Least diverse overall or lowest percentage of our natural biodiversity?
We simply never had that much stuff here: 1 species of frog, 0 species of snake, etc. Has that been factored in?
Forest cutting. The number of good mushroom places that have disappeared over last 10 years is depressing.
We’re better than the UK and that’s all that matters.
Only good for sheep, systematically destroyed all natural areas and forests, carved it all up for cattle and sheep farming
The UK is still in Europe and it’s only data from 14 countries.
Cattle and sheep
There’s only 14 countries listed there and Ireland isn’t last, so your title is incorrect. I find it hard to believe that Iceland, Malta and Cyprus have higher biodiversity than us. Islands intrinsically have lower biodiversity than continental landmasses, the smaller and more isolated the island the lower the biodiversity.
Because most of our land is used for farming, most of our forests are that Sika Spruce geared for relatively quick turnaround but doesn’t support life and our country is set up around the road meaning pollution. These policies have an impact on biodiversity on all fronts
Sitka spruce is a huge issue, ruined a lot of our natural biodiversity. Seems to be resolving slowly in Dublin anyway.
Irish people are very obsessed with manicured lawns over natural grass too.
There isn’t a single real forest in the entire country. The agriculture industry in Ireland is the reason why this problem exists. Farmland needs to be turned back to nature.
Too much land given over to farming, natural woodland and wild meadows have suffered.
Cromwell’s deforestation changed Ireland’s landscape irreparably. Land left barren or for grazing and never recovered.
I wonder, apart from us treating it badly, what the baseline level of biodiversity _should_ be in ireland. 16k years ago, the island was covered in ice. So the natural biodiversity of the island is bounded by what can evolve from those species hardy enough to survive that glacial period.
Flat fucking farmland as far as the eye can see.
Farming mainly
st patrick.
Farming, forestry and of course……the Brits.
Farmers.
Any half decent land must be exploited for profit at all costs.
There was an article in the Guardian a while ago about an Irish musician who bought some old landlord estate and actively rewilded a huge chunk of it because he was aware of the biodiversity crisis on the island.
He talked about how loads of the surrounding farmer neighbours gave him all sorts of shite for letting the land “go to waste”.
Uncontrolled deer population, and massive areas being given over to grazing sheep on hillsides has stopped our natural woodlands from recovering.
Also complete complacency from the government on the overwhelming desire for natural woodlands to be created. FFG don’t care unless it turns a profit.
I’ve noticed that people see no issue at all with cutting down trees over 100 years old. The amount of times I’ve been shocked to see another row of old Irish trees cut for no real reason is crazy.
I do think at this point any tree over 50 years old should be protected.
Our state run so called forestry’s are just a cheap timber producer. These aren’t forests by any stretch of the imagination. They are a single species that will get cut down in a few years and sold as cheap timber to go into things like fence posts or pallets. They have really poor eco benefits.
We’re eradicating our tree’s left right and centre and replacing them with temporary commercial timber farms.
I’m on the side of farmers but there are still plenty of them that see that land as something to be exploited in any way they see fit for their own personal gain and fuck everybody else.
We need forests that are just forests, with native species that are properly protected. We are actively turning this island into a real shit hole.
Farming, deforestation, homeowners who just have to have a big garden only to cover it in slabs.
Of course there’s no biodiversity.
Pigs, chickens, sheep, cows, dogs, or cats. If it isn’t in that box it might as well not exist here.
There’s a few deer in the phoenix park, and people think that things are great here for wildlife.
I’d love to have the money to buy a ton of land, and do absolutely nothing with it. Let it return to nature.
Animal agriculture
Disclaimer: I’m not from Ireland and I have immigrated here. A bit of an outsider’s perspective from someone having lived here a decade now.
some things come to mind:
1 – there are no forests.
Historical causes as far as I know (cutt off by brits to make ships, and more farm land, correct me if wrong), but the end result is that most of the land is used for farming, which decreases the biodiversity because it’s one culture, use of pesticides, and in general large scale farming has an impact.
2 – There is a low number of national park and wilderness areas.
There are some national parks that are very good, but they’re few and small. There are many forest parks, but they’re also small, and very travelled by a lot of people as it’s often the only place around where you can have a forest bath, walk the dog and enjoy nature.
