Yvonne M. Buckley

Jan 23, 2025 | irishtimes.com | Yvonne M. Buckley

We are on the cusp of a transition in farming from largely production-focused systems, increasing in intensity each year, to systems with a greater focus on the environmental sustainability and quality of the food, fibre and wood produced. The quality of agri-food products now includes dimensions such as the greenhouse gas emissions; water quality and biodiversity profiles of the farm.

Nov 28, 2024 | irishtimes.com | Yvonne M. Buckley

There are a million more cows than people in Ireland. Livestock agriculture in Ireland is an international business with supply chains that stretch from one side of the planet to the other. The biggest source of total agri-food imports into the country is animal feed, with about 40 per cent of it used in the dairy sector. Animal feed imports for dairy are equivalent to the total amount of fruit and vegetables we import to feed ourselves.

Oct 24, 2024 | besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com | Yvonne M. Buckley |Amy Austin |Richard Bardgett |Jane A. Catford

1 INTRODUCTION ‘In short—our world needs climate action on all fronts—everything, everywhere, all at once’ António Guterres, United Nations Secretary-General (Guterrez, 2023). Solutions to slow down, stop and ultimately reverse climate change—together with solutions that address unsustainable use of land and water bodies—are urgently needed at local and global scales to enable people and nature to thrive on a changing planet (Diaz et al., 2015; IPBES, 2019).

Sep 26, 2024 | irishtimes.com | Yvonne M. Buckley

There are nature-based solutions to climate change all around us in Ireland. In a recent report commissioned for the Climate Change Advisory Council, we identified 81 different projects, schemes and sites where nature has been used to provide climate solutions while supporting biodiversity and providing benefits to people.

Aug 22, 2024 | irishtimes.com | Yvonne M. Buckley

You know when you are in a healthy peatland because it is soggy. The ground quakes when you walk on it and a misstep fills your boots with a brown cold liquor. It is no coincidence that the Irish word for soft — “bog” — also lends itself to these places that are not quite land. A healthy bog can be 90 per cent water, more than the water in milk. It is not easy, but we can walk on bogs because of the astonishing water holding properties of sphagnum moss.