Out of the above total habitat area, 40,09538,593 ha of terrestrial habitats were classified in the survey as being of high ecological value, representing 35.94.6% of the total land cover. The high ecological value areas are mainly composed of forest and shrubland habitats (including fung shui forest, montane forest, lowland forest and mixed shrubland), inland water habitats (including freshwater/brackish wetland, fishpond/gei wai and natural watercourse) and coastal habitats (including mangrove, intertidal mudflat, seagrass bed and, sandy shore and rocky shore). Small areas of Cultivation, Plantation or Plantation/Mixed Forest, Shrubby Grassland, Grassland and Urban Park have also been identified as high ecological value habitats based on the results of survey work. Areas of high terrestrial ecological value are classified in Table 4.2b and illustrated in Figure 4.2a.

Notes: Areas shown are to the nearest hectare. Percentages to the nearest 0.1%.

The following text provides further information on the importance of terrestrial habitats, the extent to which they are threatened, levels of protection and the implications of the resource for the overall natural capital stock.

WWFHK has produced a vegetation map of Hong Kong based on aerial photographs taken in 1989. Originally, the intention was to identify trends of changes in habitats by comparing the mapping results of the WWF study and the SUSDEV 21 Habitat Mapping Baseline Survey. However, direct comparison between the two studies was found not to be possible because of major differences between the methodology and habitat category definitions adopted by the two studies (for details, see Section 9.5 of Habitat Mapping Final Report). Therefore, further discussion on trends of terrestrial habitats in Hong Kong based on the comparison between results of the two studies is not available.

There are a total of 34 land cover categories initially mapped under the WWF study some of which were merged to produce a simplified classification on the WWF (GIS) habitat map (WWF 1993). Some of the habitat types defined for the WWF map (eg Inland Water) are different from the present study and not identified on the SUSDEV 21 habitat map. In addition, a number of the habitat categories mapped under the SUSDEV 21 study, such as Intertidal Mudflat and Sandy Shore, were not included in the WWF study for mapping. despite the differences in the methodology employed for mapping habitats and the definitions adopted for some of the habitat categories between the WWF map and the present study, comparisons in the actual area (hectares) of habitats which are in common (even broadly) were undertaken. Habitat areas mapped for the comparable habitat types and the percentage change (increase/decrease) are presented in Table 4.2c.