Collation and digitising of existing data from a suite of esker sites across Ireland, along with habitat mapping, change over time analysis, and a review of effective management practices

Tender description

The National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS), part of the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht (DCHG), is seeking to procure expert scientific/technical services for a review, collation, digitising and write-up of existing data from a broad suite of esker sites across Ireland, along with habitat mapping, change over time analysis, and a review of effective management practices. The project is entirely desk-based, and will run from late July/early August to Oct/Nov 2020. The outputs will present an overview of the state of knowledge relating to eskers in Ireland currently, and will be used by NPWS to guide future management and conservation decisions relating to eskers. Project rationale: Eskers are recognisable features across much of Ireland. These long, low gravel ridges are valued for their cultural history, as geomorphological landscape elements, and they are also particularly important for the biodiversity they support. In many areas, they support semi-natural habitats like grassland, scrub or woodland, and in many cases they act as important wildlife and biodiversity corridors, providing and improving connectivity in the landscape. Among the most important elements of esker ecology are Annex I species-rich calcareous grasslands, and also areas of native woodlands. There are a wide range of issues facing eskers – e.g. quarrying, intensive agriculture, abandonment, inappropriate grazing/agricultural regime, spread of invasive species, etc. We know that change and loss of habitats is happening, but we have little data on the rate of change on eskers. This project will help fill this knowledge gap. There have been a number of studies on eskers in the past but no central (digital) repository exists. Therefore the existing information needs to be brought together, and where necessary, digitised. These data are needed to feed into future strategies for conservation and management of eskers and the habitats they support. See RfT document for further information.