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Subjects · Leaving Cert Agricultural Science

Leaving Cert Agricultural Science: Biodiversity & habitats

How often Biodiversity & habitats comes up on the Agricultural Science papers, every year it was asked, and questions to try.

HL Asked on 3 of the last 5 Higher Level papers, most recently in 2024. most years

OL Asked on 4 of the last 5 Ordinary Level papers, most recently in 2025. most years

Biodiversity & habitats, Higher Level(7 marks)

Quick ones on Biodiversity & habitats.

(a)Why are hedgerows valuable on Irish farms?
  1. They increase soil erosion on slopes
  2. They give wildlife habitat and corridors
  3. They shade out all the grass in the field
(b)Why should hedges be cut on a rotation rather than every year?
  1. So that the hedges slowly die out and thin
  2. To kill more pests living in the hedge
  3. So they can flower and fruit for wildlife
(c)What is a species-rich meadow?
  1. Low-input grassland with many wild plant species
  2. A field sown with a single high-yielding crop
  3. A newly reseeded ryegrass and clover sward
Show the answers

(a) They give wildlife habitat and corridors

(b) So they can flower and fruit for wildlife

(c) Low-input grassland with many wild plant species

Your turn: Higher Level questions on Biodiversity & habitats.

Higher Level

Asked on 3 of the last 5 Higher Level papers, most recently in 2024. most years

Every paper, year by year

YearWhere it came up
2025Not asked
2024Q7, Q13, Q13c, Q13d
2023Not asked
2022Q6
2021Q7, Q13c

Links open the State Examinations Commission’s paper for that year.

More Biodiversity & habitats questions

Biodiversity & habitats, 3 marks

Which Irish bird declined sharply due to early mowing of meadows?

  1. Magpie
  2. Hooded crow
  3. Corncrake
Show the answer

Corncrake

Corncrakes nest in tall meadows. Early, fast mowing destroys nests and chicks, so late cutting from the centre outwards helps.

Ordinary Level

Asked on 4 of the last 5 Ordinary Level papers, most recently in 2025. most years

Every paper, year by year

YearWhere it came up
2025Q6
2024Q6b
2023Q14
2022Not asked
2021Q9

Links open the State Examinations Commission’s paper for that year.

More Biodiversity & habitats questions

Biodiversity & habitats, 2 marks

Leaving an uncultivated margin around a tillage field helps?

  1. Speed up harvesting
  2. Increase soil compaction
  3. Pollinators and farmland birds
Show the answer

Pollinators and farmland birds

Field margins with wild flowers feed bees and other insects and give cover to birds. They also trap run-off before it reaches water.

Biodiversity & habitats, 2 marks

Why are bees important to agriculture?

  1. They break down slurry
  2. They pollinate crops
  3. They fix nitrogen
Show the answer

They pollinate crops

Bees carry pollen between flowers of crops like oilseed rape and fruit. Loss of wild flowers and careless spraying threaten them.

Biodiversity & habitats, 2 marks

Biodiversity means?

  1. The variety of living things in an area
  2. The number of cattle on a farm
  3. The amount of rain that falls in a year
Show the answer

The variety of living things in an area

High biodiversity makes a farm more resilient. Hedges, ponds, field margins and species-rich grassland all add to it.

Other Agricultural Science topics

All of Leaving Cert Agricultural Science