EUROPEAN SOIL BUREAU RESEARCH REPORT NO. 6

Application of Soils Data in Ireland. Lee and Coulter. 97

Application of Soils Data to Land Useand Environmental Problems inIreland

J Lee and B CoulterTeagasc, Soils and Environment Centre, Johnstown Castle, Wexford, IRELAND

IntroductionThe National Soil Survey of Ireland wasestablished within the Agricultural Institute in1959. This marked the first real attempt to survey,classify and map the soil resources of Ireland in asystematic manner. From the beginning, modernscientific methods were used to classify the soilsbut emphasis was also placed on the interpretationof the results for agricultural development inparticular and for land use planning in general.

The basic programme of land resource appraisal inIreland has operated at three levels of organisation:1. Detailed studies of experimental stations and

also extension experimental sites (at 1:2,500scale).

2. Detailed reconnaissance studies of counties (at1: 126,720 scale) where the soil series is theunit of mapping.

3. A combination of detailed reconnaissance andgeneral reconnaissance to derive a nationalpicture, the General Soil Map of Ireland in1969, at a scale of 1:575,000. The soilassociation is the unit of mapping.

The major emphasis in the soil survey programmewas directed to detailed reconnaissance on acounty basis. Soil mapping was carried out onmaps of 1:10.560 scale, which were reduced to 1:126,720 for publication (Lee, 1991).

Soil MappingProgressSome 44 per cent of the country has been surveyedand mapped to date (Figure 1). Complete reportson nine out of twenty six counties have beenpublished together with reports on a number ofregions and districts. Fieldwork has also beencompleted in three counties, and also some workhas been conducted in several other counties.

Publications can be grouped into County Surveys,An Foras Taluntais (Agricultural Institute ) Farms,Department of Agriculture Farms, other farms andmiscellaneous areas.

The first Generalised Soil Map of Ireland waspublished in 1969 but the information for manyareas was not very reliable. A 10-year programmewas then started, the aim being to produce animproved version at the end of that period. Thiswas achieved in 1980 with the publication of asecond edition of the Generalised Soil Map ( at1:575,000 scale) together with an explanatorybulletin. A Peatland Map of the country togetherwith an explanatory bulletin was published in1979, at the same scale. In December 1988 adecision was taken to discontinue the fieldprogramme (Coulter et al., 1996a).

Soil DatabaseThe research programme at Johnstown ResearchCentre changed in 1988 from one that was mainlyconcerned with soils and land use to one mainlyrelating to environment and land use. A SoilSurvey GIS programme was initiated in 1988 witha view to capturing existing soil maps in digitalform to facilitate the environmental brief, and sothat geocoded data collected in environmentalsurveys and experiments could be related to soilsurvey data.

ARC/INFO was chosen as the most appropriateGIS software because of its widespread use withinsoil research institutes in the EuropeanCommunities, and because of its native Dbase datamanagement system was most compatible withinformation technology standards in researchcentre. The programme involved digitisation ofexisting soil survey and related maps, creatingdatabases of soil information and linking thedigital maps and databases.

EUROPEAN SOIL BUREAU RESEARCH REPORT NO. 6

Application of Soils Data in Ireland. Lee and Coulter.98

Figure 1: Progress of Soil Survey in Ireland.

The General Soil Map of Ireland published in1980 at a scale of 1:575,000 (Gardiner andRadford, 1980a, 1980b) has been digitised, and asoil information base constructed. An earlierversion of the General Soil Map of 1972 is alsoavailable in digital form from the EEA Task Force(CORINE) as part of the Digital Soil Map ofEurope (Platou et al., 1989) which was designedfor printing at a scale of 1:1,000,000.

Applications of Soil DataSoil Suitability for WasteDisposalQuantitative assessments of soil hydrologicalregimes are required to reduce the risks in thedesign and management of waste disposal systems.Current research (Diamond, 1997) aims to measure

EUROPEAN SOIL BUREAU RESEARCH REPORT NO. 6

Application of Soils Data in Ireland. Lee and Coulter. 99

the soil hydrological regime at selected benchmarksites and to examine the relationship with soilmorphological characteristics, e.g gleying, texture,structure.

Differences between soil series are evident,particularly in respect to poorly drained soil series.The results for these series imply a high run-offrisk compared to the free draining soils in whichthe risk is negligible. This has serious implicationsfor environmental risk management. The researchhas direct application to developing codes of goodpractice to minimise run-off of phosphorus fromfarmland, which has a significant capacity forwater pollution.

Land Use ManagementGround water vulnerability maps have beenderived from the digitised General Soil Map ofIreland and combined with data on diffuse sourcesof nitrogen (N) to provide a composite groundwater nitrate pollution risk map for the country.Using GIS techniques, a methodological procedurehas been developed to predict nitrogen fromanimal manures and chemical fertilisers andrelease by mineraliosation of organic matter ofcultivated soils (Coulter et al., 1996b).

