What is the purpose of the score?
The purpose of AgNav’s farm-level habitat score is to raise awareness and inform farmers of the conservation value of the land that they farm.
What is the AgNav farm-level habitat score?
The biodiversity score in AgNav is based on a farm-level habitat score called an Area-Weighted Conservation Value (AWCV). In simple terms, a conservation value looks at the different types of habitats on a farm, such as grassland, hedgerows, or woodlands, and assesses both their quality and how valuable they are for supporting wildlife. Each habitat type is given a score from 0 to 9, where 0 represents low conservation value (i.e. a low quality habitat that supports very few species) and 9 represents high conservation value (i.e. a high quality habitat that supports numerous species). The farm-level habitat score, or AWCV, is then calculated by considering the habitat types on a farm, the proportion of farm area each habitat occupies, and the conservation value assigned to each habitat type.
On AgNav, farmers will be able to select their farm on a map and view their farm-level habitat score. They will also see the average habitat score for their county, helping them see how their farm compares locally.
Overall, the farm-level habitat score on AgNav provides a single, easy to understand score that reflects that farm’s biodiversity value.
A habitat score reflects the habitat types found on farm, their average quality, and their value for supporting wildlife.
How does it differ from the Space for Nature calculation?
The Space for Nature value calculates the percentage area of a farm dedicated to nature. It represents the proportion of the farm’s area taken up by hedgerows, drains, stonewalls, woodland, scrub, rock, and margins. The area within a land parcel that is directly used for agricultural purposes (i.e., grasslands, crops, wetlands, or forestry) are not considered within the Space for Nature value. Therefore, the Space for Nature value is purely an area-based indicator and doesn’t account for variation in value across land cover classes.
In contrast, Teagasc’s farm-level habitat score assesses the whole farm (a weighted average of all land cover types and their associated conservation values) through the provision of a score from 0 to 9. This provides a more holistic/multi-faceted view of farm-level habitats.
If you want to learn more about the conservation scores, check out this paper: Estimating conservation value and natural capital value of land cover classes in the Irish National Land Cover Map and application to a case study area