Mountain Landscapes

The landmass of Ireland is low-lying, particularly the midlands, with mountain areas mostly found around the fringes of the country. The mountain landscape, with its main soil associations and soil landscape units (Gardiner and Radford 1980; Creamer et al. 2014), is defined as that which exceeds 500 m elevation above sea level. It occupies approximately 58,000 hectares (ha) which is much lower than in landscapes of similar geological origin in Great Britain or in Scandinavia. Peats, especially blanket peats are widespread in this landscape and account for half of the mountain soils (51.1%). Blanket peat, podzols and brown podzolics occur as the typical catena sequence at this elevation. Extensive areas of rock outcrops occur (almost 30%) which can be attributed to the increased exposure to erosion and climate associated with this elevation. Rock outcrops are interspersed with histic lithosols and podzols that frequently occur in this landscape. Agricultural land use is typically limited to extensive livestock grazing of sheep and cattle. Although limited from an agricultural perspective, these landscapes represent an important resource providing a habitat for a wide variety of species. Within the mountain landscapes, five of Ireland’s six national parks are represented.