900 hectares (0.6%) of Ireland's EAA in 2021 (Table 2.1, Figure 2.1). This included 29,400 hectares (73.7%) of Bare Rock and 10,500 hectares (26.3%) of Semi-Desert, Desert & Other Sparsely Vegetated Areas (i.e. sparsely vegetated and bare soil; Table 2.1, Figure 2.2).
Ecosystem Extent Accounts 2021 Map 2.1
Ecosystem Extent Accounts 2021 Map 2.2
Ecosystems which had no effective change between 2018 and 2021 were characterised by net changes between -100 and 100 hectares and conversions of less than 300 hectares. These included Heathland & Shrub, Inland Wetlands, Rivers & Canals, Lakes & Reservoirs, Marine Inlets & Transitional Waters, and Coastal Beaches, Dunes & Wetlands (including their corresponding level two ecosystems; Tables 2.2 and 2.3). Ecosystems which did vary in extent between 2018 and 2021 (including most of their corresponding level two ecosystems) therefore included Settlements & Other Artificial Areas, Grassland, Forest & Woodland, Cropland, and Sparsely Vegetated Ecosystems.
Between 2018 and 2021, Settlements & Other Artificial Areas had the largest net increase of any level one ecosystem type (14,500 hectares, 5.4%; Table 2.1, Figure 2.3). This corresponded mainly to Discontinuous Settlement Area (e.g. residential, commercial and industrial areas outside of built-up urban areas), which increased by 11,300 hectares (14.8%). It also included an increase of 1,800 hectares (2.7%) in Continuous Settlement Area, 700 hectares (2.7%) in Infrastructure & Industrial Areas (e.g. transport networks, airports, dumps and extraction sites) and 700 hectares (0.7%) in Urban Greenspace (e.g. grass sports fields and urban greenery; Table 2.1, Figure 2.4).
A total of 18,500 hectares of Grassland were converted into Settlements & Other Artificial Areas between 2018 and 2021 (Table 2.2). This mainly corresponded to conversions of Sown Pastures & Other Grass to ecosystems including 4,300 hectares of Urban Greenspace, 11,200 hectares of Discontinuous Settlement Area and 1,400 hectares of Infrastructure & Industrial Areas (Table 2.3, Figure 2.5). Conversions were less frequent in the other direction; between 2018 and 2021, 7,000 hectares of Settlements & Other Artificial Areas became Grassland. This mainly included additions to Sown Pastures & Other Grass from 2,900 hectares of Urban Greenspace, 1,800 hectares of Discontinuous Settlement Area and 1,500 hectares of Infrastructure & Industrial Areas. Conversions from Urban Greenspace can typically be explained by former sports fields and areas of privately owned green field sites within built-up areas being put into pasture. Conversions into pasture of large rural gardens and grass establishment on former industrial land (e.g. construction sites and waste ground) are likely explanations of conversions from Discontinuous Settlement Area and Infrastructure & Industrial Areas into Sown Pastures & Other Grass.
There was a net increase of 7,500 hectares (0.2%) of Grassland between 2018 and 2021 (Table 2.1, Figure 2.3). This included a net expansion of 10,400 hectares of Sown Pastures & Other Grass and a net decrease of 2,900 hectares (-0.7%) of Natural & Semi-Natural Grassland (Table 2.1, Figure 2.4).
The main additions to the total extent of Grassland in 2021 included 76,400 hectares (83.0%) of Cropland, 7,200 hectares (7.8%) of Forest & Woodland and 7,000 hectares (7.6%) of Settlements & Other Artificial Areas (as mentioned above). At level two of the ecosystem typology, the conversions to Grassland included 74,800 hectares of Annual Cropland that were converted to Sown Pastures & Other Grass. Other additions to Sown Pastures & Other Grass also included conversions from 4,200 hectares of Broadleaved Deciduous Forest, 2,900 hectares of Urban Greenspace, 2,200 hectares of Plantations, 1,800 hectares of Discontinuous Settlement Area and 1,500 hectares of Infrastructure & Industrial Areas (Table 2.3, Figure 2.5). Conversions between Grassland ecosystems were also observed – 10,400 hectares of Natural & Semi-Natural Grassland also became Sown Pastures & Other Grass, with 9,600 converting in the other direction (Table 2.3, Figure 2.5). The two largests conversions from Grassland included 49,600 hectares and 11,200 hectares of Sown Pastures & Other Grass which were converted to Annual Cropland and Discontinuous Settlement Areas, respectively.
Forest & Woodland increased by 6,400 hectares (0.8%) between 2018 and 2021 (Table 2.1, Figure 2.3). This included net additions of 6,300 hectares (1.1%) of Plantations, 3,300 hectares (2.5%) of Broadleaved Deciduous Woodland, and 1,200 hectares (2.5%) of Mixed Forests. A net reduction of 4,500 hectares (-22.5%) was observed in the same period for Transitional Forest & Woodland Shrub (Table 2.1, Figure 2.4).
Forest & Woodland mainly expanded at the expense of Grassland (13,800 hectares), which was the source of 86.3% of all conversions to this ecosystem type (Table 2.2). Additions to Forest & Woodland could be further broken down into 5,100 hectares of Plantations and 6,300 hectares of Broadleaved Deciduous Forest gained at the expense of Sown Pastures & Other Grass (Table 2.3, Figure 2.5). However, the main conversions for this ecosystem type were between different types of Forest & Woodland ecosystems – 11,000 hectares of Plantations were gained at the expense of Transitional Forest & Woodland Shrub, whereas 7,400 hectares of Plantations became Transitional Forest & Woodland Shrub. Reductions in Forest & Woodland (i.e. conversions to non-forest ecosystems) were mostly due to conversions to Grassland (7,200 hectares). This mainly corresponded to 4,200 hectares of Broadleaved Deciduous Forest and 2,200 hectares of Plantations converting to Sown Pastures & Other Grass (Table 2.2, Table 2.3, Figure 2.5).
Cropland had the largest net decrease of any ecosystem type (Table 2.1, Figure 2.3). This mainly included a 27,000-hectare (-5.7%) reduction in Annual Cropland. It also included a 900-hectare (-45%) reduction in Other Farmland (Table 2.1, Figure 2.4).
The main Cropland conversion was a 74,800-hectare change of Annual Cropland into Sown Pastures & Other Grass (Table 2.3). This can mainly be explained by conversions of temporary grassland to permanent pasture. Minor conversions from Annual Cropland included 1,100 hectares to Discontinuous Settlement Areas, 900 hectares to Natural & Semi-Natural Grassland and 700 hectares to Broadleaved Deciduous Forest (Table 2.3, Figure 2.5). The main additions to Annual Cropland were from 49,600 hectares of Sown Pastures & Other Grass.
Sparsely Vegetated Ecosystems decreased marginally by 900 hectares (-2.2%) between 2018 and 2021 (Table 2.1, Figure 2.3). This included a 500-hectare (-1.7%) reduction to Bare Rock and a 400-hectare (-3.7%) reduction to Semi-Desert, Desert & Other Sparsely Vegetated Areas (Table 2.1, Figure 2.4).
The main conversion of Sparsely Vegetated Ecosystems corresponded to a 1,200-hectare change to Settlements & Other Artificial Areas (Table 2.2). This corresponded to a series of small conversions of level two ecosystems, the biggest of which was a 500-hectare shift from Bare Rock to Infrastructure & Other Industrial Areas (Table 2.3, Figure 2.5).
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