The data illustrates the distribution of Habitat Areas as defined and identified by the Countryside Management Development Branch of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (DARD), Northern Ireland. The Countryside Management Development Branch is responsible for the development of Agri-Environment climate schemes. Agri-Environment schemes aim to enhance the environment by providing funding to farmers in return for managing their land in a sustainable way. Each habitat area represents the sum area of that particular habitat from all Agri-Environment Schemes including "Countryside Management Schemes" [CMSs], "Environmentally Sensitive Area Schemes" [ESAs], and "Northern Ireland Countryside Management Schemes" [NICMSs]. There are a total of 16 Habitat Areas in Agri-Environment schemes available to view on Spatial NI including the following; -Improved Grassland -Semi-Improved Grassland -Species Rich Grassland -Species Rich Hay Meadow -Breeding Wader Sites -Wetlands -Rough Moorland Grazing -Lowland Raised Bog -Woodland -Parkland -Riparian Zones -Grass Margin Areas -Winter Feeding Sites -Lapwing Areas -Coastal Grazing Areas -Traditional Orchards The location of the habitat areas have been tessellated based on a 1 kilometre by 1 kilometre grid which illustrates the distribution of the habitat areas across Northern Ireland. The 1 kilometre grid has been based off the National Irish Grid. The attribute table provides a summary of the total area of habitat land located within and/or bordering the 1km grid. However, in order to attain more detailed information beyond the available Northern Ireland wide distribution mapping (e.g. the boundary of a particular habitat) a request can be made by contacting the data owner.
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