Bumble Bee on Phacelia Flower - image by Grainne Meade
The abundance and diversity of bees, birds and other species of insects and plants have suffered serious losses as a result of changing farming practices in Ireland, according to the findings of the Ag-Biota project, a five-year scientific study conducted by UCD on behalf of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
“While bumblebees as a group are still readily found on typical farmland, our findings reveal that their abundance and diversity on moderately-to-intensively managed farmland may have declined by at least 50 per cent over the past 20-30 years,” says Dr Gordon Purvis from the UCD School of Biology and Environmental Science who led the five-year Ag-Biota project.
Commenting on the research findings, Mr Larry Stapleton, EPA Director says, “What was different about this study was its focus on the intensively farmed countryside, which makes up a high proportion of the land in Ireland. This type of scientific research is critical to our understanding of the agricultural practices that effect biodiversity. The findings from this report show that there is clear scope to reintroduce biodiversity in agricultural habitats without compromising agricultural productivity or output”.
The project has made a significant contribution towards Ireland’s obligations under the Convention of Biological Diversity (CBD), and the subsequent agreement by EU member states to halt the loss of biodiversity by 2010. The results will help guide the development of agri-environmental policy that will promote the very significant role of farmers as custodians and managers of our wider countryside.
Approximately 80 per cent of agricultural land in Ireland is devoted to grass-based farming systems. The increased use of machinery, the removal of hedgerows, and the greater use of chemicals has led to landscape simplification and degradation and, as elsewhere in much of Europe, a reduction in the diversity of species across the Irish countryside.Related links
