Ireland

Management of forest genetic resources in Ireland

Forests in Ireland

Following the last ice age, Ireland was colonised by vegetation, including trees that migrated from Britain and the European continent. These included species such as ash (Fraxinus excelsior), birch (Betula pubescens & Betula pendula), elm (Ulmus glabra), hazel (Corylus avellana), rowan (Sorbus aucuparia), Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) and willow species (Salix spp). Between 7,500 and 5,000 years ago, forest is considered to have covered approximately 80% of the land surface of the country. However, centuries of over-exploitation and clearances for agriculture left the country with a forest cover of just over 1% of the total land area by the beginning of the twentieth century. Consequently, ‘ancient and long-established’ forest is considered relatively rare. Most stands of trees, if not all, have been modified and managed to some extent by humans over centuries.

The first major afforestation efforts began in the early 20^th century. As of 2022, the forest area has increased to over 11.6%, the highest it’s been in over 350 years.  Of the total forest area, over 69% is conifer forest, consisting predominately of non-indigenous species such as Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis), managed primarily for timber production under an even-aged management structure. More recently, there has been an increase in the use of indigenous species and the establishment of forests based on ecological principles. These forests have an overriding ecological focus, emphasis is placed on minimal site disturbance, species selection based on the most appropriate native forest type for the location and close to nature management.

FGR Co-ordination

There are several organisations involved in the management of FGR in Ireland. To better aid coordination a national committee made up of national experts and stakeholders in the field was formed in 2005. This committee published an outline strategy for the management of Ireland’s forest genetic resources in 2007. This Strategy was later updated in 2020 with the publication of Sustainable Development and Conservation of Forest Genetic Resources 2020-2030.

FGR Conservation in Ireland

Dynamic in situ conservation has been adopted as the best practice for the conservation of FGR in most cases. A national gene conservation strategy for Ireland and action plan for native species was published in 2020. To date, Ireland has 17 units listed on EUFGIS including populations of oak, birch, mountain ash, alder, ash, aspen and Scots pine. This network is currently being updated based on recent work by the National Botanic Gardens of Ireland.

FGR use in Ireland

Artificial planting is the predominant method of forest establishment, most of it on former agricultural land. Regeneration is also almost always by planting. The country is classified as one region of provenance. Forest reproductive material is identified and utilised according to the regulations as prescribed by EU Council Directive 1999/105/EC. The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine is responsible for the control of the trade of forest reproductive material.

Tree Improvement in Ireland

Progress has been made in the improvement of several species used in Irish forestry. Information from provenance trials are used as the basis of seed source recommendations, and tree selection and breeding work has produced improved planting stock for several tree species. There are active tree breeding programmes for Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis), the only species for which Tested status has been achieved, ash (Fraxinus excelsior) focused on ash dieback disease tolerance, and alder (Alnus glutinosa), birch (Betula pubescens & Betula pendula), oak (Quercus petraea, Quercus robur), sweet chestnut (Castanea sativa) and sycamore (Acer pseudoplatanus).