Editing Ireland (section)

===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>