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tJ 1 r Ll#01 C3 i 1v+; anta CONSERVATICN AND AMENITY The National ADVISORY, ,j,'ICE Institute for Physical Planning and Construction Research REPORT ON AREAS OF SCIENTIFIC INTEREST IN COUNTY LAOIS t .4S i;iciif ".s t1 Caie. aterfoo L. Farrell, r Research Assistant, Itd R., f e , .t4 ",z 4 An Fora s Forba rtha. E St. Martin's House Waterloo Road March, 1972. Dublin 4 PREFAC E 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 scientific oreducational grounds. The Conservation Advisory Service is attempting toidentify a representative range of natural or semi-natural habitatsthroughout Ireland and also to list sites of special significance, usually containing a rarespecies or a rare natural phenomenon. Around these areas, development canproceed with relative impunity, once waste-disposal problems have beensurmounted.It may be stressed that the amount of landavailable is such that development will very seldom mean the impoverishment of the national heritage,if it is properly planned. However, it is true that scenically attractive areaswhich appeal because of the combination of hills, woodland and water, may introduceconflicts. They are naturally sought after by housing orrecreation interests but, at the same time, they often contain communities of plants and animals,interesting because of their isolation from rural or urban development.To compromise between the opposing forces is always difficult, but it maybe pointed out that large trees and especially the woodland community is anirreplaceable feature of the landscape on a timescale fo 10-20 years. Conservation of natural communities may be important foramenity, scientific or educational reasons, or any combination of the three.Frequently the natural vegetation of an area gives to it a characteristic atmosphere,an indefinable value, but very real to those that walk or drivethrough it.Diversity is the key quality of the environment that attracts people to anarea or that makes them find relaxation there;the contrast between cultivation and wilderness, between water and land or between trees and grass.Fortunately, diversity is also the sine qua non of rich biological communities. 1. Examp::.s of all habitats must be preserved forscientific research.-Uncultivated I areas are essential as reservoirsfororganisms that may be useful forsoil conditioning or pest control in the future.Quite apart- from their inherent interest and complexity theyare needed also as control areas.-Without them it would be impossible to judge the effectivenessof, or to improve man'sattempts at land management.For example, how can pollutionbe controlled if no unpolluted watercourse or lake remainsin which to decipher the natural breakdorwnprocesses? Or how can the great productivityof marshes and seasonally floodedland be harnessed, other than by ricegrowing, if no natural swampsare left?Finally, how can cutover bog be bestused for tree growing ifno natural self-sustaining bog community or no woodedpeaty areas exist?These questions are ofgrowing importance in a competitive worldthat demands efficiency andan optimum level of food production compatible ON with little damage to theecosystem. In educatio ti _`ield studies of allsorts are of immense value, and biologicalfield studies are a stimulus thatmany other disciplines envy.Natural communities provide some of the clearestexpositions of the ecologicalprinciples that operate through all growing and harvestingmethods.In addition, there is thechallenge of identifying and gettingacquainted with numerous andvery different species. Field work attracts practically allchildren at some stage and enableseveryone to better appreciate being in rural surroundings.Already, since the introductionof biology teaching, thereis greater awareness of theenvironment and interest in wildlife.Such constructive recreation should be encouraged by themaintenance 1 o of variety in the countryside. t It is the intention of thissurvey to encourage the use of thecountryside by drawing attention to scientifically interestingplaces.All of those mentionedcan support much greater numbers of people - less so in certain cases of marshes and bogs,or at certain times of theyear.But the carrying-capacity ofeach site will eventually haveto be analysed.How much recreationaluse can co-exist with a nesting wild- fowl population?How many people can walka woodland floor without damaging the plant cover?Or what number of treescan be felled each year while. preserving the attractive features of the wood?The idea of preservingany but the smallest 1 areas intact and without change is unrealisticand multiple use should beencouraged. Many of the areas would respondto sound management and becomemuch more ' productive. 