The reason for that it seems is because all of the land here is privately owned, and fenced. A consequence that I have noticed is that there are very very few hiking trails that are accessible except in some places. Most places are fenced off because they are fields or pastures, so you can’t get through, meaning less places to wander. This also has an effect on wildlife as they are unable to move around.
3 – People fucking love lawns here.
So a real weird thing to me in Ireland is this: this is a country with so much rain that pretty much anything grows very easily. Yet, most Irish houses that I see have depressing gardens. There’s only a lawn with a sad tree in the middle, a swingset or a trampoline, and absolutely zero shrubbery, bushes or anything. If you’re luck you’ll see one that thas clumps of bushes but always very trimmed down.
Bottom line is that private gardens are a space where biodiversity should be happening, but it’s not, because most gardens here are manicured golf courses without any life or the capacity to harbour life.
Just let your grass grow and stop unrooting the dandelions. Plant some wildflowers. Have some big bushes, go wild a bit.
Also; golf courses everywhere, which are also ecological disasters. If it’s not a farm, or a field, it’s a golf course. There’s little space left for nature.
4 – Littering and not respecting nature.
I don’t want to generalise here but it seems that littering is endemic in Ireland. I’ve rarely been anywhere in nature here without finding at least a candy wrapper, costa coffee cup or the like. For a country that loves its nature so much a lot of people sure don’t respect it.
Same with popular camping sites, forest walks, there’s always litter. I know people love to say that this is because there are no bins available around but that’s just a poor excuse. If you go out there camping and bring shit out you should bring it back in with you. Bring bin bags it’s not complicated.
The English cut down all our forests ..
Residents associations will claim any area of manicured grass is “a haven of biodiversity” if they want to stop anything being built on it. I’m more worried by the idea that they may believe it.
We chopped everything down for cattle farming. Approximately 97% of the land. Yet if you ask any farmer they’ll say farming isn’t sustainable. We (and the Brits to certain extents) fucked ourselves.
Same reason we have a housing crisis, no long term planning.
Anyone can explain why high biodiversity a good thing?
How do you make it higher? introducing new species of plants/animals?
28 comments
Least diverse overall or lowest percentage of our natural biodiversity?
We simply never had that much stuff here: 1 species of frog, 0 species of snake, etc. Has that been factored in?
Forest cutting. The number of good mushroom places that have disappeared over last 10 years is depressing.
We’re better than the UK and that’s all that matters.
Only good for sheep, systematically destroyed all natural areas and forests, carved it all up for cattle and sheep farming
The UK is still in Europe and it’s only data from 14 countries.
Cattle and sheep
There’s only 14 countries listed there and Ireland isn’t last, so your title is incorrect. I find it hard to believe that Iceland, Malta and Cyprus have higher biodiversity than us. Islands intrinsically have lower biodiversity than continental landmasses, the smaller and more isolated the island the lower the biodiversity.
Because most of our land is used for farming, most of our forests are that Sika Spruce geared for relatively quick turnaround but doesn’t support life and our country is set up around the road meaning pollution. These policies have an impact on biodiversity on all fronts
Sitka spruce is a huge issue, ruined a lot of our natural biodiversity. Seems to be resolving slowly in Dublin anyway.
Irish people are very obsessed with manicured lawns over natural grass too.
There isn’t a single real forest in the entire country. The agriculture industry in Ireland is the reason why this problem exists. Farmland needs to be turned back to nature.
Too much land given over to farming, natural woodland and wild meadows have suffered.
Cromwell’s deforestation changed Ireland’s landscape irreparably. Land left barren or for grazing and never recovered.
I wonder, apart from us treating it badly, what the baseline level of biodiversity _should_ be in ireland. 16k years ago, the island was covered in ice. So the natural biodiversity of the island is bounded by what can evolve from those species hardy enough to survive that glacial period.
Flat fucking farmland as far as the eye can see.
Farming mainly
st patrick.
Farming, forestry and of course……the Brits.
Farmers.
Any half decent land must be exploited for profit at all costs.
There was an article in the Guardian a while ago about an Irish musician who bought some old landlord estate and actively rewilded a huge chunk of it because he was aware of the biodiversity crisis on the island.
