Species-Rich Grassland Mapping – Cairngorms National Park

Description

The Cairngorms National Park Authority invites suitably qualified and experienced organisations to submit a tender for the provision of mapping services and fieldwork to achieve a map of species-rich grasslands in areas of the national park which have not yet received mapping. Lot 1: The Cairngorms National Park Authority invites suitably qualified and experienced organisations to submit a tender for the provision of mapping services and fieldwork to achieve a map of species-rich grasslands in areas of the national park which have not yet received mapping. Through previous work with NatureScot, comprehensive data showing the extent and condition of species-rich grasslands (SRG) exists for Livet/Avon and Deeside (2020-2022), but there is a lack of data for the remaining areas of the national park. See the Cairngorms Grassland Data viewer here. Existing national landcover maps are thought to be only 85% accurate for predicting grasslands, and far less accurate at predicting individual grassland categories. For the purposes of being able to complete the Lowland Grassland Nature Network and identifying where SRG exists, further mapping is required. This will enable us to strategically expand our work to support land managers with SRG, to inform proposed land use changes and monitor and understand any changes to this resource over time across the entire national park. SRG is important for its ecosystem services including pollinators, soil carbon storage and floodwater retention. We know that SRG is declining across Scotland due to both agricultural improvement and neglect. Undermanagement has been shown to be the leading risk in the areas that have received mapping in the national park, impacting at least 865 species-rich grassland sites. 1) This project will produce a map of predicted species-rich grassland for all areas of the national park that have not already been mapped. A broad grassland habitat category will be predicted and included. The map will be similar in appearance and structure to existing mapping to enable whole park grassland analysis. Existing data for Livet/Avon and Deeside should be used as training data if possible. 2) Field work during spring-summer 2026 will achieve an accuracy assessment for this predictive map of species-rich grasslands. Sites surveyed for the purposes of the accuracy assessment will receive a full survey equivalent to the previous mapping projects so that detailed data for grasslands will be collected.