Editing Ireland (section)

==Flora and fauna==
{{Main|Fauna of Ireland|Flora of Ireland|Trees of Britain and Ireland}}
[[File:Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes) (4).jpg|alt=The red fox is common in Ireland.|thumb|Two [[red fox]]es (''Vulpes vulpes'') in Gubbeen, County Cork]]
Unlike Great Britain which had a land bridge with [[mainland Europe]], Ireland only had an ice bridge ending around 14,000 years ago at the end of the [[Last Glacial Period|last ice age]] and as a result, it has fewer land animal and plant species than Great Britain or mainland Europe.<ref name="Marine Geology"/><ref name="drowning"/> There are [[List of mammals of Ireland|55 mammal species]] in Ireland, and of them, only 26 land mammal species are considered native to Ireland.<ref name="Costello, M.J 93" >Costello, M.J. and Kelly, K.S., 1993 ''Biogeography of Ireland: past, present and future'' Irish Biogeographic Society Occasional Publications Number 2</ref> Some species, such as, the [[red fox]], [[European hedgehog|hedgehog]] and [[European badger|badger]], are very common, whereas others, like the [[Mountain hare|Irish hare]], [[red deer]] and [[pine marten]] are less so. Aquatic wildlife, such as species of sea turtle, shark, seal, 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]].

[[File:Irl-female red deer Killarney.jpg|left|thumb|[[Red deer]] (''Cervus elaphus'') in [[Killarney National Park]]]]
Several different habitat types are found in Ireland, including farmland, open woodland, [[temperate broadleaf and mixed forests]], [[conifer]] plantations, [[peat]] bogs and a variety of coastal habitats. However, agriculture drives current land use patterns in Ireland, limiting natural habitat preserves,<ref name="www2000">{{cite web |title=Land cover and land use |website=Environmental Assessment |publisher=Environmental Protection Agency [Ireland] |location=Wexford |date=2011 |url=http://www.epa.ie/whatwedo/assessment/land/ |access-date=15 August 2011 |archive-date=16 September 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080916125736/http://www.epa.ie/whatwedo/assessment/land/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> particularly for larger wild mammals with greater territorial needs. With no large [[apex predator]]s in Ireland other than humans and dogs, such populations of animals as semi-wild deer that cannot be controlled by smaller predators, such as the fox, are controlled by annual [[culling]].

There are no snakes in Ireland, and only one species of reptile (the [[Viviparous lizard|common lizard]]) is native to the island. Extinct species include the [[Irish elk]], the [[great auk]], [[brown bear]] and the [[Wolves in Ireland|wolf]]. Some previously extinct birds, such as the [[golden eagle]], have been reintroduced after decades of [[Local extinction|extirpation]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.epa.ie/pubs/reports/indicators/epa_indicators_2002.pdf |title=Environment in Focus 2002: Key Environmental Indicators for Ireland |editor1=M Lehane |editor2=O Le Bolloch |editor3=P Crawley |access-date=28 October 2016 |archive-date=29 January 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170129071555/http://www.epa.ie/pubs/reports/indicators/epa_indicators_2002.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Ireland is now one of the least forested countries in Europe.<ref>{{cite news |title=Ireland now has the 'second-smallest' forest area in Europe |work=[[TheJournal.ie|The Journal]] |date=30 August 2012 |url=http://www.thejournal.ie/ireland-forest-area-577152-Aug2012/ |access-date=30 August 2015 |archive-date=10 January 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140110201019/http://www.thejournal.ie/ireland-forest-area-577152-Aug2012/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{citation |title=Forestry in the EU and the world |publisher=[[Eurostat]] |date=2011 |url=http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/documents/3217494/5733109/KS-31-11-137-EN.PDF/cbd2d7d5-0cfa-4960-b5d3-02eb065abba5 |isbn=978-92-79-19988-2 |access-date=30 August 2015 |archive-date=4 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150904125739/http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/documents/3217494/5733109/KS-31-11-137-EN.PDF/cbd2d7d5-0cfa-4960-b5d3-02eb065abba5 |url-status=live }}</ref> Until the end of the Middle Ages, Ireland was heavily forested. Native species include [[deciduous]] trees such as [[oak]], [[Fraxinus excelsior|ash]], [[Corylus avellana|hazel]], [[birch]], [[Alnus glutinosa|alder]], [[willow]], [[Populus tremula|aspen]], [[Sorbus aucuparia|rowan]] and [[Crataegus monogyna|hawthorn]], as well as [[evergreen]] trees such [[Scots pine]], [[Taxus baccata|yew]], [[Ilex aquifolium|holly]] and [[Arbutus unedo|strawberry trees]].<ref>[https://www.treecouncil.ie/native-irish-trees Native Species] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220409023345/https://www.treecouncil.ie/native-irish-trees |date=9 April 2022 }}. [[Tree Council of Ireland]].</ref> Only about 10% of Ireland today is woodland;<ref name=forest/> most of this is non-native conifer [[plantation]]s, and only 2% is native woodland.<ref name=forest2/><ref name=forest3/> The average woodland cover of European countries is over 33%.<ref name=forest/> In the Republic, about {{convert|389356|ha|km2}} is owned by the state, mainly by the forestry service [[Coillte]].<ref name=forest/> Remnants of native forest can be found scattered around the island, in particular in the [[Killarney National Park]].

