Agricultural Critical Risk Areas: Land Parcel Risk Scores for Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland's agricultural land parcels are scored for environmental risk based on the CEH Land Cover Map 2007 and 2015 Water Framework Directive indicators. The dataset results from a SciMAP model using a 5m DTM to assess sediment sources, deposition, and hydrological links to rivers. Each parcel receives a weighted risk index from multiple factors, categorized as low, medium, or high based on statistical deviation.

Use Cases

• Prioritizing land management interventions based on parcel-level risk scores for sediment and nutrient runoff.
• Assessing hydrological connectivity between agricultural areas and river networks for water quality planning.
• Evaluating the impact of land cover types (arable horticulture vs. improved grassland) on relative environmental risk.

Strengths

• Risk scores are derived from a modeled matrix of factors with expert-assigned weightings (0-1) and a three-category index (1-3).
• Methodology is documented, using specific inputs: CEH Land Cover 2007, Met Office rainfall data, and a 5m Digital Terrain Model.
• Dataset is available on multiple government open data platforms, indicating official use and stability.

Limitations

• Core input land cover data is from 2007 and enrichment indicators are from 2015, making the model outputs potentially outdated.
• Column names and exact data structure are not provided in any source, limiting immediate usability.
• One source lists a future 'last updated' date of 2026-04-15, which is a metadata conflict or error.

Provenance

Source

Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA), Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA)

Collection Method

Modeled output from the SciMAP application applied to land cover, terrain, and rainfall data.

Time Range

Model based on 2007 land cover and 2015 status indicators.

Freshness

2026-04-15 14:21:00.902421 (Note: This is a future date, indicating a potential metadata error.)

Geography

Northern Ireland