Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 10 October 2019
227. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment if his attention has been drawn to the fact that planting trees on bogland dries it out leading to greater carbon emissions from the soil than sequestration by the trees; if this fact was taken on board before his announcement that 600,000 trees will be planted on bogland; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41402/19]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe woodland establishment project launched by myself and Minister Creed last week is based on a feasibility study undertaken by experts from Bord na Móna, Coillte, UCD, UL, and Native Woodlands of Ireland, which concluded that based on bogland ecology, native woodland ecology, forestry, and carbon there was potential to initially establish c. 1500 hectares of native woodlands, over three years, with the aim of increasing biodiversity, enhancing the landscape for recreation, and improving the carbon balance of these sites. Bord na Móna’s Ecology and Rehabilitation team are leaders in the area of peatlands rehabilitation. The company’s rehabilitation principles have always been to re-wet peat where possible and to work in tandem with nature. Bord na Móna’s cutaway rehabilitation will mean that a heterogeneous mosaic of habitats will develop on the cutaway.
On some Bord na Móna land it is not appropriate to raise water levels, as adjacent land and neighbours would be affected. It is also not practical or feasible to re-wet areas with significant slopes.
It is natural that native trees will be a part of the Irish cutaway landscape due to the wide variability and environmental conditions across the cutaway. Much of the older Bord na Móna cutaway has already developed extensive bog woodland.
Woodlands would have formed a natural part of raised bog habitats, located around the edge where peat was naturally thinner, but have largely been lost due to turf cutting and reclamation. All these woodland habitats will have significant biodiversity and conservation value and will increase the native woodland cover in Ireland.
To address an evidence-gap in relation to the carbon fluxes from these types of bog woodlands, Bord na Mona has been supporting research into GHG fluxes from different peatland habitats for nearly 20 years. A GHG flux tower has been established at Lullymore to aid UCC, financially supported by Bord na Móna, study the carbon fluxes from a cutaway bog woodland site.
Currently it is understood while that dry peat releases carbon dioxide, growing vegetation on top mitigates this, as the carbon is trapped by the vegetation. It is expected that these types of sites will remain a carbon source but that developing bog woodland will result in a reduction in carbon being emitted.
