The National Biodiversity Data Centre has just published a document outlining the state of knowledge of Ireland's biodiversity in 2010.
This impressive report outlines the breathe of knowledge about Ireland's flora and fauna, while at the same time, highlighting where gaps in this knowledge occur.
The importance of such work cannot be over emphasised, given that services provided by Ireland's biodiversity are estimated to contribute at least €2.6 billion per year to the Irish economy. This figure is arrived at, given the importance of biodiversity in agriculture, forestry, fisheries and tourism industries, as well as the significant contributions towards clean air, water and productive, healthy soils.
|Figure 1 (Click on the image to see a larger version; NBDC)|
As the report authors point out: "as the Irish economy seeks ways to revitalise itself, gaining a greater understanding of Ireland's biodiversity and protecting Ireland's natural capital should be one of the building blocks of that recovery".
Ireland has 11,422 species of insect; 8000 non-insect invertebrates; 5500 species of fungi and 2328 different species of plant (see figure 1).
|Figure 2 (Click on the image to see a larger version; NBDC)|
Despite this high level of knowledge about Ireland's rich biodiversity, the NBDC estimate that about 25% of the country's species are yet to be recorded. Significantly, they estimate that up to 5,000 more species of Irish algae need to be recorded.
The report also indicates the threat of extinction of Irish species, with 23% of known species currently threatened, according to IUCN red list data (see figure 2).
You can read the report in full here.