Tortoises, hares and the evolution of the Irish landscape

Across Ireland there is a striking topographical contrast between predominantly limestone-floored lowlands and uplands developed on silicate-dominated rock types. This arises from the fundamentally different way in which limestone and other rocks are removed. Limestone is removed through dissolution, a low-energy process enhanced by vegetation. Other rock types are removed by erosion, a high energy process that is inhibited by vegetation. In Ireland countless ‘soft days’ over the last 60 Ma have been more effective at removing limestone than other rock types. Limestone uplands have survived only where they were protected by a cover of insoluble rock, such as sandstone or mudstone, which has been stripped away relatively recently by glacial erosion. The large-scale removal of considerable thicknesses of limestone across Ireland has increased the relief of non-limestone uplands through the effects of isostatic uplift. Denudation across the Irish landscape has led to changing outcrop patterns of limestone and other rocks, resulting in profound long-term changes in topography and drainage patterns.