Ancient Woodlands Sensitive to Ammonia Pollution in the UK

A GIS layer identifies areas of Ancient Woodland and Parkland in the UK where recent, auditable records of ammonia-sensitive lichens are held by Natural Resources Wales. The dataset focuses on 62 lichen species that are particularly sensitive to increased ammonia and are important in the woodland ecosystem. Areas identified as sensitive should be assessed using a 1µg/m3 NH3 Critical Level.

Use Cases

• Map areas of high ecological sensitivity to ammonia pollution based on lichen species presence.
• Assess potential impacts of development or agricultural activities near ancient woodlands based on the 1µg/m3 NH3 Critical Level.
• Identify priority conservation zones for ancient woodland and parkland ecosystems based on nitrogen-sensitive indicator species.

Strengths

• Focuses on 62 specific lichen species known to be sensitive to ammonia.
• Provides a defined assessment threshold (1µg/m3 NH3 Critical Level) for identified areas.
• Data originates from recent, auditable records held by a government agency (NRW).

Limitations

• Row count and file size are unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Geographic coverage is implied but not explicitly stated; may be limited to regions where NRW holds records.

Provenance

Source

Government Digital Service, likely based on data from Natural Resources Wales (NRW).

Collection Method

Likely compiled from field surveys and auditable records of lichen species.

Time Range

null

Freshness

Last update date is unknown; freshness unverified.

Geography

Likely covers areas of Ancient Woodland and Parkland in the United Kingdom, specifically where NRW operates.