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The Flow Country the Peatlands of Caithness and Sutherland Please note: the content of this PDF file is taken from archive holdings, and has been rendered to produce the best possible output. However, you may experience fluctuations in quality due to these files not being created from electronic originals. The Flow Country The peatlands of Caithness and Sutherland R A Lindsay, D J Charman, F Everingham, R M O'Reilly, M A Palmer, T A Rowell and D A Stroud Edited by D A Ratcliffe and P H Oswald Please note: This is a section of the full report please visit http://www.jncc.gov.uk/page-4281 Please note: the content of this PDF file is taken from archive holdings, and has been rendered to produce the best possible output. Contents However, you may experience fluctuations in quality due to these files not being created from electronic originals. Acknowledgements Introduction Part I Peatland ecology Chapter 1 The development and hydrology of mire systems 9 Chapter 2 Classification of mire systems Chapter 3 Climate and world blanket bog distribution 19 27 Part II The peatlands of Caithness and Sutherland Chapter 4 The physical environment Chapter 5 Human impact 33 Chapter 6 Forest history 42 Chapter 7 Peatland distribution and area 56 Chapter 8 The Nature Conservancy Council's Peatland Survey of Caithness and Sutherland 65 Chapter 9 Mire features of note in Caithness and Sutherland 67 Chapter 10 Analysis of vegetation communities 72 Chapter 11 Distribution of notable plant species 75 Chapter 12 Analysis of site types 85 Chapter 13 The definition of nature conservation requirements 94 110 Part III The freshwater habitats of Caithness and Sutherland Chapter 14 Recent surveys of aquatic flora and fauna Chapter 15 The impacts of afforestation on freshwater habitats 120 Chapter 16 Selection of freshwater habitats for nature conservation 127 131 Part IV Chapter 17 The ornithological importance of the Caithness and Sutherland blanket bogs 134 Part V Chapter 18 The amalgamation of different conservation interests in the Caithness and Sutherland peatlands 142 Annex Vegetation and small-scale patterning 147 References 163 Please note: This is a section of the full report please visit http://www.jncc.gov.uk/page-4281 The Flow Country The peatlands of Caithness and Sutherland R A Lindsay, D J Charman, F Everingham, R M O'Reilly, M A Palmer, T A Rowell and D A Stroud Edited by D A Ratcliffe and P H Oswald Contents Acknowledgements Introduction Part I Peatland ecology Chapter 1 The development and hydrology of mire systems 9 Chapter 2 Classification of mire systems Chapter 3 Climate and world blanket bog distribution 19 27 Part II The peatlands of Caithness and Sutherland Chapter 4 The physical environment Chapter 5 Human impact 33 Chapter 6 Forest history 42 Chapter 7 Peatland distribution and area 56 Chapter 8 The Nature Conservancy Council's Peatland Survey of Caithness and Sutherland 65 Chapter 9 Mire features of note in Caithness and Sutherland 67 Chapter 10 Analysis of vegetation communities 72 Chapter 11 Distribution of notable plant species 75 Chapter 12 Analysis of site types 85 Chapter 13 The definition of nature conservation requirements 94 110 Part III The freshwater habitats of Caithness and Sutherland Chapter 14 Recent surveys of aquatic flora and fauna Chapter 15 The impacts of afforestation on freshwater habitats 120 Chapter 16 Selection of freshwater habitats for nature conservation 127 131 Part IV Chapter 17 The ornithological importance of the Caithness and Sutherland blanket bogs 134 Part V Chapter 18 The amalgamation of different conservation interests in the Caithness and Sutherland peatlands 142 Annex Vegetation and small-scale patterning 147 References 163 Acknowledgements This report describes a large area of Scotland and a whilst Dr Chris Goody, Head of Data and Information programme of survey which has extended over Division, and his team, Brian Marsh, Bob Beattie and several years. The survey is the result of the efforts of Valentine Francis, gave much help and support from a considerable number of people, whilst the report central computing services. itself, during the 18 months of its production, has involved an even larger number of people, to all of Much of the map analysis has been carried out with whom we owe grateful thanks. the assistance of Doric Computer Systems Ltd, using the Arc/Info Geographic Information System. Indeed The Peatland Survey of Northern Scotland was the majority of maps and associated area calculations funded by the Nature Conservancy Council's Chief which appear in the later chapters of this report Scientist Directorate, supplemented by the Scottish could not have been produced in the time available Field Survey Unit in 1984/85. We are most grateful to but for the Arc/Info system and the efforts of Doric all the owners and occupiers for permission to survey staff. Colin Willers in particular has spent a great deal their land and for the