Mouds Bog

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Mouds Bog
Portach Mouds
Ireland relief location map.png
Red pog.svg
Location County Kildare, Ireland
Nearest city Newbridge
Coordinates 53°12′53″N6°49′02″W / 53.2147°N 6.8171°W / 53.2147; -6.8171
Area586.39 hectares (1,449.0 acres)
Governing body National Parks and Wildlife Service

The Mouds Bog (Irish: Portach Mouds) Special Area of Conservation or SAC is a Natura 2000 site based close to the Hill of Allen and to Newbridge, County Kildare, Ireland. [1] The qualifying interests by which it is protected as an SAC are the presence of three habitat types: the presence of active raised bogs (priority habitat), the presence of degraded raised bogs still capable of natural regeneration, and the presence of depressions on peat substrates of Rhynchosporion vegetation. [1] [2] [3]

Contents

Location

The Mouds Bog SAC is located close to Newbridge, County Kildare, in the townlands of Baronstown East, Baronstown West (part of), Barretstown (E.D. Oldconnell), Clongownagh, Dunbyrne, Grangehiggin, Hawkfield, Roseberry and Tankardsgarden. Schedule 1 of the Statutory Instrument for this site identifies it as encompassing an area of 586.39 hectares. [3] [4]

SAC qualification

The Mouds Bog site was designated as a Natura 2000 site in 2003 under the Habitats Directive. [2] Statutory Instrument No. 62 of 2022, establishing the site as an SAC (Site code: 002331), was passed in 2022. [3] The three features which qualify this site for an SAC designation are the presence of specific protected habitat types. These three habitats are:

The National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) has included the Mouds Bog site as a proposed Natural Heritage Area or pNHA. [5] Very close to this site, Pollardstown Fen has also been included as a pNHA.

Features

The National Parks and Wildlife Service site synopsis for the Mouds Bog Site describes the features of this SAC. The active raised bog component of the site includes wet, peat-forming high bog, with Sphagnum mosses occurring in “hummocks, pools, wet flats, Sphagnum lawns, flushes and soaks”. [4] The SAC includes two basins of high bog, including wet quaking bog with well-formed pools, with a central mineral ridge running between them. There are small flush areas at the western side of the site, including a wet quaking soak. [4]

"Mouds Bog is significant in terms of its high bog area and geographical location as it is at the eastern extreme of the range of raised bogs in Ireland. It is a site of considerable conservation significance comprising a large raised bog, a rare habitat in the E.U. and one that is becoming increasingly scarce and under threat in Ireland. This site supports a good diversity of raised bog microhabitats including hummock/hollow complexes, pools and flushes, and cutover, all of which add to the diversity and scientific value of the site". [4]

In the Dúchas (the Heritage Service) Raised Bog Natural Heritage Areas (NHA) Project 2002 report by Derwin et al. to assess raised bogs for designation as Natural Heritage Areas, Mouds Bog was one of the sites selected under a range of categories - remote location, area of active peat formation, raised bogs with over 60 hectares of high bog area, geomorphology, and altitude greater than 90 metres. [6] This report notes that this area consisted of 1605 hectares in the 1800s, and by 2002 (when Mouds Bog was a proposed SAC), only 17.9% of that area remained. [6]

The first report of the Commissioners appointed to enquire into the nature and extent of the several bogs in Ireland and the practicability of draining and cultivating them, published in 1810 by the House of Commons, describes the Bog of Mouds and notes that it consists of red heath bog (2,830 Irish acres) and "old turbary, or bog cut out" (300 Irish acres), giving a total of 3,130 Irish acres, or 5,070 English acres. This report outlines plans for four drains to be constructed through Mouds Bog and also describes plans to build a road through the bog from the Lands of Caragh on the east side to the Leap of Allen to the west. The cost estimates for the main, minor and cross drains was given as £7,605 1s 6d. [7]