He talked about how loads of the surrounding farmer neighbours gave him all sorts of shite for letting the land “go to waste”.
Uncontrolled deer population, and massive areas being given over to grazing sheep on hillsides has stopped our natural woodlands from recovering.
Also complete complacency from the government on the overwhelming desire for natural woodlands to be created. FFG don’t care unless it turns a profit.
I’ve noticed that people see no issue at all with cutting down trees over 100 years old. The amount of times I’ve been shocked to see another row of old Irish trees cut for no real reason is crazy.
I do think at this point any tree over 50 years old should be protected.
Our state run so called forestry’s are just a cheap timber producer. These aren’t forests by any stretch of the imagination. They are a single species that will get cut down in a few years and sold as cheap timber to go into things like fence posts or pallets. They have really poor eco benefits.
We’re eradicating our tree’s left right and centre and replacing them with temporary commercial timber farms.
I’m on the side of farmers but there are still plenty of them that see that land as something to be exploited in any way they see fit for their own personal gain and fuck everybody else.
We need forests that are just forests, with native species that are properly protected. We are actively turning this island into a real shit hole.
Farming, deforestation, homeowners who just have to have a big garden only to cover it in slabs.
Of course there’s no biodiversity.
Pigs, chickens, sheep, cows, dogs, or cats. If it isn’t in that box it might as well not exist here.
There’s a few deer in the phoenix park, and people think that things are great here for wildlife.
I’d love to have the money to buy a ton of land, and do absolutely nothing with it. Let it return to nature.
Animal agriculture
Disclaimer: I’m not from Ireland and I have immigrated here. A bit of an outsider’s perspective from someone having lived here a decade now.
some things come to mind:
1 – there are no forests.
Historical causes as far as I know (cutt off by brits to make ships, and more farm land, correct me if wrong), but the end result is that most of the land is used for farming, which decreases the biodiversity because it’s one culture, use of pesticides, and in general large scale farming has an impact.
2 – There is a low number of national park and wilderness areas.
There are some national parks that are very good, but they’re few and small. There are many forest parks, but they’re also small, and very travelled by a lot of people as it’s often the only place around where you can have a forest bath, walk the dog and enjoy nature.
The reason for that it seems is because all of the land here is privately owned, and fenced. A consequence that I have noticed is that there are very very few hiking trails that are accessible except in some places. Most places are fenced off because they are fields or pastures, so you can’t get through, meaning less places to wander. This also has an effect on wildlife as they are unable to move around.
3 – People fucking love lawns here.
So a real weird thing to me in Ireland is this: this is a country with so much rain that pretty much anything grows very easily. Yet, most Irish houses that I see have depressing gardens. There’s only a lawn with a sad tree in the middle, a swingset or a trampoline, and absolutely zero shrubbery, bushes or anything. If you’re luck you’ll see one that thas clumps of bushes but always very trimmed down.
Bottom line is that private gardens are a space where biodiversity should be happening, but it’s not, because most gardens here are manicured golf courses without any life or the capacity to harbour life.
Just let your grass grow and stop unrooting the dandelions. Plant some wildflowers. Have some big bushes, go wild a bit.
Also; golf courses everywhere, which are also ecological disasters. If it’s not a farm, or a field, it’s a golf course. There’s little space left for nature.
4 – Littering and not respecting nature.
I don’t want to generalise here but it seems that littering is endemic in Ireland. I’ve rarely been anywhere in nature here without finding at least a candy wrapper, costa coffee cup or the like. For a country that loves its nature so much a lot of people sure don’t respect it.
Same with popular camping sites, forest walks, there’s always litter. I know people love to say that this is because there are no bins available around but that’s just a poor excuse. If you go out there camping and bring shit out you should bring it back in with you. Bring bin bags it’s not complicated.
The English cut down all our forests ..
Residents associations will claim any area of manicured grass is “a haven of biodiversity” if they want to stop anything being built on it. I’m more worried by the idea that they may believe it.
We chopped everything down for cattle farming. Approximately 97% of the land. Yet if you ask any farmer they’ll say farming isn’t sustainable. We (and the Brits to certain extents) fucked ourselves.
Same reason we have a housing crisis, no long term planning.
Anyone can explain why high biodiversity a good thing?
How do you make it higher? introducing new species of plants/animals?