The aim of the research was to develop acomputer-based system incorporating land usetrends, soil characteristics, topography, fertiliserusuage and major and minor nutrient levels, foruse in monitoring and predicting those areasvulnerable to environmental pollution and toprovide a basis for land use decision making. Theinitial phase of the research has concentrated onnitrogen/environment interaction and N inputsfrom livestock manures, chemical fertilisers andrelease by mineralisation of organic matter.

Uncultivated soils were considered to be the mostsignificant sources of N with potential risk oflosses to groundwater. A six-category system ofsusceptibility to ground water pollution waselaborated for the country. The most vulnerableareas were shown to be located in the south andeast.

Areas of varying sensitivity of groundwaterpollution from N have thus been defined.Similarly, there has been ongoing research todetermine the susceptibility to phosphorus lossesfrom farmland.. This information in turn has beenimportant in the Nutrient Management Planning atfarm level through the involvement of the advisoryservice. The research has also helped to identifythose areas where monitoring of water should beconcentrated.

Geochemical SurveyTo date 295 soil monitoring points have beenidentified, in the south-eastern part of the country,representing 22% of the land surface of thecountry, and soil samples collected and archived.The soils have been analysed for agronomicallyimportant soil parameters and for a wide range ofenvironmentally sensitive heavy metals and relatedelements including arsenic, cadmium, chromium,cobalt, copper, lead, manganese, mercury, nickel,selenium and zinc. In addition the soils have beenanalysed for persistent organic chemicals includingorgano-chlorines insecticide and PCB residues.The results have been statistically analysed todetermine means and frequency distributions, andmaps produced showing spatial distribution ofeach of the measured components (McGrath,1996).

It is anticipated that the information generated willbe of use in the following areas:

1. Food: in the establishment of a credibledatabase to assess and serve as a basis for thepromotion of the cleanliness of food.

2. Health: to identify locations where there areexcesses of heavy metals, in particular,cadmium and mercury, which can havenegative effects on food quality and todelineate areas where there may be an excessof elements such as molybdenum andselenium, or a deficiency of copper, seleniumand cobalt with deleterious effects on grazinglivestock.

3. Baseline information and waste disposal: toprovide the background information requiredfor the evaluation of baseline surveys or forthe disposal of wastes (eg. Sewage sludge) tosoil.

Major and Trace Elements inSoilsCoulter et al. (1997) produced a National Reporton the concentrations of major and trace elementsin Irish soils which contains a series of distributionmaps of such elements. The following areincluded: lime requirement (LR), potassium (K),copper (Cu), molybdenum (Mo), cobalt/totalmanganese (Co/Mn), zinc (Zn) and iodine(I). TheReport includes both national and county mapsshowing element status averaged within 10 km2

squares according to the national grid (Figure 2).The maps included were constructed from datacollected between 1989 and 1995. The Report andmaps have important practical applications forExtension Farm Advisers.

EUROPEAN SOIL BUREAU RESEARCH REPORT NO. 6

Application of Soils Data in Ireland. Lee and Coulter.100

Other ApplicationsThese have been described by Lee (1991) and aresummarised below:1. Agricultural Land Classification: A national

map of livestock grazing capacity at a scale of1: 575,000 has been produced together with anumber of county maps at a scale of1:126,720 of grass and cultivation suitabilityand grazing capacity. These have provided aninvaluable base for planning land useproduction targets.

2. Soil fertility research: The Soil Survey hasprovided a framework for soil fertilityresearch through the rational selection ofbenchmark study sites and the extrapolation offindings on nutrient responses to analogousareas. It also provides an important basis fordelineating areas of trace element deficiencyand toxicity with respect to plant and ruminantproduction.

3. Regional planning and development: Soilmaps have been used to establish agriculturalproduction capacity targets for planningpurposes and for general land use strategydevelopment. Examples include StrategyDevelopment Studies for the South-West,North-East and Midland Regions and also theLeitrim, West Cork and West DonegalResource Surveys.

4. Afforestation: A national generalised map offorest potential at a scale of 1: 575,000 hasbeen produced as also have more detailedassessments at 1: 126,720 scale. These mapshave been invaluable for land planning forforestry in Ireland.

5. Drainage and reclamation: The work of theSoil Survey has provided importantinformation relevant to drainage design, suchas depth and spacing of field drains and on thesuitability of different drainage andreclamation techniques.

6. Disadvantaged Areas: The soil maps havebeen used to delineate difficult land areasqualifying for inclusion under the ECDisadvantaged Areas Directive.

The FutureLooking to the future, one of the main aims inIreland is to continue the existing researchprogrammes to establish a land information systembased on soil, climatic, land use and agronomicdata. This will provide better organisation andevaluation of available data for planning. It willaid decision making in the context of resource useand improve management at regional and farmlevels, leading to improved technical efficiences.

The land information system will allow thedevelopment of a framework for modelling landuse, waste management and fertiliser use systemsbased on a number of information technologymodules. Generally the system will facilitate theeffective transfer of information from research to awide range of users.

