Work package 1
Landscape Conservation - loss and fragmentation in a habitat mosaic

Project leaders: Prof. John O'Halloran (UCC), Dr Simon Harrison (UCC) and Dr Mark Brown (TCD)

Project statement:

This work package will investigate the effects of habitat loss and fragmentation on wetland, pond, woodland and grassland habitats, examine the role of habitat mosaics in maintaining biodiversity in fragmented landscapes, and provide tools for predicting the effects of changes in habitat quantity and configuration on the biodiversity of semi-natural habitats.

Objectives and targets

• To establish the biodiversity value of remnant wetland and pond habitats within typical agricultural landscapes and assess the effects of habitat loss and fragmentation on the role of these habitats in maintaining biodiversity in the wider landscape.

• To elucidate the role of habitat mosaics in determining insect biodiversity, make management recommendations for individual habitats at the landscape scale, and encourage a joined-up, landscape-scale approach to conservation.

• To evaluate the relations between plant biodiversity and the impacts of grazing animals; to determine the ecological conditions required for survival of viable populations of characteristic woodland species; to determine the factors favouring the expansion of woody species into open habitats, and establish whether, on balance, ‘scrub encroachment’ favours or disfavours biodiversity.

• To predict the effects of future landscape changes on the role of semi-natural habitats in maintaining biodiversity in the wider landscape.

• To provide stakeholders with knowledge and decision making tools for biodiversity assessment.