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Walking Wildlife

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Walking Wildlife The upland environment of Northern Ireland Blanket Bog Montane Heath Upland Acid Grassland This guide aims to help you understand more about Northern Ireland’s uplands and Where What Who Status Where What Who Status Where What Who Status the wild plant and animal species that depend upon these areas for their existence. Wet, soft ground. Layer of peat 1-5 Most of the living Degraded through Generally found above This short (<10cm) wind- Dominated Significant losses Occupying Of greater cultural The open nature of Some heavily The wilder character of Northern Ireland’s upland environment becomes apparent metres deep. plant material in the actions of man 600m. pruned habitat is extremely by woolly of montane heath better drained than wildlife interest, grasslands allows grazed grasslands at about 150m, where earth banks and dry-stone walls replace hedges and where a bog is in the including drainage, slow-growing. fringe moss in recent years soils on heavily but remains a habitat small plants such as are dominated by less waterlogged overgrazing, burning, and contains mainly due to grazed upland to some scarce and tormentil and heath mat-grass. gorse, heather and rushes become more frequent. The rougher terrain combines surface 5cm. peat extraction dwarf shrubs, sheep grazing, landscapes. declining species. milkwort to grow. with harsher climatic conditions to constrain the extent of farming activity. Above and the impact of sedges, others also recreational 600m winter weather conditions sometimes approach those found in the arctic. recreation. mosses and pressure. These areas are also A reduction in lichens of high important for ground- sheep numbers The upland habitats of Northern Ireland with their plants and animals are very conservation nesting birds. could improve Priority habitat in a biodiversity. important in a European context. This is because we have prevailing southwesterly value. European context, weather systems that give a mild wet, oceanic climate (more than 2m yearly rainfall very limited extent in Care: Grasses grow from the base making grassland habitats more resilient to on Cuilcagh in Fermanagh), a wide range of rock types (including Mournes granite, Northern Ireland. trampling than blanket bog or heath Sperrins schist, Antrim Hills basalt, Fermanagh limestone) and genetically distinct Simon Gray animals and plants. The peaty soils under most upland habitats are nutrient poor Scrub from centuries of high rainfall and very acidic from the activity of bog mosses Simon Gray Restricted to the upper Supports a very rare Associated with This precious top part of our highest community of upland plants. priority species layer is likely to be Where What Who Status (Sphagnum). Found in valley bottoms Dead bog moss Home to species A changing, drier and most exposed such as skylark. impacted by climate and draped across and plant matter specially adapted climate may lead to When the going gets woody, Nature’s Important Now gaining About 12,000 years ago the glaciations which carved our mountains retreated to mountains (the Mourne change. gentle mountain slopes accumulated over to live in a nutrient- further degradation. 700m peaks, Cuilcagh, brambles catch at your stepping shelter and food increasing credit reveal bare rock surfaces and an uneven topography of rock debris, sands and and ridges. several thousand years. poor environment. Dart and Sawel). clothing, gorse spines stick stone to sources for small for its role in clays. The types of vegetation we see today (e.g. bog, heath and upland grassland in your socks, and you’re woodland. mammals and carbon and Surface is often uneven Expect bog moss Active blanket bog is habitats) vary depending primarily on rock type, climate and land use. They occur as Care: We can help the survival of this priority habitat by taking care to contain our trampling weaving your way through upland birds such water cycling. in character with (Sphagnum), bog a priority habitat in a pressure within established path lines, rather than widening the damage. willows, you are now in scrub! as stonechat. a fascinating mosaic of different habitats, in patches of different sizes and shapes. hummocks and pools. cotton and bog European context. asphodel. Care: Not greatly affected by recreation activity, the biggest threat to the survival of Woodland scrub is how it’s undervalued as a habitat. Care: Paths across bog are particularly susceptible to erosion and widening. Help prevent further damage to fragile blanket bog by keeping to the centre of existing paths and resisting Where What Who Status the temptation to jump off peat haggs. The natural treeline The government first started The main native General Cliff and Scree in Northern Ireland planting commercial conifer trees are birch absence Where What Who Status is believed to be plantations in Northern Ireland and mountain ash of native Upland Heath approximately 500- from 1911, before this the with occasional woodland Mountain A