A History of Soil Research with Emphasis on Pedology

While commentary on the productivity of Irish pastures can be dated as far back as 55 BC, direct references to the different kinds of soil only begin in the eighth century AD. Early scientific information on Irish soils typically came from the endeavours of geologists or other professionals who studied rock and outcropping patterns. The Geological Survey of Ireland, a constituent of the Geological Survey of Great Britain and Ireland, developed small-scale county soil maps, largely for the southern counties in the mid-1800s. In relation to pedology, John Hodges, an Irish soil analyst described soil profiles in the 1850s in terms identical with those dated to the Dokuchaev School in 1880s Russia. Soil science in Ireland has typically been delivered with agricultural and environmental science at University level. Agricultural extension dates back to 1731 through the Dublin Society employment of itinerant instructors. The soil test, pioneered by P H Gallagher in the 1930s became the single most important tool for the advisory service. In their essays on the characteristics of Irish soil types he, together with Dr. Tom Walsh, laid the groundwork for future classification and mapping. In 1945, the Department of Agriculture established a research centre at Johnstown Castle, Co. Wexford. The soil division of An Foras Talúntais was headquartered there and the National Soil Survey of Ireland established. In 1980 the second edition, General Soil Map of Ireland, was published. This survey was discontinued in 1988. In 1998, the Spatial Analysis Unit was established in Teagasc a key output of which was the first nationally complete digital subsoil and indicative soil map in 2009. Not long after, the 3rd Edition National Soil Map of Ireland was launched in 2014, through the collaboration of the Spatial Analysis Unit and Teagasc Johnstown Castle