[[File:Gorse-Ulex europaeus.jpg|thumb|Furze (''[[Ulex europaeus]]'')]]
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. It is home to hundreds of plant species, some of them unique to the island, and has been "invaded" by some grasses, such as ''[[Spartina anglica]]''.<ref>{{cite web |last=Hackney |first=Paul |url=http://www.habitas.org.uk/invasive/species.asp?item=2680 |title=Spartina Anglica |website=Invasive Alien Species in Northern Ireland |access-date=1 January 2009 |publisher=National Museums Northern Ireland |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110519055358/http://www.habitas.org.uk/invasive/species.asp?item=2680 |archive-date=19 May 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

The algal and seaweed flora is that of the cold-temperate variety. The total number of species is 574<ref name="Guiry and Nic Dhonncha 01">{{Cite journal|last1=Guiry|first1=M. D.|last2=Nic Dhonncha|first2=E. N.|date=2001|title=The Marine Macroalgae of Ireland: Biodiversity and Distribution in Marine Biodiversity in Ireland and Adjacent Waters|journal=Proceedings of a Conference 26–27 April 2001|issue=Publication No. 8}}</ref> The island has been invaded by some algae, some of which are now well established.<ref name="Minchin 01">{{Cite journal |last=Minchin |first=D. |title=Biodiversity and Marine Invaders |date=2001 |journal=Proceedings of a Conference 26–27 April 2001 |issue=Publication No. 8}}</ref>

Because of its mild climate, many species, including [[subtropics|sub-tropical]] species such as [[Arecaceae|palm trees]], are grown in Ireland. [[Phytogeography|Phytogeographically]], Ireland belongs to the Atlantic European province of the [[Circumboreal Region]] within the [[Boreal Kingdom]]. The island can be subdivided into two [[ecoregion]]s: the Celtic broadleaf forests and North Atlantic moist mixed forests.

===Impact of agriculture===
[[File:Silage Harvesting Cadamstown.jpg|thumb|[[Silage]] harvesting in Clonard, [[County Meath]]]]
The long history of agricultural production, coupled with modern intensive agricultural methods such as pesticide and fertiliser use and runoff from contaminants into streams, rivers and lakes, has placed pressure on biodiversity in Ireland.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.clarecoco.ie/water-waste-environment/biodiversity/ |title=Biodiversity |publisher=Clare County Council |access-date=26 March 2010 |archive-date=28 June 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100628084425/http://www.clarecoco.ie/water-waste-environment/biodiversity/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.belfasthills.org/minisite/adult_version/draftottersapmar07-2.pdf |title=Otter Lutra Lutra |website=Northern Ireland Species Action Plan |publisher=Environment and Heritage Service |date=2007 |access-date=1 January 2010 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110205005310/http://www.belfasthills.org/minisite/adult_version/draftottersapmar07-2.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=5 February 2011}}</ref> 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. This ecosystem stretches across the countryside and acts as a network of connections to preserve remnants of the ecosystem that once covered the island. Subsidies under the [[Common Agricultural Policy]], which supported agricultural practices that preserved hedgerow environments, are undergoing reforms. The Common Agricultural Policy had in the past subsidised potentially destructive agricultural practices, for example by emphasising production without placing limits on indiscriminate use of fertilisers and pesticides; but reforms have gradually decoupled subsidies from production levels and introduced environmental and other requirements.<ref name="cap_reforms">{{cite web |title=CAP Reform – A Long-term Perspective for Sustainable Agriculture |website=Agriculture and Rural Development |publisher=European Commission |url=http://ec.europa.eu/agriculture/cap-post-2013/index_en.htm |access-date=30 July 2007 |archive-date=22 December 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091222051039/http://ec.europa.eu/agriculture/cap-post-2013/index_en.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> 32% of Ireland's greenhouse gas emissions are correlated to agriculture.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.epa.ie/irelandsenvironment/climate/|title=Climate Change Causes|date=2014|publisher=[[Environmental Protection Agency (Ireland)]]|access-date=4 December 2017|archive-date=15 December 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171215014449/http://www.epa.ie/irelandsenvironment/climate/|url-status=live}}</ref> Forested areas typically consist of monoculture plantations of non-native species, which may result in habitats that are not suitable for supporting native species of invertebrates. Natural areas require fencing to prevent over-grazing by [[Deer of Ireland|deer]] and sheep that roam over uncultivated areas. Grazing in this manner is one of the main factors preventing the natural regeneration of forests across many regions of the country.<ref>{{Cite book |first=Dick |last=Roche |author-link=Dick Roche |title=National Parks |publisher={{lang|ga|[[Seanad Éireann]]}} |url=http://historical-debates.oireachtas.ie/S/0185/S.0185.200611080008.html |volume=185 |date=8 November 2006 |access-date=30 July 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110511091047/http://historical-debates.oireachtas.ie/S/0185/S.0185.200611080008.html |archive-date=11 May 2011 }} {{lang|ga|[[Seanad Éireann|Seanad]]}} Debate involving Former Minister for Environment Heritage and Local Government</ref>