ABSTRACT
Lying between the 51° and 55° northern latitudes, the island of Ireland covers an area of 84,000 km2 and is made up of a central plain enclosed by coastal highlands. The 4.6 million inhabitants living in the Republic of Ireland (Ireland hereafter) enjoy a mild temperate climate due to the inuence of the Gulf Stream, characterized by cool summers, mild winters, and signicant amounts of cloudiness, high atmospheric humidity and windiness. With these climatic conditions, it is not surprising therefore that one-fth of the country is covered by peat soils. Peatlands are a signicant element in the Irish landscape with peat soils estimated to cover 20% (1.46 million ha, see Figure 15.1) of the land area (Connolly and Holden 2009) and have been widely utilized over the centuries for energy and horticultural peat production, agriculture, and forestry. Of the Holocene extent of fens and bogs in Ireland, only 15% of the original peatland cover is in near-intact condition (i.e., low level of degradation) with an even smaller proportion being fully functioning mires (i.e., active peat forming ecosystem) (Wilson et al. 2013). The area of undisturbed fens is very small as they have long been drained and reclaimed for agricultural use. Two bog morphologies are found in Ireland: raised and blanket bogs, the latter being the most extensive and is subdivided into Atlantic blanket bog and mountain blanket bog. Peat soils, by denition,
CONTENTS
15.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................................ 321 15.2 Overview of Irish Forestry ............................................................................................... 323
15.2.1 Current State ........................................................................................................... 323 15.2.2 Historical Framework ............................................................................................ 324
15.3 Role of Peatlands in the Afforestation of Ireland .......................................................... 325 15.3.1 Birth of Peatland Forestry in Ireland .................................................................. 325 15.3.2 Lessons Learned from Afforestation of Blanket Bogs ...................................... 326 15.3.3 Afforestation of Cutaway Peatlands .................................................................... 327
15.4 Managing Irish Peatland Forests in the Twentieth Century ....................................... 328 15.5 The Ecosystem Services of Peatland Forestry: Issues for the Future .........................330 15.6 Restoration of Afforested Peatlands ................................................................................ 331 15.7 Conclusion .......................................................................................................................... 332 Acknowledgments ......................................................................................................................333 References .....................................................................................................................................333
