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Land and Soil
87
cover over one-tenth of the country.
These figures show that despite
rapid development in the past two
decades, Ireland’s landscape is
predominantly rural and agricultural.
Artificial surfaces account for 2% of
the land surface, which is half the
Europe-wide average of 4 per cent.
Our agricultural land cover is far
ahead of the European average of
42%, while the amount of land that
is forested in Ireland is just one third
of the European average of 35%
(EEA, 2010).
Changes in LULC over time are
key indicators of environmental
change. Monitoring these changes
is important to assess pressures
on the Irish environment, allowing
the development of strategies
and policies to prevent irreversible
damage. The Irish landscape has
experienced continual land cover
changes for centuries. The change in
LULC since the early 1990s is shown
in Figure 7.2; this is a relatively high
rate of land use change by European
standards.
The main changes have been an
increase in the amount of forested
lands and artificial areas and a
decrease in the total amount of
agricultural land and peatland. The
area under forestry has increased
from 7% to 11% of national land
cover during this period, primarily
due to the planting of peatland
and pasture lands with coniferous
plantations. The area under artificial
surfaces increased by approximately
15% since 2000 to 2% of national
land cover (EPA, 2011). This mainly
occurred on former agricultural lands
on the periphery of existing urban
areas, including the suburbanisation
of villages close to larger towns and
cities.
There was also widespread
construction of single rural dwellings
in the countryside. Figure 7.3 shows
the rate of construction of detached
houses and bungalows in Ireland
since 1990. It is assumed that a
high proportion of bungalows and a
lower proportion of detached houses
are one-off rural constructions,
many of which involved land-use
change. Between 1990 and 2010,
approximately 140,000 bungalows
were built. This represents 32% of
the estimated 440,000 dwellings
with independent waste water
treatment systems.
Figure 7.2
Percentage Land Use/Land Cover Change in Ireland 1990–2009 (Source: EPA)
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
Artificial Surfaces,
Urban areas
Semi-natural and
Low Vegetation
Forest
Bogs and Wetlands
Agricultural Land
Percentage
1990
2009
Figure 7.3
New Detached Houses and Bungalows Built in Ireland from 1990 to 2010 (Source: DECLG)
0
2,000
4,000
6,000
8,000
10,000
12,000
14,000
16,000
18,000
2010
2009
2008
2007
2006
2005
2004
2003
2002
2001
2000
1999
1998
1997
1996
1995
1994
1993
1992
1991
1990
Number of Dwelling Units
Bungalow Detached