Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 26 October 2023
72. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the progress that has been made to date in finalising data on the sequestration of carbon by hedgerows to ensure the inclusion of hedgerows in the national inventory; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46950/23]
Amharc ar fhreagraSome time ago I asked questions with regard to carbon sequestration and the national inventory. I was glad at that time to be told that Teagasc was carrying out research on the hedgerows to see how these could contribute to the carbon stock in agricultural landscapes. I also understood that by adding trees to the hedgerow, it would be possible to increase the output storage of carbon in the hedgerow. Where have those particular research projects gone and has our national inventory been finalised as yet?
I thank Deputy Smith for the question. It is an important aspect and something many people want to understand. The Deputy will probably be aware that the Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, is responsible for the reporting of emissions and removals associated with land use activities on an annual basis to the EU and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, UNFCCC. Hedgerows are currently accounted for under the grassland heading of the inventory. However, my Department is undertaking much work to improve reporting of the land use, land use change and forestry, LULUCF, inventory.
On-farm carbon sequestration, particularly through our soils, trees and hedgerows, can make a significant contribution to the continued viability and sustainability of the agrifood sector. Therefore, I believe it is essential that all on-farm sequestration is accurately reflected in the national inventory. To that end, there are several initiatives ongoing at present which aim to reach that objective. Teagasc, in conjunction with FERS Limited, has recently completed research to help to improve the national estimation of hedgerow carbon sequestration in an EPA-funded project called Farm-Carbon. This looked at a number of objectives, including quantifying the carbon stock of biomass, developing biomass functions based on volume measurements, developing a model to incorporate the land use of mitigation potential associated with hedgerows and, quite importantly, developing an integrated scorecard for assessment along the best management practices for carbon and other ecosystem services. The research found, not surprisingly, that increasing hedge width and height can substantially increase both above- and below-ground carbon sequestration while also enhancing biodiversity. It is also clear that all hedges are not equal when it comes to sequestration.
Within the Teagasc Signpost farms programme, the soil organic carbon baseline levels are currently being measured across 100 Signpost farms, with these soils being resampled regularly. Teagasc research, using projects such as the National Agricultural Soil Carbon Observatory and the Signpost farms, aims to improve the measurement of carbon sequestration and focuses on improving estimation of carbon sequestration in hedgerows and on farm woodland. I am confident that, in addition to the research mentioned above, and with improvements being made in hedgerow mapping, the EPA will shortly have sufficient data to better reflect hedgerow carbon sequestration in the national inventory.
I thank the Minister of State for her reply. It is very important, as mentioned by the Minister of State in her answer to me, that we take into account at all times in compiling our national inventory, but also in public commentary on carbon sequestration, how very important it is to our soils, trees and hedgerows. Sometimes that is missed out of the public debate and it also helps to increase biodiversity.
One area on which I tabled questions in the past, I believe to the Department of Transport, was with regard to the potential there is to use large areas of roadside verge for the growing of trees. I am not talking about compromising safety along roads but about using a great deal of public space which could be put to good use in the growing of trees and in increasing biodiversity. If that is done properly, it could be an effective climate change measure and could also play an important part in what we all want to see in biodiversity recovery. This is an area which may not be particular to this question but is one which we should factor in to ensure that we use public spaces as best as possible and that everything in our national inventory is also factored in.
I completely agree with what the Deputy is saying. Alongside the work that is being done on hedgerows, Teagasc is also doing work on soil carbon and the effects of the losses and sequestration there. Mapping is important but I certainly believe with regard to public spaces, that is perhaps where the mapping aspect will come in.
We identify those areas where there are trees in public spaces but my Department actually supports public bodies to plant trees on publicly owned lands. This has been relatively successful and is open currently to local authorities or other public bodies which may have a little space where they might want to plant some trees. They can engage with us and my Department will cover the cost. Ultimately, we will be factoring all of these plantations into our inventory. At the moment, even within the forestry sector, it needs to be an area of over 0.1 ha to be included in the inventory, so a little bit of more flexibility may be required around that, and with smaller plots, for example.
Can the Minister of State give me an assurance - I believe I can take it from her reply already - that all small-scale planting and all small blocks of scrub are measured in the inventory? That aspect is very important.
Are the Department, and the statutory agencies which work with it, engaged in research across the global community? I know that in my own time in the Department we had a great deal of collaboration and co-operation with other research bodies throughout the world across different areas, including the whole area of forestry. It is very important that we have that collaboration, that we have access to that research for the common good and that we participate in as many international programmes as is possible.
I do not have to hand what collaborations are ongoing but I am sure that we wholly engage with international research, particularly within forestry. The Deputy will be aware that we have a challenge now that our forestry estate will become no longer a sink of carbon and that is one of the challenges we face going forward, which is in order to ramp up the planting of trees now in the next number of years, we need to offset that. The science is not entirely clear and continually moves with regard to, for example, the planting of peaty soils and the effects of farming on peaty soils. That continues to move around but we are very confident that what we intend to do around supporting people to plant trees and supporting farmers to plant more hedgerows and indeed supporting public bodies to engage in tree planting will help us to deal with the many challenges which lie ahead.
