Ireland’s flora and fauna at risk
John O’Halloran, UCC, and Alex Copland and John Murphy of Birdwatch Ireland, made the claim in a presentation to the conference on maximising the biodiversity of REPS.
They said that in the last 40 years there have been declines in the abundance and distribution of a wide range of farmland plants and invertebrates, especially on arable land.
Similar declines are clearly illustrated by the farmland bird fauna.
Seed-eating farmland birds, mainly finches and buntings, appear to have been particularly hard hit, with severe declines in Britain and Europe over the last 30 years.
A recent review examined the probable extinction of the corn bunting in Ireland. It concluded that post-1960s declines were probably influenced by reductions in crop diversity.
The trio said that of the 18 birds of conservation red listed for concern, over half are farmyard species.
As agriculture has changed once-common species such as yellowhammer, corncrake and skylark have become increasingly threatened.
The experts said national and European agricultural policy is increasingly required to incorporate environmental considerations.
They said that to maintain an edge in a global market, Ireland’s agricultural sector needs to demonstrate it can deliver these measures effectively.