Flora

The occurrence of a high percentage cover of species of Sphagnum moss is a key feature of active raised bog habitats such as this SAC. These species will also occur in the degraded raised bog habitat, but in this habitat, land use activities such as peat cutting have affected the hydrology of the bog. The third habitat at this SAC - Rhynchosporion vegetation – includes White Beak-sedge Rhynchospora alba) and/or Brown Beak-sedge (Rhynchospora fusca). This type of habitat also includes plants such as Bog Asphodel (Narthecium ossifragum), Carnation Sedge (Carex panicea). Deergrass (Scirpus cespitosus or Trichophorum cespitosum) and species of sundew (Drosera spp.). [4]

Plant species such as Bog-rosemary (Andromeda polifolia), Cranberry (Vaccinium oxycoccos), and Heather (the Calluna species Calluna vulgaris) occur in this midland raised bog. A range of Sphagnum species (Sphagnum cuspidatum, Sphagnum magellanicum and Sphagnum capillifolium) are recorded as growing at the small pools to either side of the mineral ridge, along with Great Sundew (Drosera anglica). [4]

Heather, Bog myrtle (Myrica gale) and Crowberry (Empetrum nigrum) grow at the hummock/hollow system to the south. Bog mosses, including Sphagnum tenellum, are recorded at the wet hollows, while Sphagnum cuspidatum and tall Common Cottongrass (Eriophorum angustifolium) occur at the wet quaking soak to the south. Downy Birch (Betula pubescens), Gorse (Ulex europaeus), Purple Moor-grass (Molinia caerulea), and Soft Rush (Juncus effusus) are recorded to the north-east of the site at cutover areas. [4]

The pitcher plant Sarracenia purpurea has been recorded at Mouds Bog. [8] Two plants of this species were transferred from Termonbarry Bog to Mouds Bog in 1963, and on sampling in 1989 the plants were thriving. [9]

Fauna

The rare Red List species Red Grouse (Lagopus lagopus scotica) has been recorded at this site, as have Curlew (genus Numenius), Kestrel (genus Falco), Meadow Pipit (Anthus pratensis) and Skylark (Alauda arvensis).

Funding from the Heritage Council (along with other sources) allowed for the commencement of a three-year project to halt the decline of the Curlew at Mouds Bog and four other sites in 2016. [10]

Conservation Objectives

The conservation objectives for this site, published in 2015, include restoration of the area of active raised bog to 105.8 hectares, restoration of the habitat area, variability and distribution, and restoration of water levels, bog moss cover, microtopographical features, and central ecotope, active flush, soaks, and bog woodland areas. [11] The objectives also include maintenance of the high bog area, transitional areas, raised bog flora and fauna, air quality with respect to nitrogen deposition, and water quality with respect to hydrochemical measures. [11]

A comprehensive restoration plan for Mouds Bog was published in 2022, which outlines the restoration measures to be carried out at the site. These include blocking of all remaining high drain bogs and of drains on cutover bogs, removal of trees, cell bunding and general site management. The drainage management plan is described, as well as the community benefits to be accrued from the actions. [12]

Threats

It is noted in the NPWS site synopsis that the site includes considerable areas of cutover, that there is “extensive active industrial peat moss production in the western section of the remaining high bog”, that domestic turf cutting also occurs here, that some areas have been reclaimed for agriculture and that there has been damage due to burning. [4] The topic of turf-cutting has been contentious in this area. [13]

Culture

The poem 'The Bog of Moods' by Paula Meehan may refer to this location. [14]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peat</span> Accumulation of partially decayed vegetation

Peat is an accumulation of partially decayed vegetation or organic matter. It is unique to natural areas called peatlands, bogs, mires, moors, or muskegs. Sphagnum moss, also called peat moss, is one of the most common components in peat, although many other plants can contribute. The biological features of sphagnum mosses act to create a habitat aiding peat formation, a phenomenon termed 'habitat manipulation'. Soils consisting primarily of peat are known as histosols. Peat forms in wetland conditions, where flooding or stagnant water obstructs the flow of oxygen from the atmosphere, slowing the rate of decomposition. Peat properties such as organic matter content and saturated hydraulic conductivity can exhibit high spatial heterogeneity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bog</span> Type of wetland with peat-rich soil

