Clara Bog region, Ireland
Source: D Hogan
Almost all raised bogs in Ireland have been damaged to some extent, usually by a combination of hand cutting and burning. Of the original area of about 310 000 ha only 7.4 per cent have retained an intact surface and only 6.2 per cent can be classified in the top three categories for Nature Conservation value. In Northern Ireland only 2270 ha of lowland peatland remained intact in 1987 from an original area exceeding 25 000 ha. By 1990 the figure was estimated to be less than 2000 ha. At the rate of decline of about 3500 ha per year it was estimated in 1990 that all Irish raised bogs would probably be seriously damaged by 1995. Clara Bog (Site 94 on Map 9.8) is one of the largest remaining reasonably intact raised bogs in Ireland. It is a declared Nature Reserve (1987), a Ramsar site and a Biogenetic Reserve of the Council of Europe. The bog contains all the characteristic features of a raised bog: a hummock-hollow pattern, Sphagnum lawns, pools and a typical flora. An outstanding feature is the series of flushes where mineral rich water affects the surface of the bog resulting in the presence of species more typical of poor fens and including birch (Betula pubescens). The site has been acquired from Bórd na Mona (the peat board) by the Irish Department of fisheries and forestry and is now protected from future peat mining. However, survival can only be guaranteed if the surrounding hydrology is not substantially altered.
In Northern Ireland only 2270 ha of lowland peatland remained intact in 1987 from an original area exceeding 25 000 ha. By 1990 the figure was estimated to be less than 2000 ha. At the rate of decline of about 3500 ha per year it was estimated in 1990 that all Irish raised bogs would probably be seriously damaged by 1995. Clara Bog (Site 94 on Map 9.8) is one of the largest remaining reasonably intact raised bogs in Ireland. It is a declared Nature Reserve (1987), a Ramsar site and a Biogenetic Reserve of the Council of Europe. The bog contains all the characteristic features of a raised bog: a hummock-hollow pattern, Sphagnum lawns, pools and a typical flora. An outstanding feature is the series of flushes where mineral rich water affects the surface of the bog resulting in the presence of species more typical of poor fens and including birch (Betula pubescens). The site has been acquired from Bórd na Mona (the peat board) by the Irish Department of fisheries and forestry and is now protected from future peat mining. However, survival can only be guaranteed if the surrounding hydrology is not substantially altered.
Clara Bog (Site 94 on Map 9.8) is one of the largest remaining reasonably intact raised bogs in Ireland. It is a declared Nature Reserve (1987), a Ramsar site and a Biogenetic Reserve of the Council of Europe. The bog contains all the characteristic features of a raised bog: a hummock-hollow pattern, Sphagnum lawns, pools and a typical flora. An outstanding feature is the series of flushes where mineral rich water affects the surface of the bog resulting in the presence of species more typical of poor fens and including birch (Betula pubescens). The site has been acquired from Bórd na Mona (the peat board) by the Irish Department of fisheries and forestry and is now protected from future peat mining. However, survival can only be guaranteed if the surrounding hydrology is not substantially altered.