The 2022 Irish National Forest Inventory

The 2022 Irish National Forest Inventory has just been released. This major report undertaken every four years by the Forest Service assesses the extent, constitution, and health of Ireland's forests.

Here are a couple of the most interesting findings.
The total 'forest estate' is over 800,000 hectares representing 11.6% of the country's land area. Ownership is split roughly half and half between the state and private owners.

Since the first inventory in 2006 Ireland has added an additional 110,000 hectares of forest. Whilst impressive this figure falls well short of national targets and leaves the state with a lot of catching up to do. One-third of this new area is not a result of afforestation (ie planting) but instead is wild forest resulting from natural regeneration. Interestingly national forestry policy has had little if any role in the emergence of these woodlands.

Almost 40% of Ireland's forests are on peat soil, mostly on blanket peat in the west and fen peat in the midlands. These are mostly legacy forests from recent decades. Current policy does not facilitate planting on peat as it has negative impacts on both biodiversity and carbon. Interestingly this forest inventory found the total carbon stocks in Irish forests are lower now than they were in 2006 - mostly relating to losses from forest soils. These two finding together present a challenge for the state, as forestry represents a central plank in Ireland's climate strategy.

In terms of the makeup of Ireland's forests, there are two hectares of coniferous woodland for every one hectare of broadleaf. Sitka spruce makes up around half of the total forest area, but almost 80% of the total area felled. It is the standout "cash-crop" in Irish forestry and an argument could be made that its prolific productivity allows space for more diverse forestry within the system. Nonetheless, overreliance on this tree presents significant risks to Irish Forestry.

88,000 hectares of open area within the national forest estate. This is made up of roads, waterways, powerlines, and mandatory setbacks. Riparian/water setbacks make up by far the largest cohort here at 18%.

These open spaces are a positive thing and an example of the impact of good policy. These weren't always mandatory - at one point trees were planted right to the edge of roads, houses, and rivers, with detrimental impacts.

The final point of interest is the finding that 5000 hectares of forest are "no longer been present" since the last inventory in 2017. This is not clear-felled forestry within a rotation but land which was in forestry and is now in a different land use category, such as agricultural land, buildings, or roads. It would be interesting to know how much of this deforestation figure is made up of plantation forestry versus semi-natural/native woodlands.