Irish grasslands great for soaking up carbon
Irish grasslands could prove to be an important sink for carbon dioxide, according to a research report from Ireland’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
The report results are based on analysis of measurements carried out by University College Cork and Teagasc over a five-year period at sites in the south-east and south-west of the country. The report indicates that grasslands can take up between 11 tonnes and 18 tonnes of carbon dioxide from the air, per hectare per year.
The work was largely carried out at grassland sites in County Cork and County Wexford. The study also included a natural peatland site in County Kerry, which was shown to be a small sink for carbon dioxide. The EPA has also funded studies on croplands, which will be published shortly.
Most of the carbon dioxide is recycled as animal feed but it is estimated that 10 to 15 per cent of the carbon is sequestered into the soil, where it can reside for much longer time periods, with a positive environmental benefit.
“These are important results from research which the EPA has funded,” said EPA Director Laura Burke. “Grassland is the dominant land use in Ireland and these results show that management of Irish grassland can have an important role in addressing climate change.”
She continued, “The outcome of this research is an important step-up in our understanding. Ireland has more than three million hectares of managed grassland. If this result were replicated across this area, it would amount to a considerable sink. However, some other land uses are likely to be a source of carbon dioxide so a simple scaling up of these data can be misleading. Overall, the main message is positive and we need to use these results to inform decisions on the future use of grassland and other land.”
The EPA is working with the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government; the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and others to assess how best to account for these results in the context of future development of national actions on climate change.