A bog or bogland is a wetland that accumulates peat as a deposit of dead plant materials – often mosses, typically sphagnum moss. It is one of the four main types of wetlands. Other names for bogs include mire, mosses, quagmire, and muskeg; alkaline mires are called fens. A bayhead is another type of bog found in the forest of the Gulf Coast states in the United States. They are often covered in heath or heather shrubs rooted in the sphagnum moss and peat. The gradual accumulation of decayed plant material in a bog functions as a carbon sink.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Risley Moss</span> Area of peat bog in Warrington, England

Risley Moss is an area of peat bog situated near Birchwood in Warrington, England. It is a country park, Site of Special Scientific Interest and a Local Nature Reserve. It covers an area of 210.5 acres (85.2 ha) and is one of the last remaining fragments of the raised bogs that once covered large areas of South Lancashire and North Cheshire.

<i>Sphagnum</i> Genus of mosses, peat moss

Sphagnum is a genus of approximately 380 accepted species of mosses, commonly known as sphagnum moss, also bog moss and quacker moss. Accumulations of Sphagnum can store water, since both living and dead plants can hold large quantities of water inside their cells; plants may hold 16 to 26 times as much water as their dry weight, depending on the species. The empty cells help retain water in drier conditions.

Ballynahone Bog is a raised bog, situated in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland, about 3 km south of Maghera, on low-lying ground immediately north of the Moyola River about 14 km from its mouth at Lough Neagh. It is one of the largest lowland raised bogs in Northern Ireland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lough Derravaragh</span> Lake in County Westmeath, Ireland

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cors Caron</span> Raised bog in Ceredigion, Wales

Cors Caron is a raised bog in Ceredigion, Wales. Cors is the Welsh word for "bog". Cors Caron covers an area of approximately 349 hectares. Cors Caron represents the most intact surviving example of a raised bog landscape in the United Kingdom. About 44 different species groups inhabit the area including various land and aquatic plants, fish, insects, crustaceans, lichen, fungi, terrestrial mammals and birds.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flanders Moss</span> Area of raised bog lying in the Carse of Stirling, Scotland.

Flanders Moss is an area of raised bog lying in the Carse of Forth in west Stirlingshire, Scotland. The villages of Thornhill and Port of Menteith lie to the north with the villages of Kippen and Buchlyvie lying to the south. The moss is a National Nature Reserve, managed by NatureScot. Formed on the Carse of Stirling over 8000 years ago, it is an internationally important habitat currently undergoing active restoration. The eastern part of Flanders Moss is the largest raised bog in Europe to remain in a predominantly near-natural state.

<i>Aulacomnium palustre</i> Species of moss

Aulacomnium palustre, the bog groove-moss or ribbed bog moss, is a moss that is nearly cosmopolitan in distribution. It occurs in North America, Hispaniola, Venezuela, Eurasia, and New Zealand. In North America, it occurs across southern arctic, subboreal, and boreal regions from Alaska and British Columbia to Greenland and Quebec. Documentation of ribbed bog moss's distribution in the contiguous United States is probably incomplete. It is reported sporadically south to Washington, Wyoming, Georgia, and Virginia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Raised bog</span> Type of wetland

Raised bogs, also called ombrotrophic bogs, are acidic, wet habitats that are poor in mineral salts and are home to flora and fauna that can cope with such extreme conditions. Raised bogs, unlike fens, are exclusively fed by precipitation (ombrotrophy) and from mineral salts introduced from the air. They thus represent a special type of bog, hydrologically, ecologically and in terms of their development history, in which the growth of peat mosses over centuries or millennia plays a decisive role. They also differ in character from blanket bogs which are much thinner and occur in wetter, cloudier climatic zones.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Foulshaw Moss</span>

Foulshaw Moss is a raised bog in Cumbria, England. In 1998 it was bought by Cumbria Wildlife Trust, which has worked to reverse damage caused to the bog by drainage and afforestation. It is protected as a Site of Special Scientific Interest and as part of the Witherslack Mosses Special Area of Conservation along with two smaller bogs Meathop Moss and Nichols Moss.

