General Information » Environment » Flora & Fauna

Considering its size, Ireland has a relatively wide diversity of habitats, ranging from native woodland and grassland to coastal and freshwater. However, as a result of human activity, some are now better represented than others. Centuries of deforestation have taken their toll on Ireland’s woodland areas, diminishing them almost beyond recognition. In April 2002, the National Biodiversity Plan (legislated by the Wildlife Acts) was launched in order to ensure the conservation of, as well as regulate the sustainable use of, Ireland’s biological treasures, including Europe’s cleanest rivers and some of the world’s most sensitive habitats.

It is largely due to biogeographical factors that Ireland boasts habitats of particular scarcity. Its exposed location at the western fringe of Europe provides excellent conditions for a windy climate. Gale-force winds have limited the growth of trees in certain areas, creating soft coastal plains ideal for grazing and machair systems. The latter, a patchwork of sandy calcareous dunes, grassland and wetland, have been listed in the EU Habitats Directive as ‘priority habitats’, providing a home for three Red Data Book bird species.

Ireland’s marine life, although repeatedly under threat from oil spillages, is characterised by a great diversity of plants and animals, with spectator favourites such as seals and dolphins spotted feeding in inshore waters. Radioactive pollution has taken its toll on the Irish Sea too, limiting marine life in the waters around Dublin Bay. Wildlife in the area has been threatened by urban sprawl and intense traffic congestion, and many natural habitats have been lost. Except for the coastal areas, nature in Dublin is limited for the most part to its parks and designated refuges. Among the havens for nature are Phoenix Park, Rockabill Island (with its protected Roseate Tern) and almost 4,000 acres of green zone (including parks and protected zones) in south county Dublin.

The National Botanical Gardens (www.botanicgardens.ie) estimate that 120 of Ireland’s modest 850 native flowering plants are under threat today. The rarest species are protected under the 1999 Flora Protection Order.