The Irish Forest Soils Project and its Potential Contribution to the Assessment of Biodiversity

peer-reviewedThe United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has proposed methods and thematic areas for data collection that are appropriate to the evaluation of biodiversity. The Heritage Council has identified a paucity of data on habitats in Ireland. Within this context, we outline the Irish Forest Soils (IFS) element of the Forest Inventory and Planning System (FIPS) and present a detailed account of land-cover mapping, which is an important aspect of the project. The IFS project aims to produce a national thematic map of land cover using soft-copy photogrammetry, combined with satellite-image classification and field survey. This aspect of the IFS project generates data on land cover at different spatial and classification resolutions. We report on the progress made to date and present illustrative examples of the data sets. The UNEP proposals provide a useful framework within which to discuss the potential contribution of IFS data to the assessment of biodiversity.We thank the Forest Service, Department of the Marine and Natural Resources, the National Development Programme (NDP) and the European Union, all of which contributed to the funding of this project.Department of the Marine and Natural ResourcesEuropean Unio

Radon potential mapping of the Tralee-Castleisland and Cavan areas (Ireland) based on airborne gamma-ray spectrometry and geology

The probability of homes in Ireland having high indoor radon concentrations is estimated on the basis of known in-house radon measurements averaged over 10 km × 10 km grid squares. The scope for using airborne gamma-ray spectrometer data for the Tralee–Castleisland area of county Kerry and county Cavan to predict the radon potential (RP) in two distinct areas of Ireland is evaluated in this study. Airborne data are compared statistically with in-house radon measurements in conjunction with geological and ground permeability data to establish linear regression models and produce radon potential maps. The best agreement between the percentage of dwellings exceeding the reference level (RL) for radon concentrations in Ireland (% > RL), estimated from indoor radon data, and modelled RP in the Tralee–Castleisland area is produced using models based on airborne gamma-ray spectrometry equivalent uranium (eU) and ground permeability data. Good agreement was obtained between the % > RL from indoor radon data and RP estimated from eU data in the Cavan area using terrain specific models. In both areas, RP maps derived from eU data are spatially more detailed than the published 10 km grid map. The results show the potential for using airborne radiometric data for producing RP maps