2. The majority of the sites listed are nor productive inthe crude sense of producing fish, game birds or timber.. All are productive if they encouragepeople visit the area and make use of services nearby, and we believe that allcontribute to the relaxation, mental health and happiness of the community, especially the generationof town- .d%.elle. s that now form most of our nation. ION 1 3. SECTION B VULNERABILITY OFTHE VARIOUS HABITATS Areas of scientific interest can be damagedin many ways.They can be completely destrcyec by scrub dr treeclearance, by turfcutting or by arter- ial drainage, or they can suffer insidiouslythrough pollution,fertilization, grazing or overuse forrecreation. Of these variousinstances the first poses the greatest threatbecause of the rapidity with which it can occur.In the absence ofa fine large enough to be a sure deterrent, co-operation to maintainthe county's deciduouswood- lands at all levelsof landowner, forester 1 and the general publicmust be actively sought.It will seldom be sufficient to puta prevention orderon an area which would lose its value immediately thetrees are felled.The volun- tary organisations have a role to playin this actingas observers throughout the county. Turf cutting on a small, private scaleis not occurringat either of the sites included but peat land Bord na Mona haveplans to exploitone of them.It is suggested that the county council mighttake up this matter,if not to try to prevent such exploitation then at least topostpone it until thelast possible moment.The demand for machine turfmay fall as central heatingbecomes W-N the standard formand thus save at least one easternraised bog in thecounty. The marginal areas that are scheduledto remain uncutare of much less value than a deep bog and the most satisfactoryagreement would be tocut them out completely and leavethe latter untouched. Burning of the vegetation related to turf-cuttingcauses undesirable modifications in the plantcover, so it should be discouragedif-possible. Drainage schemes of all sorts haveserious consequencesfor the scientific interest of aquatic sites but the threatmay not be as serious inLaois as elsewhere. Thus in some instancesthe areas are largelakes or the 4. marshes around them and when the water level islowered the plant communities -develop again at a level. No large marshy area exists that supports large numbers of wildfowl, but in the case of smallerlakes there is a danger that conditions suitable for the same plant communitywill not recur and impor- tant species will be lost.The particular example of the Scraw Bog, however, may be mentioned as it would never recoverits present for n after drainage. Dredging of river beds with the resulting steepeningof their barks has a da;na- ging effect on fish life and also sometimes onwildfowl. On the Shannon large numbers of swans and dabbling duck occur in winter andthey usually arrive before the river has flooded onto the surrounding fields .In this case, they feed at the sides of the channel on submerged orvisible vegetation and a sufficient area must be preserved to maintain this autumnfeeding. 1 As is well-known pollution of lakes changes their character tobegin with, and if it is continued has bad effects on water qualityand fish life. Aquatic com- munities of all sorts are the most vulnerable since theincoming matter cannot be localized but is transported everywhere in the water:they also require less nutrients than the land. For these reasons, developmentupstream of important areas must be carefully controlled,and alternative sites for domestic or agricultural developments, or drainage routes from them, mustalways be con- sidered if such an area is involved. Where a greaterdistance of river or stream bed is available, it can be used within reason todeal with larger quantities of effluent. The lack of turbulence, and, therefore,oxygenation, does add con- siderably to waste disposal problems throughout the county,however. Severalfarming operations are potentially destructive, apartfrom straightforward pollution by silage effluent or intensive livestock units. Excessivefertilization produces run-off of nutrients, especially nitratesand these are particularly bad for nutrient-poor ecosystems such as acid lakes and bogs.Introducing such run-off into any natural community willchange the species composition. r Grazing has a similar effect.It selects out of the vegetation those species that are most resistant to constant cuttingand allows them to multiply at the expense of others. This reduces the diversity of the floraand also often its interest. Light grazing is seldom detrimentalexcept that it prevents the naturalcoloni- sation Of Grassland , ijs:rL,b Sand c. tireS but as

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