Heaths, larches, and black spruce, which grow fairly well on the floating bog, survive only as stunted specimens around the edges of the raised bog. A number of mammal species are recorded on the cutaway bogs including commoner species such as Fox (Vulpes vulpes), Badger (Meles meles), Hare (Lepus timidus hibernicus), Rabbit (Oryctolagus cunniculus), rodent species including Pygmy Shrew (Sorex minutus), and non-native species such as Fallow Deer (Dama dama) and Grey Squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis). Other species can be expected to occur occasionally including Daubenton’s (Myotis daubentonii), Natterer’s (M. nattereri), Whiskered/Brandt’s (M. mystacinus/M. Visit Google Maps to see Rhodora Drive, Amherst, NHnear the sanctuary. One of the more lovely species is Marsh Helleborine (Epipactis palustris) but there are also more abundant Marsh Orchids (Dactylorhiza spp) and Butterfly Orchid (Plathanthera bifolia). A fen is a wetland area that drains water, whereas a bog retains water. Woodlands, scrub, hedgerows, treelines, sheltered water bodies and watercourses of the Bord na Móna bogs are ideal habitats for Bat species. Pine Marten (Martes martes) tracks are relatively common throughout the bogs surveyed to date. Dune & … And on a gruesome note: Preserved bodies are sometimes found in bogs! While the habitats recorded to date on the Bord na Móna bogs are to a greater or lesser extent comprised of relatively common species, there are a number of species of high conservation value that are using the cutaway bogs. For hundreds of years, people working in peat bogs in northern Europe have stumbled over hidden caches of butter wrapped in everything from wooden containers to animal bladders. Turn right onto Boston Post Road in Amherst. There are three main types of peatlands in the UK: blanket bog, raised bog and fenland. More than forty endangered, threatened, and rare plants and animals can be found at Cedar Bog. The peat deposits often float. This beautiful butterfly has a chequered wing pattern resembling a stained glass window and feeds on Devil’s-bit Scabious (Succisa pratensis) which is abundant at Lullybeg. Peatland ecosystems are the most efficient carbon sinks in the world, which means the area stores carbon and carbon-containing substances for long periods of time. Cedar Bog is, in actuality, a “fen” and not a bog. Raised sphagnum moss mat in a bog. Red Deer have been recorded at the Oweninny bogs in Mayo; probably introduced to North West Mayo in the late 1990s for hunting. Non-native animals have been introduced to the islands, which eat some native species. The tenth known Irish bat species; Nathusius’ Pipistrelle (P. nathusii) may also occur near larger water bodies if woodland is adjacent. Bleak, treeless and often shrouded in low cloud, blanket bog can seem a desolate habitat. Otter is a protected species under European Union legislation mainly because numbers have declined sharply in other parts of Europe. The peat underlying a Sphagnum bog is composed largely of partly decomposed moss. Peat bogs in Europe, in particular, provide a unique window into the effects of human industry and landscape shift due to deforestation and agriculture and even longer term shifts in climate patterns. Moors for the Future Partnership is made up of organisations including the Peak District National Park Authority, National Trust, RSPB, Natural England, Environment Agency, Pennine Prospects and three water companies: United Utilities, Yorkshire Water and Severn Trent Water, From improving water quality to reducing flood risk, healthy bogs provide a host of benefits. Survey records by BirdWatch Ireland for winter 2009 show Whooper Swan was probably the most important species (both on a national and international level) recorded using the cutaway bog, with an estimated 245 individuals using the larger Boora area. Photo courtesy of the National Parks and Wildlife Service. brandtii), Brown Long-eared (Plecotus auritus) and Lesser Horseshoe Bats (Rhinolophus hipposideros). is abundant on the cutaways in May and its white fluffy seedheads can create an entirely new landscape while in full bloom across the Midlands, while there is a fantastic display of orchids to be seen at Finnamores and Lough Boora in April and May. Find out more about the Grey Partridge. Along the periphery of the bog is often a zone of open water, marsh, sedge marsh or fen. Golden Plover, and Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis). They are now widespread throughout the wider area. It holds so much water that it actually has fewer solids than milk, meaning it’s very easy to lose a wellie in! The Marsh Fritillary maintains a healthy and expanding population on the Lullybeg site but elsewhere in Ireland it is in danger of extinction, as in Britain and the rest of Europe. Lack of oxygen, dry air, and extreme heat or cold can mummify an animal or a human. The more common species do however create great spectacles at different times of the year – Bog Cotton (Eriophorum spp.) The familiar song sparrow and red-winged blackbird live there along with yellow-bellied flycatchers, and Nashville warblers, which nest only in northern Michigan. Over the centuries, these small animals have been used as draft animals in the peat bogs … And on a gruesome note: Preserved bodies are sometimes found in bogs! Lots of bog bodies retain some or all of their original skin. As further data becomes available through the Bord na Móna ecology survey and surveys carried out by