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Wildlife
Wildlife
Ireland has fewer animal and plant species than either Britain or mainland Europe because it became an island shortly after the end of the last glacial period, about 10,000 years ago.
Many different habitat types are found in Ireland, including farmland, open woodland, temperate broadleaf and mixed forests, conifer plantations, peat bogs, and various coastal habitats.
According to the WWF, the territory of Ireland can be subdivided into two ecoregions: the Celtic broadleaf forests and North Atlantic moist mixed forests.
Fauna
Only 26 land mammal species are native to Ireland, because it was isolated from Europe by rising sea levels after the Ice Age.
Some species, such as the red fox, hedgehog, and badger are very common, whereas others, like the Irish hare, red deer and pine marten are less so.
Aquatic wild-life, such as species of turtle, shark, whale, and dolphin, are common off the coast.
About 400 species of birds have been recorded in Ireland.
Many of these are migratory, including the Barn Swallow.
Most of Ireland's bird species come from Iceland, Greenland, Africa among other territories.
There are no snakes in Ireland and only one reptile (the common lizard) is native to the country.
Extinct species include the great Irish elk, the wolf, the great auk, and others.
Some previously extinct birds, such as the Golden Eagle, have recently been reintroduced after decades of extirpation.
Agriculture drives current land use patterns in Ireland, limiting natural habitat preserves, particularly for larger wild mammals with greater territorial needs.
With no top predator in Ireland, populations of animals (such as semi-wild deer) that cannot be controlled by smaller predators (such as the fox) are controlled by annual culling.
Flora
Phytogeographically, Ireland belongs to the Atlantic European province of the Circumboreal Region within the Boreal Kingdom.
Until mediæval times Ireland was heavily forested with oak, pine, beech and birch.
Forests now cover about 9% (4,450 km² or one million acres) of the land.
Because of its mild climate, many species, including sub-tropical species such as palm trees, are grown in Ireland.
Much of the land is now covered with pasture, and there are many species of wild-flower.
Gorse (Ulex europaeus), a wild furze, is commonly found growing in the uplands, and ferns are plentiful in the more moist regions, especially in the western parts of Ireland.
It is home to hundreds of plant species, some of them unique to the island.
The country has been "invaded" by some grasses, such as Spartina anglica.
The algal and seaweed flora is that of the cold-temperate.
The total number of species is: 264 Rhodophyta; 152 Heterokontophyta; 114 Chloropyta; and 31 Cyanophyta, giving a total of 574.
Rarer species include: Itonoa marginifera (J.Ag.) Masuda & Guiry); Schmitzia hiscockiana Maggs and Guiry; Gelidiella calcicola Maggs & Guiry; Gelidium maggsiae Rico & Guiry and Halymenia latifolia P.Crouan & H.Crouan ex Kützing.
The country has been invaded by some algae, some of which are now well established: Asparagopsis armara Harvey – which originated in Australia and was first recorded by M.
De Valera in 1939; Colpomenia peregrina Sauvageau – now locally abundant and first recorded in the 1930s; Sargassum muticum (Yendo) Fensholt – now well established in a number of localities on the south, west, and north-east coasts; Codium fragile ssp.
fragile (formerly reported as ssp.
tomentosum) – now well established.
Codium fragile ssp.
atlanticum has recently been established to be native, although for many years it was regarded as an alien species.
The impact of agriculture
The long history of agricultural production coupled with modern intensive agricultural methods (such as pesticide and fertiliser use) has placed pressure on biodiversity in Ireland.[citation needed] "Runoff" of contaminants into streams, rivers and lakes impact the natural fresh-water ecosystems.
A land of green fields for crop cultivation and cattle rearing limits the space available for the establishment of native wild species.
Hedgerows however, traditionally used for maintaining and demarcating land boundaries, act as a refuge for native wild flora.
Their ecosystems stretch across the countryside and act as a network of connections to preserve remnants of the ecosystem that once covered the island.
Subsidies under the Common Agricultural Policy which supported these agricultural practices are undergoing reforms.
The CAP still subsidises some potentially destructive agricultural practices, however, the recent reforms have gradually decoupled subsidies from production levels and introduced environmental and other requirements.
Forest covers about 10% of the country, with most designated for commercial production.
Forested areas typically consist of monoculture plantations of non-native species which may result in habitats that are not suitable for supporting a broad range of native species of invertebrates.
Remnants of native forest can be found scattered around the country, in particular in the Killarney National Park.
Natural areas require fencing to prevent over-grazing by deer and sheep that roam over uncultivated areas.
This is one of the main factors preventing the natural regeneration of forests across many regions of the country.
Source: CIA Factbook, Wikipedia
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