refuge for The mountain avens, moss Relatively robust cliffs, rock flowering plants campion and purple saxifrage habitats, historically Where What Who Status 600m. landed estates such as Glenarm, stunted oak on in Northern Annesley and Kilmorey had more schist or granite Ireland’s outcrops and mosses which on Binevenagh’s basalt cliffs protected by their Moving up the hill, Mature upland heath Characterised by Considerable mixed planting regimes and it is bedrock, and with uplands. and scree. grazing animals have are rare arctic-alpine species inaccessibility. as soils become with a diverse structure, abundant dwarf shrubs upland heathland these which give glimpses of the hazel and ash removed from more that have survived there since less waterlogged, including heather at such as heathers, bog loss in recent potential native tree cover can on limestone or accessible locations. the end of last glaciation. bog grades different growth stages myrtle, bilberry and times. bring to appropriate upland sites. basalt bedrock. imperceptibly into and a moss layer at the gorse. Nesting site for pergerine Some sites heath. base, provides a range of Widespread felling Recently you Some and raven. are showing micro habitats which add during the 16th and may have sites are degradation due to its biodiversity value. 17th centuries and noticed native showing to increased grazing practices since tree corridors degradation recreation activity. Particularly Upland heath in summer On wetter parts of the Pressures include have left only small alongside new due to Care: Climb carefully as the mosses and flowering plants hanging on in all steep, rocky prominent across colour is perhaps the most mountain, heathers will intensive livestock patches of native, forestry plantings. increased terrain are slow-growing and sensitive to physical disturbance. the Antrim Hills, recognisable and most be found alongside grazing, burning deciduous woodland recreation of Northern Ireland’s Uplands Ireland’s Northern of Sperrin Mountains, photographed upland purple moor-grass, for agriculture, above 200m. activity. Mourne Mountains, habitat. deergrass and bog air pollution and An Insight to Key Flora and Fauna Fauna and Flora Key to Insight An Ring of Gullion and moss (Sphagnum), this afforestation. At Aughrim Hill in the the scarp slopes of is known as wet heath. Mournes the Woodland Dogs on the hills – an animal welfare issue Wildlife Trust are currently James Hamill western Fermanagh. planting what will be the The survival of the birds and animals that live in the uplands is often On better drained Priority habitat largest native woodland in question due to harsh weather, predators and limited food. slopes, notably in the in a European in Northern Ireland Disturbance by dogs is detrimental to already vulnerable wildlife. Eastern Mournes a context. (110,000 native trees Key habitats in Northern Ireland’s uplands greater abundance of The presence of a dog will also cause stress to sheep, and where dogs with on 60 hectares). A habitat is a place where plants and animals live and grow; habitats are typically the purple bell heather, are off-lead sheep may be chased and injured. The failure of a minority the dominance of dwarf Walking defined by their constituent species. Having names for different habitats allows of dog owners to keep their dogs under control means that dogs are not shrubs and the absence ecologists to quantify and map changes to our biodiversity. But more than this, of purple moor grass, welcome in most upland areas. habitat names provide language that helps us connect the landscape with what cottongrass and deer Please respect wildlife and farms animals by not taking dogs onto the grass are indicators of lives there. Our mountain journeys take us through a mosaic of different habitats, hills. Where dogs are welcome, ensure that your dog is under effective Kelley O’Reilly Smith dry heath. James Rainey with that variety adding life, colour and texture to our experiences. Habitat type control at all times. Make sure to clean up after your dog - there are can vary gradually with slope, aspect and altitude, or change abruptly to give clear Care: Its woody shrubs can make upland heath susceptible to damage by fire. Heather is Care: Consider the benefits native woodland can bring to our uplands and lend your support to risks to humans and livestock from dog faeces. boundaries. particularly sensitive to trampling. actions that help bring the trees back. 25 The Skylark’s distinctive head-crest rises 30 Red Grouse 31 Responsible recreation – can others enjoy up when alarmed. In the uplands they Lagopus lagopus tomorrow what we enjoy today? feed mostly on seeds from grasses and 33-40cm sedges. Once a common farmland bird, When disturbed Red Grouse explode into Walkers and climbers enjoy the uplands mainly for the physical challenge, pesticide use and changes to farming flight with rapid wing beats and a loud, the serenity and the beauty. The seasonal colour of habitats and wildflowers, mean the upland margins are now “quarrack-rack-rack”.
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