New Habitat Map

A broad Habitat Map of the Limestone Region of the Burren created using Landsat 7 Satellite Imagery

Sharon Parr, Grace O'Donovan (NUID) and John Finn (Teagasc)

Despite the myriad of studies carried out on the vegetation and ecology of the Burren, no map of the extent and distribution of the various habitats exists in the public domain other than one for Mullach Mor (Moles, R. and Travers, I). The potential of using satellite imagery to remedy this deficiency has been the focus of a two year study. Landsat 7 satellite images from April 2003 and August 2000 were used to produce a map of the broad habitat types including: 'weaker' winterage, 'stronger' winterage, Calluna heath, limestone pavement, scrub, green' or 'improved' grassland, water bodies, forestry, tillage and dunes. The area covered by the map is similar to that delineated in Tim Robinson's Map of the Burren but excludes the shale area to the south.