Ireland's peatlands are at a crossroads
Peatlands cover over a million and a half hectares, the equivalent of 1/5 of the island's total land mass.
These peatlands are being mapped more extensively than ever before, in a valiant effort to help curb the effects of climate change.
But while scientists race to uncover the environmental value of bogs, cultural tensions around turf-cutting still smoulder in rural villages and towns.
Researchers at the University of Galway, using a new gamma radiation technique from the state-funded Tellus geophysical survey, have developed high-resolution maps distinguishing peat from mineral soils.
This includes identifying previously hidden "transition zones" under forests and grasslands.
The project, led by geophysicists Dave O'Leary and Eve Daly, has revealed that peat soils cover more of Ireland than previously understood—at least 22% of the land.
'Peatland soils contain comparable amounts of carbon to rainforests,' Daly told AFP. 'Improved mapping can support better land management decisions and help reduce greenhouse gas emissions.'
Peatlands, formed over thousands of years from decaying plants in waterlogged areas, have historically been used as a cheap fuel source in Ireland.
In regions like the midlands, generations have harvested 'turf' for heating their homes.
But this tradition is increasingly at odds with Ireland's climate goals.
Drained or cultivated peatlands emit large amounts of carbon: over 20 million metric tonnes of CO₂ equivalent annually, nearly matching emissions from the island's entire transport sector.
Ireland has pledged to cut emissions by over 50% by 2030 under pressure from the EU, which has threatened billions of euros in fines.
The European Commission has also taken Ireland to court for failing to protect and restore bogs designated as Special Areas of Conservation.
Despite a 2022 ban on the commercial sale of peat for burning, turf-cutting continues under 'turbary rights' for personal use.
Weak enforcement has allowed illegal commercial harvesting to continue.
In 2023 alone, 350,000 metric tonnes of peat was exported, mainly for horticulture.
The cultural divide is palpable. Turf-cutter John Smyth, who's harvested peat for over 50 years, sees the policies as attacks on rural life. 'They don't know what it's like to live in rural Ireland.'
State policy has decidedly turned toward restoration. Bord na Móna, once Ireland's semi-state peat harvesting company, has ceased extraction and begun restoring bogs.
So far, a quarter of a targeted 80,000 hectares have successfully been rewet to turn degraded land back into carbon sinks.
Wind farms and solar panels now dot former peat harvest sites.
Still, restoration is a slow process. 'It's going to take a long time,' said Mark McCorry, ecology manager at Bord na Móna, on their website.
Agroecology expert Triven Koganti supports global peatland restoration efforts. 'Cultivated peatlands are responsible for 5% of global greenhouse gas emissions,' he noted.
Ireland faces a stark choice: to preserve a way of life rooted in turf or prioritise bogs as vital tools for curbing climate change.
A big steaming pile of... Peat (Ireland Tourism Board/Photo by Keith Geoghegan)
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