ABOUT NICS

The Northern Ireland Countryside Survey (NICS) is a sample based landscape ecological survey which estimates the amount and monitors changes in area of vegetation habitats and length of field boundaries throughout NI. It has been carried out by the University of Ulster at Coleraine.

University of
Ulster

The baseline work was undertaken in the late 1980s and early 1990s as a series of contracts commissioned by the Environment and Heritage Service. The objective was to obtain quantitative information on habitats in different types of landscapes throughout NI. A resurvey (NICS2000) was commissioned in 1998 to determine current amounts and monitor regional and local changes.

 

 NICS sample squares

The NICS sample is a set of 628 quarter kilometre (25ha) squares distributed randomly throughout various regions within NI.

Classified types of Primary Habitats eg. woodland & scrub, heath, bog and grassland are mapped in each of the sample squares. Field boundaries such as hedges, dry stone walls, earth banks and fences are also mapped.
Example NICS sample square  

Primary Habitat areas and Field boundary lengths are digitised within each NICS sample square. Data from all the sample squares is input to statistical analysis in which calculations are used to produce estimates of totals for NI and within regions of NI.
The NICS2000 web site presents the results. It describes the Primary Habitats and Field boundaries, shows how much of each habitat there is, presents maps of habitat distribution, shows how the amounts of habitat have changed and indicates the processes influencing change.