Developing a forest resource on industrial cutaway peatland. The BOGFOR programme

Ever since the establishment of the first afforestation trials at Trench 14 at Clonsast in Co Offaly in the mid nineteen fifties, forest establishment investigations on Bord na Móna cutaway peat sites have been a feature of national research endeavour. This has been reflected most recently in the six-year BOGFOR programme, which forms the basis of this report. Given the more than half a century of investigation, a full forest rotation, an obvious question is what has come out of it all? What this publication shows first and foremost is that research has come up with answers, and not only where to establish tree crops, but equally important where not to. Cutaway peatlands may all look the same, but from a tree growing perspective they differ significantly, with respect to fertility, hydrology and frost risk. The ability to recognise these features, and select sites that will produce a viable commercial tree crop are very significant advances in knowledge, made possible by research. Hand in hand with these advances is the realisation that a landscape approach should underpin land use on the cutaways. What this means in practice is that part of the land is devoted to biodiversity provision, part to commercial forestry and farming, with the remainder reverting to dryland and wetland habitats. Ó bhunú na gcéad trialacha foraoisithe i dTrinse 14 i gCluain Sosta, Co. Uíbh Failí i lár na naoi déag caogaidí, tá imscrúduithe bunú foraoiseachta ar shuímh mhóna lagphortaigh de chuid Bord na Móna tar éis a bheith mar ghné den dianiarracht taighde náisiúnta. Áit is déanaí ina bhfuil sé seo tar éis a bheith léirithe ná an clár BOGFOR sé bliana, a chruthaíonn bonn na tuarascála seo. In ainneoin an imscrúdaithe le breis agus leath chéad, rothlú foraoise iomlán, ceist soiléir ná céard atá tar éis teacht as ar fad? Is éard a thaispeánann an foilseachán seo i dtús báire ná go bhfuil an taighde tar éis teacht ar fhreagraí, agus ní amháin an áit chun barra ó chrainn a bhunú, ach rud díreach chomh tábhachtach an áit gan iad a bhunú. D’fhéadfadh an cuma céanna a bheith ar thailte móna lagphortaigh ar fad, ach ó thaobh fás na gcrann de is mór an difríocht atá eatarthu, maidir le torthúlacht, hidreolaíocht agus baol seaca. Is suntasach an cur chun cinn i bhfeasacht, atá féideartha le cabhair an taighde, é an cumas chun na gnéithe seo a aithint, agus suímh a roghnú a tháirgfidh barr crainn tráchtála agus inmharthana. I dteannta leis an gcur chun cinn atá an fíorú gur cheart go dtacódh cur chuige an tírdhreacha le talamhúsáid ar na lagphortaigh. Is éard a chiallaíonn sé seo i gcleachtas ná go dtugtar cuid den talamh do sholáthar na bithéagsúlachta, cuid d’fheirmeoireacht agus d’fhoraoiseacht tráchtála, leis an gcuid eile ag filleadh ar ghnáthóga na dtailte tirim agus na mbogach.