Skip to main content
Normal View

Environmental Policy

Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 19 November 2020

Thursday, 19 November 2020

Questions (350)

Catherine Connolly

Question:

350. Deputy Catherine Connolly asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the details of the long-term monitoring his Department carries out regarding changes to soil health in Ireland over time as recommended by Teagasc; the analysis his Department has carried out in this regard; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37478/20]

View answer

Written answers

Teagasc and research partners UCD, University of Limerick and Sligo IT completed  a Research Stimulus  project “SQUARE” in 2018 funded by my Department.

In the SQUARE project, a baseline survey of soil health status was taken for a range of grassland and arable soils across Ireland (total: 108 field sites). This research identified key soil indicators related to the five soil functions; (1) primary production, (2) Nutrient cycling, (3) Water regulation and purification, (4) Climate regulation and carbon sequestration and  (5) habitat for biodiversity. These key soil indicators can be used to assess and monitor different aspects of soil health over time. This research also investigated the interactions between soil type, climatic region and management and their effect on these key indicators of soil health.

Overall, while the SQUARE project results indicate that the soil health status of Irish soils is relatively good, it identified that one of the main threats to soil health in Ireland was the risk of soil compaction.

Top
Share