ITALIAN/PERENNIAL RYEGRASS

Italian/perennial ryegrass: intensively managed grassland dominated by Italian or rolled-leaf perennial ryegrass.
Habitat examples: Click on an image to enlarge.
     
Italian/perennial ryegrass: distribution in Northern Ireland.
Italian/perennial ryegrass covers 5.2% of NI (70,612 ha), (Table below). The lowlands contain most and have a greater percentage cover (6.9%) compared with the uplands (1.8%). This habitat occurs throughout NI with a lower cover in the Sperrins AONB (0.9%).
Italian/perennial ryegrass: predicted distribution map (1998).
Italian/perennial ryegrass: net change 1991 - 1998.
Italian/perennial ryegrass habitat increased significantly in both lowland (191%, 40,907 ha) and upland (173%, 5,240 ha) landscapes.
Italian/perennial ryegrass: summary of losses and gains 1991 - 1998.

Italian/perennial ryegrass: main losses and gains 1991 - 1998.
The main gain in Italian/perennial ryegrass was by conversion from Perennial ryegrass. Habitats in the losses and gains table below are linked to their descriptors and NI data. Full details of all losses and gains are given in the technical report.
 
Losses
(1991 - 98)		 Habitats Gains
(1991 - 98)
ha  % ha  %
0         Species-rich dry grassland 97 1  
0         Species-rich wet grassland 139 <1  
0         Bent/fescue grassland 257 2  
0         Mat grass hill pasture 72 <1  
5 <1       Tall herb/ruderal 377 4  
0         Dry bog 223 <1  
0         Wet bog 131 <1  
0         Poor fen 559 2  
2315 9       Cereals 8523 17 *
354 1       Other crops/vegetables 448 3  
380 2       Ploughed land 1863 15 *
12373 51 *     Perennial ryegrass 37637 9 *
205 <1       Mixed species grassland 346 <1 *
1361 6       Other agricultural grassland 12581 4 *
442 2       Buildings/curtilage nc    
105 <1       Bare ground/surfaces nc    
Note : % = percentage of 1991 habitat area.
           * = indicates significant transition (p = 0.05).
          nc = not calculated.
 
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