LUE02 - Ecological features of planted area, what does this subsection of the BREEAM certification require?

What are the characteristics of subsection LUE02 - Ecological features of planted area?

LUE02 - Ecological features of planted area is the second of the 5 subsections that make up the environmental category Land Use and Ecology. This subsection is associated with a maximum of 2 credits + 1 exemplary credit and falls within the Asset performance evaluation.

LUE02 - Ecological features of planted area measures and recognizes the ecological characteristics of the planted areas in the asset under review and aims to improve the site's ecological value. This subsection allows for increased awareness of the ecological features of a site and the overall biodiversity, contributing to the regeneration of biodiversity in the area and the creation of ecological corridors for local species.

The question of this subsection is “What are the ecological characteristics of the planted areas in the analysis site?”. Based on the type of response, you can obtain from 0 up to a maximum of 2 credits + 1 exemplary credit.

What are the assessment criteria for subsection LUE02 - Ecological features of planted area?

The assessment criteria (assessment criteria) for the section LUE02 - Ecological features of planted area are as follows:

Ecological Characteristics: the following elements are evaluated:

• Outdoor pots containing live plants.
• Traditional planted areas, such as plantings in parking lots and around the asset.
• Other planted areas, such as green roofs and green walls.
• Features to help local wildlife (details later)

Native floral and tree species: to enhance ecological value, native floral species or those with known attraction or benefit to local wildlife are considered.

Features for local wildlife: Features to assist local wildlife include (but are not limited to):

• Bird boxes.
• Bat boxes.
• Insect boxes.

Size of Planted Areas: The planted areas must be of sufficient size to support the flora and fauna within them and cannot be just bare ground.

Exemplary Credit: obtained in the presence of a habitat that significantly supports local native species, i.e., a habitat aimed at improving the site's ecology in more than one way, for example, with wildlife ponds, wildflower meadows, or hedgerows.

Note that off-site improvement is also allowed: if all opportunities for ecological improvement on-site have been exhausted, the asset can choose to offset the ecological value of its site by managing a habitat within 2km of the asset itself.

The support of XNatura in obtaining a good score

Thanks to our monitoring platform, we can fully respond to the subsection LUE02 - Ecological features of planted area.

In fact, our remote analysis enables us to quickly and automatically identify the type of land use (Land Use) of a specific site through the classification of land use and land cover according to the European CORINE Land Cover system. It also allows us to associate a level of mean species abundance (MSA) with different types of land use, as well as measure various environmental KPIs that thoroughly define the ecological characteristics of the area.