Scottish Forestry maintains a Pest Free Area (PFA) to facilitate conifer log trade to Ireland. This dataset shows the part of the PFA within a 35km radius buffer zone established around outbreaks of the bark beetle Dendroctonus micans. The buffer zone boundary follows geographic features like roads and rivers and may expand after 12 months.
Use Cases
- Monitor trade restriction zones based on pest outbreak locations.
- Analyze buffer zone expansion rules based on a 12-month establishment period.
- Map phytosanitary certification boundaries based on geographic features like roads and rivers.
- Assess port restrictions based on their location within the buffer zone.
Strengths
- Dataset is based on a defined 35km radius rule for establishing buffer zones.
- Boundaries are tied to recognizable geographic features for practical application.
Limitations
- Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
- Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
- Last update date is unknown; freshness unverified.
Provenance
- Source
- Government Digital Service
- Geography
- West of Scotland