Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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282. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the analysis his Department has carried out into the role of compacted soil under single species grasses in causing flooding in Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39180/20]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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My Department, through our agency Teagasc, conducted research under the 'SQUARE' research project on the extent of soil compaction in grassland soils across a range of different soil and drainage types.

In this research 40 grassland field-sites were assessed from across Ireland and within this a range of permanent pastures and improved grassland. Due to increased organic matter, and the permanent plant rooting in grassland soils, the levels of soil compaction detected were moderate across these Irish grasslands in general.

This research also showed that poorly drained soils have a higher risk of compaction under significant trafficking pressure, and that machinery trafficking poses a higher threat than livestock trafficking. When soil compaction was present the movement in the soils was more significantly reduced in well drained soils than in poorly drained soils which have lower water conductivity to begin with.