The ALFIE project will provide knowledge and understanding on the key policies and practices currently applied to the quantification of habitat fragmentation on the island of Ireland, with the development of fragmentation and connectivity metrics and maps enabling spatial prioritisation of areas for conservation and restoration measures in Ireland.
The aims of the ALFIE project are to:
- Produce the first island wide high-resolution analyses of ecosystem fragmentation, providing a detailed understanding of the existing ecological networks across the diverse Irish landscape.
- Evaluate connectivity, using appropriate structural and functional metrics, in the existing Irish ecological network and subsequently prioritise areas for conservation measures.
- Assess multi-species connectivity models, enabling a functional assessment of connectivity to be attained using species with varying ecological requirements.
- Advance methods to incorporate connectivity data into current planning policy, achieving maximum benefits for nature and society.
Key objectives of the ALFIE project are to:
- Conduct a policy and practice review assessing the current state of knowledge related to habitat fragmentation in Ireland.
- Deliver the first high-resolution, island-wide map of ecosystem fragmentation for Ireland.
- Combine structural and functional connectivity metrics to assess connectivity for multiple ecosystems (semi-natural woodlands, peatlands and grasslands) and representative species (e.g., birds, mammals), providing an ecologically accurate and spatially explicit analysis of fragmentation in Ireland.
- For semi-natural woodland ecosystems develop forest connectivity indicators to ensure compliance with 12 of the European Union (EU) Nature Restoration Regulation and the new EU Forest Strategy for 2030.
- Quantify core habitat and risk areas within ecological networks, highlighting priority areas for conservation and restoration action.
- Using case study areas characterise the level of fragmentation resulting from present-day land-use, and identify the challenges faced in relation to policy shifts towards nature protection and restoration.
- Advance the formation of an island wide green infrastructure network using ecological network maps.
- Develop a spatial prioritisation toolkit to inform planning at appropriate scales, maximising conservation and ecosystem service outcomes to guide targeted planning interventions and thus aiding implementation of the EU Nature Restoration Regulation, EU Forest Strategy for 2030 and National Biodiversity Action Plan.
Acknowledgement: The ALFIE project (Assessing Landscape Fragmentation Impact on Ecosystems) is funded under the EPA Research Programme 2021-2030. The EPA Research Programme is a Government of Ireland initiative funded by the Department of Climate, Energy and the Environment.
