Afforestation Area 2023

Key Findings

• Area afforested in 2023 was 1,651 hectares, a 27% decrease from the 2,273 hectares afforested in 2022 (See Table 1).

• Afforested area declined from 6,947 hectares in 2007 to 1,651 hectares afforested in 2023 (See Figure 1).

• Broadleaf species comprised 54% of the 2023 afforestation area, which is the first year in the series that broadleaf species have comprised the majority of species planted (See Table 1 and Figure 2).

• Sitka spruce accounted for 39% of the 2023 afforestation area (See Table 1 and Table 3B).

• Area planted by farmers accounted for 47% of the total afforested area in 2023 (See Table 2).

• Average afforestation parcel in 2023 was at the lowest in the series at 5.8 hectares (See Table 1).

• Roscommon accounted for 11% of the total afforested area in 2023 (See Table 4 and Figure 3).

Statistician's Comment

The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has today (25 June 2024) released Afforestation Area 2023.

Commenting on the release, Niamh Shanahan, Statistician in the Environment Division, said: "The report shows the area afforested in 2023 was 1,651 hectares (ha) which was 24% of the area planted in 2007. The area afforested in 2023 was a 27% decrease on the area afforested in 2022. The proportion of broadleaf species planted in 2023 was 54%, which is the highest share in the 2007-2023 series and is the first year that their share has been higher than the proportion of conifer species planted (See Table 1).

The share of afforested area planted by farmers in 2023 was 47% which was a large increase on their 2022 share of 23%, but a sharp decline from their 2014 share of 97% (See Table 2).

Alder and Ash were the main broadleaf species planted during 2007 to 2013 while Alder and Birch were the main species from 2015 to 2023. Sitka Spruce was the dominant conifer species and comprised 84% of coniferous species in 2023 (See Tables 3A and 3B).

Roscommon had the highest county share of the total afforested area in 2023 at 11% followed by Galway (8.4%), Mayo (7.9%), and Cork (7.7%) (See Table 4 and Figure 3).

The highest average parcel size of afforested area over the 2007-2023 period was 8.4 ha in 2009. In 2023 it was 5.8 ha which was the lowest average parcel size across the 2007-2023 period (See Table 1)."

Editor's Note

This release contains an analysis of the area afforested under Department of Agriculture, Food, and the Marine afforestation schemes. Afforestation is the planting of trees on land not previously under forest.

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Created with Highcharts 9.3.3Chart context menuSource: Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine20072008200920102011201220132014201520162017201820192020202120222023Highcharts.comFigure 1 Afforestation Area 2007-2023 ('000 hectares)

Afforestation Area
2007	6.947
2008	6.249
2009	6.648
2010	8.314
2011	6.653
2012	6.652
2013	6.252
2014	6.156
2015	6.293
2016	6.5
2017	5.536
2018	4.025
2019	3.55
2020	2.434
2021	2.016
2022	2.273
2023	1.651

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Created with Highcharts 9.3.3Chart context menuSource: Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine20072008200920102011201220132014201520162017201820192020202120222023Highcharts.comFigure 2 Afforestation Area by Species Type 2007-2023 ('000 hectares)

Afforestation Area	Conifer	Broadleaf
2007	4.765	2.182
2008	4.022	2.227
2009	4.175	2.473
2010	5.165	3.149
2011	4.206	2.447
2012	4.607	2.045
2013	4.76	1.492
2014	4.808	1.348
2015	5.03	1.263
2016	5.23	1.27
2017	4.375	1.161
2018	2.956	1.07
2019	2.657	0.893
2020	1.616	0.819
2021	1.187	0.829
2022	1.314	0.959
2023	0.753	0.899

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Created with Highcharts 9.3.3Chart context menuSource: Department of Agriculture, Food and the MarineCarlowCavanClareCorkDonegalDublinGalwayKerryKildareKilkennyLaoisLeitrimLimerickLongfordLouthMayoMeathMonaghanOffalyRoscommonSligoTipperaryWaterfordWestmeathWexfordWicklowHighcharts.comFigure 3 Afforestation Area by County 2023 (Hectares)

Afforestation Area
Carlow	24
Cavan	77
Clare	117
Cork	127
Donegal	21
Dublin	0
Galway	139
Kerry	98
Kildare	28
Kilkenny	59
Laois	21
Leitrim	102
Limerick	29
Longford	64
Louth	34
Mayo	131
Meath	54
Monaghan	10
Offaly	31
Roscommon	189
Sligo	49
Tipperary	98
Waterford	19
Westmeath	76
Wexford	14
Wicklow	41

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