others such as BirdWatch Ireland on behalf of Bord na Móna, a wider picture of species diversity will emerge over the range of the Bord na Móna bogs. Peatlands and their surrounding plant life work to trap the CO2 released by the decomposing peat. they are often covered in heath or heathershrubs rooted in the sphagnum moss and peat. These include species listed on Annex II of the European Union Habitats Directive (e.g. The UK has 13% of all the world’s blanket bog, Peatlands are home to rare wading birds such as dunlin, the threatened hen harrier, weird and wonderful plants like the insect-eating sundew and throngs of insects including dragonflies, large heath butterflies, emperor moths and dazzling jewel beetles, Peatland vegetation slows the flow of rainfall, helping to prevent flooding in local towns and villages, Global peatlands contain at least 550 Gigatonnes of carbon, more than twice the carbon stored in all forests, UK’s Peatlands store over three billion tonnes of carbon, around the same amount as all the forest in the UK, France and Germany put together, Peat is the single biggest store of carbon in the UK, storing the equivalent of 20 years of all UK CO, Inland water bodies including peatlands provide £1.5 billion value in terms of water quality, 70% of UK drinking water comes from upland areas dominated by peatlands, Sphagnum moss is a key component of blanket bogs, Sphagnum can hold up to 20 times its weight in water, Each kind of sphagnum moss has its own shade of colour, ranging from red, pink and orange through to green, Some grow underwater in pools and wet hollows whilst  others can survive in fairly dry conditions, Hummocks are created by sphagnum mosses growing to form large mounds up to a metre high, Some mosses grow only a few millimetres a year, while others grow over 3cm, Mosses grow from spores which are produced in fruiting bodies called capsules, Sphagnum mosses produce chemicals which increase the acidity of the water and further prevent the decay of dead plants. The Common frog The Hare The Irish population is therefore particularly important. Examples of this are non-native dogs, cats and black rats that eat young giant tortoises and Galapagos land iguanas. Because decomposition happens so slowly, anything that falls into a bog, including animals and people, can be preserved for long periods of time! In Austria, bog visitors should beware of a poisonous adder ( Vipera berus ). The number of breeding waders on the cutaway bogs recorded in 2009 further emphasises their importance for this group of species, all of which are of conservation concern in Ireland due to loss of suitable breeding habitat. Degraded bogs have fewer bog-mosses and scrub encroachment is a common consequence of drainage or water abstraction from the underlying aquifer. This has decimated sphagnum moss populations and made the environment inhospitable for plants to grow, Worst eroding square kilometres of moorland are losing 800 tonnes carbon per year, These areas could be sequestering (taking in and storing) up to 500 tonnes carbon per year, We have developed techniques for stabilising  peat which have resulted in the successful re-vegetation of bare peat, In the first 17 years we have transformed over 33 sq km of bare peat, Installed 2,757 dams over 13 km of grips and gullies, Trained 360 Community Science Project wildlife surveyors, Attended or hosted 136 events, reaching 4,265 people, Spread 6,462 bags of heather brash over 0.31 km. Mauritia flexuosa palm swamps (growing on top of peat) in the Peruvian Amazon. Eventually shrubs and trees cover the area. Many of these species are of conservation concern, highlighting the importance of wetlands present on the cutaways to threatened birds. Bogs are extremely wet places, that can also be called mires, marshes or swamps.The soil in these areas is very dark and known as peat. van Geel, B (1978) A palaeoecological study of Holocene peat bog sections in Germany and the Netherlands, based on the analysis of pollen, spores and macro- and microscopic remains of fungi, algae, cormophytes and animals. Pride of place is the rare and increasingly endangered Marsh Fritillary Butterfly. Similarly, Heather (Calluna vulgaris) in September is so abundant on bog remnants as to turn the bog purple. Wet peat bogs store carbon that’s been sucked from the air by plants, but many bogs have been drained for farming. Peat (/ p iː t /), sometimes known as turf (/ t ɜːr f /), is an accumulation of partially decayed vegetation or organic matter.It is unique to natural areas called peatlands, bogs, mires, moors, or muskegs. The Bord na Móna bogs have been established as ideal refuges for a range of animals, both common and rarer species such as Marsh Fritillary and Red Squirrel. Commonly found in woodlands, including commercial conifer plantations – there have been records of Red Squirrel at the Lough Boora site in County Offaly. Take "bog bodies," which have been remarkably well preserved due to the acidic, oxygen-poor conditions of peat bogs. Ministers have been accused of deliberately stalling plans to ban the environmentally damaging process of burning peat bogs, in a further sign of … These unusual wetlands are home to a variety of plants and animals including unique bog lemmings, pitcher plants, and sundews. The acidic nature of peat leads to an interesting matrix of plant species, including bog asphodel and insectivorous sundews and butterwort. And it’s certainly true that tree cover here is lower than most other European countries. In winter months the main attractions to the bogs are Whooper Swans, Lapwing and Golden Plover. Peatlands are home to rare wading birds such as dunlin, the threatened hen harrier, weird and wonderful plants like the insect-eating sundew and throngs of insects including dragonflies, large heath butterflies, emperor moths and dazzling jewel beetles. The Tollund Man, a 2,300-year-old corpse recovered from a Denmark peat bog in 1950, has skeletonized hands, but elsewhere his skin is so well-preserved that little … Golden plover and dragonflies such as the black darter fly over the bog pools and in Wales, the endangered water vole finds a safe haven in our upland bog systems. This has caused a decrease in the populations of native species. 8ha) and boasts an impressive insect fauna with rare butterflies and moths. This little moss is the dominant plant in a peat bog. Find out what happens when bogs are not healthy enough to provide these benefits, Our work takes into account all the habitat types in the moorland landscape, not just blanket bog, Clough woodlands are found in steep-sided ravines on the edge of open moorland. Dry sphagnum moss is absorbent and also mildly antiseptic. A baygall is another type of bog found in the forest of the Gulf Coast states in the USA. They provide shelter in an otherwise open landscape, Building an evidence base to underpin our work, Inspiring people to love and look after the moors, Landscape scale working unhindered by ownership boundaries, Providing homes for a wonderful array of wildlife, Healthy, well-functioning blanket bogs are less likely to burn, The moors play an important part in health and wellbeing, The unique plants on the moors slow the flow of rain off the hills, Free audio downloads to help you explore the moors on a guided walk, Enjoy and protect the moors whilst staying safe, Special plants and animals to look out for on your moorland visit, Find out about the wealth of knowledge stored locally, Find out how you can take action to reduce the risk of wildfire, Recording plants and animals whilst you are out and about, Why Tony and Jane choose to volunteer with us, Educational resources and help for teachers, Meet the people who make up Moors for the Future Partnership, Find out about the organisations who make up our partnership. Posted on November 6, 2020 by Miles King . Bogs. Fens are home to a great variety of animals. Turtles, frogs, insects and insect-eating birds are also common in bogs. Cedar Bog is a protected area of about 450 acres of land which remains from the original area of approximately 7,000 acres. These very wet conditions are ideal for acid-loving bog-mosses, cotton grasses, heather, cross-leaved heath, bog asphodel and deer-grass, species otherwise more common in the cooler, wetter uplands. Red Squirrels are declining nationally due mainly to the spread of the Grey Squirrel. It takes thousands of years to make a bog and once they are destroyed it is a long process to get them back. The Kerry Bog is a breed of ponies that evolved in the Irish heathland, formerly living a feral life in the peat bogs. Pine Marten (Martes martes) tracks are relative… The Lullybeg site is managed by members of Butterfly Conservation Ireland who employ a number of targeted management practices such as scrub removal and managed grazing by cattle to maintain suitable habitat conditions for the breeding butterflies. That applies especially to peat mosses ( Sphagnum spp . Ireland’s peat bogs have yielded amazing artifacts over the years – ancient weapons, tools, animals and the occasional leather-covered boat. Peat forms at a very slow rate – 1mm per year or 1 metre per millennium. Numbers recorded in 2010 exceeded 900 for Whooper Swans using the Bord na Móna East Galway bogs along the River Shannon. Other names for bogs include mire, mosses, quagmire, and muskeg; alkaline mires are called fens. Dead remains of the sphagnum mosses pile up and get pressed together to eventually form the soil we know as peat. Amphibians, particularly the moor frog ( Rana arvalis ), live and/or spawn in bogs; snakes enter bogs to hunt them. A wider survey is likely to reveal more species but some of the known species are Wintergreen (Pyrola rotundifolia) and Blue Fleabane (Erigeron acer). However, the wildness of the huge, empty… The mixture of plant and animal species living on and in peatlands are essential for the process of peat formation, thus protecting and/or restoring the peat-forming plant species, and the animals that help those plants to regenerate, is essential. A bog or bogland is a wetland that accumulates peat, a deposit of dead plant material—often mosses, and in a majority of cases, sphagnum moss. Peat: The Most Efficient Carbon Sink In The World. The open landscape and wetland areas are considered to be particularly important for the success of wader species. A number of mammal species are recorded on the cutaway bogs including commoner species such as Fox (Vulpes vulpes), Badger (Meles meles), Hare (Lepus timidus hibernicus), Rabbit (Oryctolagus cunniculus), rodent species including Pygmy Shrew (Sorex minutus), and non-native species such as Fallow Deer (Dama dama) and Grey Squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis). Peat bog ploughed for tree planting . The animals that are in a peat bog are mostly nesting birds and some furry mammals. are the result of ponds filling up with dead plant matter – peat. Some of these are yellowlegs, Siberian cranes, caribou, beavers, and moose.