The Need to Revive SoilSurveyTraditionally, soil survey in the Republic ofIreland has emphasised the genetic development ofsoils. The modern demand is for applied soilsurvey information gathered in a cost effectiveway to establish and manage targets. Thechemistry of the soils in relation to phosphorusfixation and mobility and the use of models topredict soil moisture, leaching and seepage areobvious applications. These require a knowledgeof fundamental soil properties such as mineralogy,soil moisture characteristics, permeability, etc. Thetraditional texture classification for fine grainedsoils must be supplemented by plasticity data.

Because in the course of soil survey somefundamental and dynamic properties of soil havebeen measured, the expected behaviour of soilsunder a range of management practices could bemodelled. To complete this work would underpinpublic confidence in soil technology and inTeagasc as a provider of high quality reliablescientific data with a multi-purpose use.

Forest Soils Classification andProductivityA major new project (Bulfin, 1998) hascommenced with the following objectives:1. To develop on a national basis a digital

forestry soil classification and productivityranking.

2. To provide the necessary soils information tothe Indicative Forest Strategy, used by theForestry Service in guiding the location andcharacter of new afforestation at county,regional and national level.

GIS and remotely sensed data from digital airphotography, Land Parcel Identification System,Digital Elevation Modelling and Drift Geologywill be used to create Landscape Units with uniquesuites of soil. Existing soils information will beused to ‘train’ the satellite imagery procedures.The process will allow transfer from full soilmapping into areas with little soils information.

EUROPEAN SOIL BUREAU RESEARCH REPORT NO. 6

Application of Soils Data in Ireland. Lee and Coulter. 101

Environmental RiskAssessment for AgricultureDue to production inefficiencies that all industriesexperience, agricultural practices can alsoadversely affect environmental quality. Theprobability, or relative risk, that these adverseimpacts will occur is determined by a complexinteraction among many factors, over some ofwhich the farmer has little or no control.

Up to now there has been no rational procedure inIreland to assess these interactions in a way thatcould provide advice to farmers, local authorities,and others for preventing or minimising theadverse effects of farming at specific locations.

New research at Johnstown Castle is directedtowards changing this situation by developing aranking procedure based on relatively easy to

determine physical landscape features, farmingpractices, soils, land cover, weather and waterresource network. The procedure incorporatestopographical, hydrological, and soil type factorsin addition to controllable factors such as levels ofnutrient usuage, timing and method of nutrientapplication. An adequate soil database will be anessential prerequisite to the development of thesystem.

The Hill EnvironmentDue mainly to climatic and topographic factors,85% of the hill and mountain soils of the west ofIreland are susceptible to erosion if overstocked.Low-level blanket peat is also susceptible toerosion. Approximately 23% of the total Irishsheep population of 8.5 million are in the hillsheep system. Research is required to ensure theeconomic sustainability of livestock productionwithout detriment to the soil resource.

ReferencesBulfin, M. (1998). Forest soils classification and

productivity. In: Teagasc R&D ProgrammeProject Portfolio 1998: 27. Teagasc, Dublin,Ireland.

Coulter, B., Lee, J. and McDonald, E. (1996a).The status of soil survey information bothconventional and GIS. In: Soil Databases ToSupport Sustainable Development (Eds.C. LeBas and M. Jamagne). Joint Research Centre,European Commission. EUR 16371 EN. p 61-69.

Coulter, B., Tunney, H., Blagden, P. and Gleeson,T. (1996b). The distribution of nitrogen inputinto agriculture. EUROSTAT, Luxembourg.63pp.

Coulter, B. et al. 1997. The concentration of majorand trace elements in Irish soils. Teagasc,Johnstown Castle, Wexford, Ireland. 38pp.

Diamond, J. 1997. Soil suitability for wastedisposal. Research report. Teagasc, JohnstownCastle, Wexford, Ireland.

Gardiner, M. M.J. and Radford, T. 1980a. Ireland:General Soil Map. 2nd Edition. Teagasc,Dublin, Ireland.

Gardiner, M.J. and Radford, T. 1980b. SoilAssociations of Ireland and their Land UsePotential. Explanatory bulletin to the Soil Mapof Ireland 1980. Soil Survey Bulletin No. 36.Teagas, Dublin, Ireland.

Lee, J. 1991. Soil mapping and land evaluationresearch in Ireland. In: Soil Survey – A Basisfor European Soil Protection (Ed. J.M.Hodgson). Soil and Groundwater researchReport No. 1, p 39-55. Office for the OfficialPublications of the European Communities,Luxembourg.

McGrath, D. 1996. Soil Geochemical Survey.Research Report 16. Teagasc, JohnstownCastle, Wexford, Ireland.

Platou, S.W., Norr, A.M. and Madsen, H.B. 1989.Digitising the EC soil map. In: Agriculture:Computerization of Land Use Data (Eds.R.J.A. Jones and B. Biagi). EUR11151 EN.Office for the Official Publications of theEuropean Communities, Luxembourg. p.12-24