Thursday, September 06, 2007

Ireland's changing land use

Ireland's land cover is as follows:

  • Agricultural areas - 66.8%
  • Wetlands -17.1%
  • Forest and semi-natural areas - 11.9%
  • Water - 2.3%
  • Artificial surfaces - 1.9%

Between 1990 to 2000, artificial surfaces increased in area by a third - from 1.5% cent to 1.9% of total land cover. This is due to urban sprawl and developments in infrastructure and sports facilities.

Data is derived from the EU's Corine (Coordination of Information on the Environment) Land Cover initiative. Data for Ireland was updated in 1990, 2000 and 2006 (in progress).

Ireland's Environmental Protection Agency summarises the findings and publishes land use data sets on its Land Cover and Land Use pages and Corine Land Cover Mapping section.

Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)

The island of ireland

Once upon a time, and for 15000 years, ice a mile high blanketed Ireland. When the lingering Ice Age finally released and the Irish ice departed it left a landscape scoured. Across land bridges linking Ireland, Britain and mainland Europe plants and animals arrived to colonise the new lowlands, mountains and valleys. The world’s ice continued to melt, the sea levels to rise, and some 8000 years ago Ireland became the island we now know, accounting for just 0.01% of the world's total land area and the most westerly point of Europe.

Though at Alaskan latitudes, the country's climate is tempered, due partly to the neighbouring waters of the Gulf Stream and partly the prevailing southwesterlies that veering and backing make landfall on our sodden coast. These offerings from the Atlantic mean it is never too hot, never too cold. But without doubt it is wet. Rain lingers year round, never far away, though is most frequent in winter, the western counties and, inevitably, on the day of your parade.