Marine Habitat Correlation Tables for UK and Ireland

The Marine Habitat Correlation Tables, version 2026.01, are maintained by the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC). This spreadsheet tool details correlations between marine habitats in the EUNIS classification and the JNCC Marine Habitat Classification for Britain and Ireland, as well as other international systems. The correlation spreadsheet is updated every 1–2 years, with the last update recorded on 2026-04 13.

Use Cases

• Cross-referencing habitat types for conservation reporting based on listed classifications like the Habitats Directive Annex I and OSPAR.
• Harmonizing habitat data from different surveys based on correlations between the EUNIS and JNCC classification systems.
• Supporting marine spatial planning and Marine Protected Area (MPA) designation based on habitat feature correlations.
• Integrating habitat data into broader assessments for frameworks like the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD).

Strengths

• The dataset is the only publicly available tool for investigating UK marine habitat correlations, according to the description.
• It is updated on a regular cycle, with updates occurring every 1–2 years.
• It correlates habitats across multiple major classification systems, including EUNIS, JNCC, Habitats Directive, OSPAR, and MSFD.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count and file size are unknown, which may limit suitability assessment for large-scale analysis.

Provenance

Source

Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC)

Collection Method

Likely compiled and maintained by experts to standardize habitat mapping and reporting.

Time Range

Version 2026.01 suggests current coverage up to 2026.

Freshness

Updated every 1–2 years; last updated 2026-04-13.

Geography

Britain and Ireland.