PLOUGHED LAND

Ploughed land: ploughed land comprises bare soil not under grass or crops at the time of survey.
Habitat examples: Click on an image to enlarge.
     
Ploughed land: distribution in Northern Ireland.
Ploughed land covers 0.9% of NI (11,829 ha), (Table below). The lowlands contain most and have a greater percentage cover (1.2%) compared with the uplands (0.2%). This habitat occurs mainly in the Wider Countryside (1.2%).
Ploughed land: predicted distribution map (1998).
Ploughed land: net change 1991 - 1998.
The main net change in Ploughed land was a 2% (-190 ha) decrease in area.
Ploughed land: summary of losses and gains 1991 - 1998.

Ploughed land: main losses and gains 1991 - 1998.
Losses and gains in Ploughed land were largely conversions between agricultural grassland and crop habitats. 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         Scrub - dense 61 1  
460 4       Tall herb/ruderal 29 <1  
25 <1       Dry bog 0    
0         Poor fen 398 1  
1956 16       Cereals 3657 7 *
0         Other crops/vegetables 807 6 *
1863 15 *     Italian/perennial ryegrass 380 2  
5145 43 *     Perennial ryegrass 4384 1 *
28 <1       Mixed species grassland 226 <1  
1794 15 *     Other agricultural grassland 1226 <1 *
60 <1       Buildings/curtilage nc    
Note : % = percentage of 1991 habitat area.
           * = indicates significant transition (p = 0.05).
          nc = not calculated.
 
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