Thursday, March 08, 2007

Reducing farming's impact on biodiversity

cows in offaly A new three-year project called AG Baseline is exploring how farming is impacting Ireland's biodiversity and what practices could be adopted to minimise the damage.

The study will measure the presence and range of birds, bumblebees, parasitic wasps and water insects on a sample of farms including sheep and dairy. A previous project, Ag Biota, identified these four species groups as being the best indicators of general biodiversity in Irish farms and established possible links between intensive farming methods (such as those involving chemicals and habitat destruction) and loss of biodiversity.

The scientists behind the study hope to identify farming practices that sustain biodiversity without compromising the farm's productivity. According to Dr Gordon Purvis of UCD's School of Biological and Environmental Science, who is leading the project:

"Farmers are the custodians of the land and it should be seen as an aid to help them to continue in that role."

The €1 million project is being funded by Ireland's Department of Agriculture.


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The island of ireland

Once upon a time, and for 15000 years, ice a mile high blanketed Ireland. When the lingering Ice Age finally released and the Irish ice departed it left a landscape scoured. Across land bridges linking Ireland, Britain and mainland Europe plants and animals arrived to colonise the new lowlands, mountains and valleys. The world’s ice continued to melt, the sea levels to rise, and some 8000 years ago Ireland became the island we now know, accounting for just 0.01% of the world's total land area and the most westerly point of Europe.

Though at Alaskan latitudes, the country's climate is tempered, due partly to the neighbouring waters of the Gulf Stream and partly the prevailing southwesterlies that veering and backing make landfall on our sodden coast. These offerings from the Atlantic mean it is never too hot, never too cold. But without doubt it is wet. Rain lingers year round, never far away, though is most frequent in winter, the western counties and, inevitably, on the day of your parade.