County Soil Maps

Irish Soil Information System

The Irish Soil Information System is a map and an open access database. It has been brought together using traditional and cutting-edge technologies. The Soil Survey of An Foras Talúntais mapped approximately half of the country in the form of detailed county soil maps. Information that existed in areas previously not surveyedin detail did not meet current and emerging needs.

The Irish Soil Information System was co-funded as part of the STRIVE programme of the Environmental Protection Agency and coordinated by Teagasc, in collaboration with Cranfield University (UK) and University College Dublin. The objectives of the project were:

1. to develop a new soil map for Ireland at 1:250,000 scale;
2. to identify new and existing soils;
3. to provide a detailed description and classification system for all the soil types present in Ireland.

This resulting map forms the basis of the soil information system for Ireland. The Soil Information System for Ireland can be accessed here  

The system allows the user to zoom in on any area to a 1:250,000 scale and see the soil association associated with any area on the map and gives a listing of the soil types associated with that association.

The new soils map and information system is an invaluable tool in developing solutions for sustainable land management and the agri-environment. Practical examples of the utility of the Irish Soil Information System map for policy and practice include:

• the facilitation of a migration from Tier 1 to Tier 3 GHG reporting to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
• to delineate Areas of Natural Constraints (DAFM)
• the facilitation of the development of soil-specific nutrient advice by soil subgroup
• the facilitation of the development of targeted and context-specific agri-environmental schemes
• the identification of priority areas and more targeted actions in the on-going development and review of the River Basin District Management Plan.
• Assisting advisers and assessing soil types in developing most appropriate solutions to drainage problems

A special issue of T-Research was produced to coincide with the launch of the Irish Soil Information System TResearch-Soils-special (PDF) 

Soil Maps

The National Soil Survey (NSS) was based in An Foras Talúntais (forerunner organisation to Teagasc) from which the main outputs consisted of:

• Mapping individual counties at 1:127,560 scale for 44% of the country
• General Soil Map of Ireland and National Peatland map, both at 1:575,000 scale

The scale of these maps is an important consideration for their use and therefore can only be considered to provide a reconnaissance overview of the area surveyed. The maps are now available as PDF for free download from the links below: