A Preliminary Report on Areas of Scientific Interest in County Carlow
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CONFIDENTIAL. NOT FOR PUBLICATION. An Foras Forbartha Teoranta The National r Institute CONSERVATION AND AMENITY for Physical ADVISORY SERVICE Planning and PLANNING DIVISION Construction Research A PRELIMINARY REPORT ONAREAS OF SCIENTIFIC INTERESTIN COUNTY CARLOW n v Teach Mhairtin R®thar Waterloo Ath Cliath 4 EDWARD FAHY, Telefon 764211 December, 19 75. St. Martins House Waterloo Road Dublin 4 CONFIDENTIAL. NOT FOR PUBLICATION. r, u r-1 u An Foras Forbartha u Teoranta The National CONSERVATION AND AMENITY Institute ADVISORY SERVICE for Physical Planning and PLANNING DIVISION .Construction Research A PRELIMINARY REPORT ON AREAS OF SCIENTIFIC INTEREST IN COUNTY CARLOW 7 Teach Mhairtin Bothar Waterloo Ath Cliath4 EDWARD FAHY, Telefon 764211 December, 1975. St. Martins House 7 Waterloo Road U Dublin 4 J List of Sites(Group E) SECTION A k Woods at Bunclody J ,Bagenalstown Esker J /Ardristan Marsh 21 ell, Oak Park Pond 23 ,Baggots' Wood 27 30 11 yris Estate 7Pollmounty Valley 33 Deciduous woodlands in the River Barrow Valley 36 wed Bod, St. Mullin' s 39 Scrubland South of Borris 43 Mount Leinster Mountains 45 J Birch Scrub at Clongarran 48 Xianey Valley at Ardattin 50 ,'ullow Ponds 52 ,loughristick's Wood 54 Bahana Wood 56 Iazel Scrub in River Slaney Valley 59 J //allynakill Marsh 61 J 7 Li SECTION B Introduction - Layout of Report Co. Carlow is an intensively farmed region in whichlarge field systems have developed at the expense of hedgerows. Theprimary purpose of this report is to identify areas which are worthy of preservationbut in this case an additional approach is considered worthwhile.The descriptive section (F) deals with areas which should bemanaged in the future in much thesame way as they are now. The following Section (G) describessites which at present have little value as areas of scientific interestbut which could be managed to develop diverse biological communities.A successful conservation policy in the county will necessitate thecreation of worthwhile areas as well as the maintenance of existing sites. J J J 3 M LJ SECTION C M GENERAL INTRODUCTION u This report concerns country-planning. It should enable the County Council to pick out those areas that are important on anational or local level and whose conservation can be based on strong grounds, either scientific, educational or amenity.. The Conservation and Amenity Advisory Sorvlcc is attempting to identify a representative range of natural and semi-natural J habitats throughout Ireland and also to list sites of specialsignificance, usually containing a rare species or a rare natural phenomenon.Around these areas development can proceed with relative impunity, once amenity J and waste-disposal problems have been surmounted.It may be stressed that the amount of land available is such that development willvery seldom mean J the impoverishment of the national heritage, if it is properlyplanned. On the contrary, in particular examples it will allow more peopleto obtain meaningful recreation from the countryside. J However, conflicts will arise in scenically attractive areas where someor all of the elements of water, hills , woodland androck are combined to make a desirable landscape., sought after by housing or recreational interests. At the same time, such places often contain communities ofplants and animals interesting because of their isolation from rural or urbandevelopment Usually it will be possible to compromise between the opposingforces but occasionally development will have to be curtailed to preserve thescientific interest in an area. Conservation of natural communities may be important for amenity, scientific or recreational reasons or any combination of the three.Frequently, the natural vegetation of an area gives to it a characteristicatmosphere, an inde finable value but very real to those who walk ordrive through it.Diversity is the key quality of the environment that attracts peopleto an area or that J makes them find relaxation there:the contrast between cultivation and wilderness, between water and land or between trees and grass. Fortunatel} diversity is also the sine qua non of rich biologicalcommunities . 