EPA - Ireland's Environment, An Integrated Assessment - 2020

Ireland’s Environment – An Integrated Assessment 2020 3. Land Cover Land cover describes what is visible on the land surface, such as grassland or urban areas. Land use describes the use the land has been put to from a human perspective, such as pasture or residential housing. The interactions between different types of human activity, such as farming, forestry and town and country planning, shapes our environment, landscape and biodiversity. Land is often subjected to competing demands from different sectors. National policies for forestry, agriculture, peatlands and the built environment influence land use change, land and soil resources. Figure 5.1 shows the main land cover types in Ireland. The Current Situation The latest CORINE land cover mapping information for 2018 shows the recent changes in land use patterns in Ireland. Of particular concern is the long-term downward trend in wetland areas. Currently, the most complete national land cover dataset is the CORINE dataset. This pan-European dataset was produced in 1990, 2000, 2006, 2012 and 2018 for the European Environment Agency under the Copernicus Land Monitoring Service (Topic Box 5.2). It is a low-resolution dataset at 25 hectares that can be used as a high-level indicator of land cover changes. Topic Box 5.1 Copernicus Land Monitoring Service Copernicus is the name of the EU’s Earth Observation Programme. It provides data from satellites, called Sentinels, which monitor the Earth’s surface. These data are analysed to provide information on the environment. The Copernicus land, marine, atmosphere and climate services are free and open to public access. This is also the case for the Sentinel satellite imagery. The Copernicus Land Monitoring Service aims to provide frequent and detailed information on land cover and land use. The data range from low-resolution pan-European data (e.g. CORINE) to high-resolution data but with a lower spatial distribution (e.g. an urban atlas for all major cities). The aim is to improve the resolution, distribution and frequency of all data produced by the Copernicus programme. In combination with national land mapping activities, the Copernicus programme will provide significant benefits in terms of monitoring land cover and land use and understanding the wider environmental impacts of these changes. Further information on Copernicus is available at https://www.copernicus.eu/en. 104