great kindness and interest of time on this work, for which we are especially shown by many of them during the course of our grateful. discussions with them. We thank the estate gamekeepers and agents who gave generously of Several people gave valuable advice on particular their time and local knowledge. We are also aspects, notably Rob Soutar on forestry matters, Dr indebted to the Forestry Commission and Fountain Ian McLean and Edward Milner on invertebrates, Dr Forestry for permission to survey areas within forest Sarah Woodin on acid deposition, and Dr Martin industry holdings. Holdgate on the mires of southern Patagonia. We thank Dr David Goode for initiating the project, A number of people read and commented on the Dr Derek Langslow for continued support in later first draft of this report. The final version owes a years, and Dr Peter Pitkin for organising the Scottish substantial amount to the generous efforts of six Field Survey Unit's work on the peatlands. people - Professor Hugo Sjörs, Emeritus Professor of the University of Uppsala, Sweden; Professor R S The principal fieldwork was undertaken by Richard Clymo of Queen Mary College, London; Dr D A Lindsay, John Riggall, Fiona Burd, John Ratcliffe, Ratcliffe, the NCC's Chief Scientist; Dr Stewart Fiona Everingham, Sarah Garnett, Bob Missin, Sara Angus; Dr Terry Keatinge; and Lesley Cranna. Oldfield, Dr Jane Smart, David Stroud, Sylvia White, Professor Sjors provided an enormous amount of Dr Elizabeth Charter and Naomi Duxfield. Dr Chris information based on his lifetime's experience of bog Ferreira kindly offered much valuable information systems around the world. Professor Clymo provided and advice during the course of the work, which we a critical review of, and much valuable detail for, the gratefully acknowledge. early chapters on peatland ecology. Dr Ratcliffe kindly took on the job of general editing, making a We owe a great debt to the staff of the NCC's North- substantial contribution to the overall structure of the West Scotland Region, in particular to Dr Peter report and providing, in addition, the final chapter, Tilbrook, Regional Officer, for his constant support which draws together all the threads in the and sound advice, Sandy MacLennan, Deputy conservation argument. Stewart Angus, Terry Regional Officer, who was instrumental in setting up Keatinge and Lesley Cranna provided detailed, the original survey, and the Assistant Regional critical reviews based on the local perspective. We Officers for Caithness and Sutherland, Dr Stewart extend our deepest gratitude to all six for their Angus, Lesley Cranna, Dr Terry Keatinge and Kristin efforts. Scott. Ian Mitchell also provided valuable information. Their help over the years has done Other people who read the report and provided much to ensure the smooth running of the survey valuable advice and comments were Professor John programme. Allen, Dr Martin Ball, Professor John Birks, Dr John Cross, David Duncan, Dr Tony Fox, Dr Martin The main stages of data analysis would not have Holdgate, Dr Peter Hulme, Dr Derek Langslow, been possible without the considerable efforts of Sandy MacLennan, Dr John Miles, Dr Michael John Riggall and Fiona Burd, who went to great Pienkowski and Dr Peter Tilbrook. lengths to tailor existing computer packages into a unified system which could accept the various types We are very grateful to Stuart Wallace for preparing of data obtained from the survey. They were assisted many of the diagrams and to Fiona Burd, Lynda by Carol Fox, Ian Cheesman and Sara Oldfield, to Davis and Alison Rothwell for several other whom we are also grateful. Dr Stuart Ball provided a illustrations. We also thank Janet Southey for her most valuable computerised mapping programme, helpful advice and supervision of the illustrative 5 material, Sandra Lackie and Sylvia White typed Finally we record our warmest thanks to Philip several sections of text, whilst David Dyer assisted Oswald for checking the bibliographical references with the collation of the list of references. Sylvia and editing the text for publication. White also typed and formatted some of the larger tables. 6 Introduction The north-west Highlands and Islands of Scotland included botany and plant ecology. By the late 1950s, contain some of the most spectacular scenery in Nature Conservancy surveyors had penetrated the Britain. They are celebrated as a region of high east in places and described it as "the flow country" mountains and rugged moorland, where steepness from the huge expanse of almost level bogland, of slope and abundance of bare rock prevail. These "flow" being a northern term for any flat, deep and dramatic landscapes occupy much of Wester Ross wet bog, This was clearly the largest continuous and west Sutherland. In sharp contrast, however, the expanse in Britain of the type of peat moorland far north-eastern corner, in Caithness and east known to ecologists as "blanket bog".
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