4 n u Examples of all habitats must be reserved for scientific research.Uncul- tivates areas are essential as reservoirs for organisms thatmay be useful for soil conditioning or pest control in the future.Quite apart from their inherest interest and complexity they are needed alsoas control areas. J Without them it would be impossible to judge the effectivenessof, or to improve man's attempts at land management.For example, how can pollution be controlled if no unpolluted watercourse or lake remains inwhich to deciphe n the natural breakdown processes? Or how can the great productivityof marsh, U and seasonally flooded land be harnessed, other than by ricegrowing, if no natural swamps are left?Finally, how can cutover bog be best used for tree growing if no natural self-sustaining bog community orno wooded peaty areas exist?These questions are of growing importance in a competitive world u that demands efficiency and an optimum level of food productioncompatible r1 J with little damage to the ecosystem. In education, field studies of all sorts are of immensevalue; and biological field studies are a stimulus that many other disciplines n envy.Natural U communities provide some of the clearest expositions of the ecological principles that operate through all growing and harvesting methods. In addition, there is the challenge of identifying and getting acquaintedwith numerous and very different species. Field work attracts practically all J children at some stage and enables everyone to better appreciatebeing in rural surroundings. Already, since the introduction of biology teaching, there is a greater awareness of the environment and interestin wildlife. Such constructive recreation should be encouraged by the maintenanceof J variety in the countryside. It is the intention of this survey to encourage theuse of the countryside by drawing attention to scientifically interesting places. All of those J mentioned can support much greater numbers of people- less so in certain cases of marshes and bogs, or at certain times of r1I the year.But the J carrying-capacity of each site will eventually have, to be analysed.How much recreational use can co-exist with a nesting wildfowl population? How many people can walk a woodland floor without damagingthe plant r1 S. cover?Or what number of trees can be felled each yearwhile preserving rl J the attractive features of the wood?The idea of preserving any but the smallest areas intact and without change is unrealistic and multipleuse should be encouraged.Many of the areas would respond to sound manage- rl ment and become much more productive.The majority of the sites listed j are now productive in the crude sense of producing fish,game birds or timber.All are productive if they encourage people to visit thearea and :J make use of services nearby, and we believe that allcontribute to the relaxation, mental health and happiness of the community, ospocialiy the 1 generation of town-dwellers that now form most of our nation. U 7 LJ 7 J n 1J J n J J SECTION D CARLOW AS AN AREA OF BIOLOGICAL ANDGEOLOGICAL INTEREST Because Co. Carlow is a non-maritimecounty one dimension of its potential biological interest is lacking; this hasgeological implications also forone frequently finds formations of geologicalinterest exposed as coastal structureE The distribution of the solid geology isshown in Fig. J 7 C C Y E O m ° 0 v i 0 v .v oe 261d n N V p o ,f+ 1000 I' a ; J - < < r_''L 7 1 i . 1 h' 1, ict;/ /:.,; J Limestone is of limited extent in the county, the mostcommon rocks being granite and diorite, neither of which is noted for thediversity of its flora.To date there have been no noteworthy discoveries of solidgelogical formations which should be preserved but quarrying on the MountLeinster range may reveal interesting structures in time. The solid geology, apart from its intrinsic interest, has determinedthe shape of the county (Fig. 2). When formulating a conservation policy for Carlow J it would be desirable to ensure as far as possiblethat a wide range of habitats occurs in each of the regions identified. J Bored on the Ord-ce Sur.eybr pvmrtnon of the Go.ernment. F ii,. 2 -Crurrh C'nr/ufr-,c<weral trrrtcrurhir (('(,lures. e J The later geological history of the county is represented bythe remains of the Saale and Weichsel glaciations.The first of these occur on the Mount Leinster chain which borders the county to the East.The second phase u has left more widespread traces. As is the case elsewhere the evidence for glacial activitytakes the form of single rock fragments (erratics etc) and inclusions,fluvio - glacial deposits J and outwash gravels.From a research point of view none is singled outas worthy of preservation with the exception of an esker atBagenalstown which n J could be of benefit for educational reasons. The only otheresker in the county is at Aghade and is not regarded as being particularlyinteresting. The glacial phase is important also as a determining factorin the kinds of soil that exist today.Fig. 3 shows the distribution of the main types whichare a result of glacial deposits interacting with climate. Rainfall isa critical J factor here, the amount of water deciding the degree ofwaterlogging or leaching of the surface sediments. J Fig. 3. Greatly simplified soil map of Co. Carlow showing the approximate distribution of Gleys (G), Podsols (PO) , and Peat (P) . 9 U L_: iL7 U LI U L1 LI L_7 LJ C_7 L.J . U L;] L__3 r, -I r -I LJLALJ L- a b e BSAGITTIFOLIASAGITTARIAA rrorl,ead56SL I BREGALISOSMUNDs/1 Ai. B 358/1 ANDROMEDA BTRIFOLIUM192x19 Be-1030. rceaole 193)onw,rdr ur 1930Royal onwards Fern (Li Orycocc (s,3/' POLIFOLIA1930 onwards L _C} w Ly .