Scohaboy Bog is a raised bog in County Tipperary in Ireland. It lies approximately 6 km northwest of Cloughjordan, County Tipperary, between the N52 and R490 roads.

<i>Sphagnum fuscum</i> Species of moss

Sphagnum fuscum, the rusty bogmoss or rusty peat moss, is a peat moss found commonly in Norway and Sweden, and can be found scattered across North America, the United Kingdom, and in southern to eastern Europe.

Lough O'Flynn is a freshwater lake in the west of Ireland. It is located in west County Roscommon and is the source of the River Suck.

<i>Polytrichum strictum</i> Species of moss

Polytrichum strictum, commonly known as bog haircap moss or strict haircap, is an evergreen and perennial species of moss native to Sphagnum bogs and other moist habitats in temperate climates. It has a circumboreal distribution, and is also found in South America and Antarctica.

Redwood Bog is a raised bog and national nature reserve of approximately 326 acres (1.32 km2) in County Tipperary.

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The Red Bog Special Area of Conservation or SAC is a Natura 2000 site in County Kildare, close to the town of Blessington in County Wicklow, Ireland. The qualifying interests by which it is protected as an SAC are the presence of a specific habitat type: transition mires and quaking bogs.

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References

  1. 1 2 "Mouds Bog SAC". www.npws.ie. National Parks & Wildlife Service. Retrieved 21 February 2024.
  2. 1 2 3 "EUNIS-Mouds Bog SAC". eunis.eea.europa.eu. Archived from the original on 21 February 2024. Retrieved 21 February 2024.
  3. 1 2 3 "Statutory Instrument S.I. No. 62/2022 - European Union Habitats (Mouds Bog Special Area of Conservation 002331) Regulations 2018". irishstatutebook.ie/. Archived from the original on 21 February 2024. Retrieved 21 February 2024.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "NPWS Mouds Bog Site Synopsis" (PDF). npws.ie. Archived (PDF) from the original on 21 February 2024. Retrieved 21 February 2024.
  5. ↑ "NPWS Designations Viewer". dahg.maps.arcgis.com. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
  6. 1 2 "Derwin, 2002. Dúchas Raised Bog NHA Project 2002 report" (PDF). npws.ie. Archived (PDF) from the original on 25 February 2024. Retrieved 25 February 2024.
  7. ↑ Great Britain Parliament House of Commons. The first report of the Commissioners appointed to enquire into the nature and extent of the several bogs in Ireland and the practibility of draining and cultivating them. JSTOR   community.34291361.[ page needed ]
  8. ↑ Foss, P. J.; O'Connell, C. A. (1985). "Notes on the Ecology of Sarracenia purpurea L. on Irish Peatlands". The Irish Naturalists' Journal. 21 (10): 440–443. JSTOR   25538921.
  9. ↑ Taggart, J B; McNally, S F; Sharp, P M (April 1990). "Genetic variability and differentiation among founder populations of the pitcher plant (Sarracenia purpurea L.) in Ireland". Heredity. 64 (2): 177–183. doi:10.1038/hdy.1990.22.
  10. ↑ "Heritage Council Kildare Curlew Project". heritagecouncil.ie. Archived from the original on 22 February 2024. Retrieved 22 February 2024.
  11. 1 2 "NPWS Mouds Bog Conservation Objectives" (PDF). npws.ie. Archived (PDF) from the original on 22 February 2024. Retrieved 22 February 2024.
  12. ↑ "NPWS Mouds Bog Restoration Plan" (PDF). npws.ie. Archived (PDF) from the original on 22 February 2024. Retrieved 22 February 2024.
  13. ↑ Carroll, Rory (4 May 2022). "'We're being left with nothing': Ireland's turf wars expose rural grievances". The Guardian.
  14. ↑ Meehan P., Dharmakaya, Carcanet, Manchester, 2000, p. 36
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