Monitoring and assessment of saltmarsh habitats listed on Annex 1 of the EU Habitats Directive and as a Biological Quality Element (BQE) under the EU Water Framework Directive (WFD)

Tender description

Under the EU Habitats Directive (HD) Ireland is obliged to undertake surveillance/monitoring (Article 11) of the habitats listed on Annex 1 of the HD and to report regularly on their conservation status (Article 17). The assessment of conservation status requires an understanding of the distribution, area, structures and functions and of the pressures impacting on these habitats. Designing an effective surveillance programme involves monitoring a representative sample of the habitat resource across its natural range. Under the Water Framework Directive (WFD), angiosperms are included as a Biological Quality Element (BQE). The assessment of this BQE includes the use of Saltmarsh communities as an indicator of ecological health. Assessment of BQEs is required for the classification of the ecological status of transitional and coastal water bodies under the WFD. NPWS and the EPA are calling for tenders to undertake saltmarsh surveys to assess their ecological status for WFD purposes, and the monitoring of conservation condition at selected sites; and to update the National Conservation Status Assessment of the following HD annexed saltmarsh habitats: • 1310 Salicornia and other annuals colonizing mud and sand • 1330 Atlantic salt meadows (Glauco-Puccinellietalia maritimae) • 1410 Mediterranean salt meadows (Juncetalia maritimi) • 1420 Mediterranean and thermo-Atlantic halophilous scrubs (Sarcocornetea fruticosi) HD monitoring protocols have been designed and implemented for all habitats and are detailed in McCorry (2007) and McCorry & Ryle (2009). A Saltmarsh Angiosperm Assessment Tool for Ireland (SMAATIE) has been developed through an EPA-funded research project to fulfil reporting requirements under the WFD (Devaney & Perrin, 2015). It is proposed that the conservation condition of 63 Saltmarsh Monitoring Programmes (SMP) sites will be re-monitored (Refer to RfT)