The Irish Land-Parcels Identification System (LPIS)–Experiences in ongoing and recent environmental research and land cover mapping

Abstract

:Agricultural land use and land use change (LULUC), and land management practices have a major influence on the provision of multiple ecosystem services. Obtaining information on LULUC and land management is subject to numerous limitations, such as low spatial and temporal resolution of data, or high costs. In recent years the Land-Parcel Identification System (LPIS), a geodatabase developed to assist farmers with agricultural subsidies, has become available as a potential source of LULUC and management data to researchers in Ireland.While LPIS has the potential to improve our understanding of how LULUC and land management impacts upon the Irish landscape, it was developed as an administrative tool and is therefore subject to limitations when applied in research. This paper discusses current applications of LPIS in specific ongoing research, and highlights potential administrative, spatial and thematic limitations, which include access barriers and limitations when disseminating data; spatial inconsistencies, such as duplication of parcels; and thematic inconsistencies in the land use data provided, especially non-eligible and non-agricultural land uses. In conclusion, LPIS is a potential source of high-resolution spatial land-use data, especially in conjunction with ancillary data, but it needs to be used with care.