Ireland's State of the Environment Report 2024

115 Chapter 5: Land The improved land evidence provided by the new National Land Cover Map has many uses in environmental assessments of water, climate, air, noise and biodiversity. It is important to note that the new map does not provide data on land cover changes when compared with Corine; instead, it is a reassessment of land cover status based on new, more detailed, data. Differences are highlighted in Figure 5.3 and explained in Table 5.1. Figure 5.3  Comparison of the National Land Cover Map and Corine Land Cover data sets by land cover type, 2018 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% ˜ National Land Cover Map ˜ Corine Land Cover 54.2 64.0 18.3 9.5 6.5 6.5 6.0 3.8 2.8 1.9 1.8 4.5 2.2 2.1 2.2 13.7 Percentage of national area Grassland, saltmarsh and swamp Forest, woodland and scrub Peatland Heath and bracken Cultivated land Artificial surfaces Water bodies Exposed surfaces Table 5.1  Primary reasons for the main statistical differences between the National Land Cover Map and the Corine Land Cover data sets Land cover type Difference Primary reason for differences Grassland, saltmarsh and swamp –9.8% Smaller areas of forest, cropland and artificial surfaces previously generalised in CLC are now identified Forest, woodland and scrub +8.8% Small areas of forest, hedgerows, treelines and scrub are now identified, transitioning from mainly CLC grass and peatlands The NLC Map does not measure forestry percentage cover in the same way as the National Forestry Inventory. The forest classes of the NLC Map make up 12.2% of the land cover area. The National Forestry Inventory provides the official statistic for Ireland’s forestry cover (11.6%) Peatland –7.2% The CLC mapping process struggles to distinguish heath and bracken from peat. The NLC Map is able to do this, accounting for over 50% of the reduction. Otherwise, smaller areas in CLC peatland are identified as grassland and forest in the NLC Map It is important to note that the NLC Map only maps the land cover at the surface and does not map peat soils