The Flora of Ireland is Classified in many
ways.
To enable DBN to collect and eventually
specify flora for each region or county we use 'Vice Counties' as
described by NPW / Duchas (Irish Government) and used by the many Counties
Recorders for Flora and Fauna. These are cross referenced with The Heritage Council's classification of our flora.
Botanists have divided the country into 40
vice counties, as there are more than one type of flora in some counties.
Cork has three, West, Mid and East, Kerry 2, Galway has a north and south,
Connamara and Mayo, are examples of Botanical Vice county divisions.
At DBN we have references to where all our
seed is sourced in the wild, and where it is grow as a crop, we can offer
regional seed mixtures.
Oceanic flora: Internationally there are biographical
regions, such as an Oceanic flora mainly found in the wetter west of
Ireland, approximately running down a line marked by the river Shannon,
North to South, such as geographical account, would include parts of the
Mourne and Wicklow mountains where the climate and soil is the same as the
west.
With in these broad classifications are
ecosystems, these are many and varied, in the Guide to Habitats in
Ireland, published through The Heritage Council, shows 28 clear categories
of terrestrial and aquatic plants.
Woodland, lake and sea shore, Peatlands, heath and dense bracken all
feature as broad classifications.
Grassland and Marsh is such a
classification, under which improved grassland, semi-natural grassland and
freshwater marsh are described as habitats. Within these there are further
categories, such as the type of grassland. |