Ireland's State of the Environment Report 2024

154 Chapter 6: Soil Research has improved knowledge of the factors that influence the capacity of soil to store carbon. Knowing which soils can act as carbon stores and how to manage them to maximise their organic carbon is important for climate change mitigation. Peatlands have a very high carbon storage potential, which it is crucially important to protect (Figure 6.11). Figure 6.11  Peat soil over lake alluvium Source: Teagasc Irish Soil Information System Protecting soil’s ability to regulate water flow has benefits for both climate change adaptation and water quality. Limiting soil sealing means that soil’s natural ability to help regulate flow in times of flood is conserved, which is vitally important in areas subject to flood risk. Ireland’s soils have not generally shown a moisture content deficit, but this can change locally in times of extreme drought. Compaction has been identified as a threat to Ireland’s soil health and its ability to regulate and purify water; measures to address compaction are important in protecting or restoring soil health. Soil can help to regulate the nutrients that are available to plants and the amount of nutrients that leach into Ireland’s waterways. The levels of nitrates and phosphorus in Ireland’s surface waters indicate that there are excess nitrates leaching from soil and some areas where there is excess phosphorus. The status of Ireland’s soil biome is not easy to measure directly, but modelled information from the EU Soil Observatory suggests that Ireland is not unique in Europe in having many factors that threaten soil biodiversity. Given the importance of the soil biome to good soil health and to healthy terrestrial ecosystems, a national assessment to understand Ireland’s soil biome is important to confirm the potential extent to which Ireland’s soil biome may be under threat. The advent of a proposed soil monitoring law and the existing EU Soil Strategy indicate that the vital importance of soil to human life and a healthy, well-functioning environment is being recognised. However, the proposed law does not include any obligations to restore unhealthy soils to full health. Given the vital impact of soil health on Ireland’s agriculture and its important role in climate action, we should be ambitious in going beyond the requirements of the soil monitoring law and enact soil health restoration plans. This is an opportunity for Ireland to show leadership in soil restoration practices for the benefit of food security, ecosystems, climate action and water quality that would underscore our green credentials as a truly sustainable food producer.