Tree planting can be a 'highly effective measure' in enhancing water quality
Professor Pat Dillon, Teagasc director of research; John Casey, Teagasc forestry advisor; Senator Pippa Hackett, Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine with special responsibility for land use and biodiversity; professor Frank O'Mara, Teagasc director; and professor Michael O'Donovan, Teagasc head of grassland science in Teagasc Moorepark, Fermoy, Co Cork. Picture: O'Gorman Photography
Measures being undertaken at a research farm in Co Cork are showing that tree planting can be a "highly effective measure" in enhancing water quality.
A 'Woodland for Water' event took place at the Teagasc Moorepark Research Centre recently focused on farm sustainability.
In 2023, Teagasc’s Cork East advisory region along with the forestry development department and Moorepark management established three hectares of new native woodland and undisturbed water setbacks along the Funshion river, which flows alongside the Moorepark research farm in Fermoy.
Other on-farm initiatives undertaken to enhance Moorpark’s sustainability credentials include the use of grass/clover swards; achieving optimum pH; fertiliser formulation; low emission slurry spreading; extended grazing; effective manure management; and an extensive new hedgerow establishment (8km).
Speaking at the opening, Minister of State Pippa Hackett emphasised how the tree planting measures at the Teagasc Moorepark farm "reflect the exciting options available under the new Forestry Programme 2023-2027 to protect and enhance water quality in a way that is synergistic for agriculture and other land uses".
"I would strongly encourage farmers to look both at the financial incentives and the environmental benefits of establishing riparian woodlands, and to speak to your local Teagasc forestry adviser about planting native woodlands for water under the Native Tree Area Scheme, or indeed at a larger scale through the Forests for Water option under the Forestry Programme," Ms Hackett said.
Tom Houlihan of the Teagasc forestry department said that many farms have areas that would be suitable for planting trees, "particularly if it can be incorporated with a phosphate flow pathway to help break the pathway of overland flow".
According to Teagasc, the tree planting measures showcased "can be a highly effective measure in breaking the pathway between the source of nutrients and the receiving waterbody".
Outdoor presentations from researchers at the event underlined the wide range of significant water-related ecosystem services and whole farm planning potential provided by new native woodland and undisturbed water setbacks along the riverbank.
Farm benefits from this woodland development include the reduction in sediment mobilisation and runoff into the adjacent river; the interception of nutrient runoff into the watercourse; and riverbank stabilisation and restoration.
These are in addition to increases in native woodland biodiversity, carbon sequestration, and habitat linkage within the wider Moorepark landscape.
