Murrins ASSI

The Murrins complex is a largely pristine moraine - outwash assemblage which demonstrates the retreat of a major discrete ice body centred on the Omagh Basin late in the last (Midlandian) deglaciation. The landform assemblage is important in demonstrating the complexity of subglacial to proglacial depositional processes during the deglacial cycle and comprises some of the best-preserved moraine ridges in Northern Ireland.

An upland peatland complex extends over much of this glacial outwash plain, consisting of several intermediate raised bog units within an enveloping blanket bog mantle. The peatland communities exhibit a number of notable structural features including hummock and lawn complexes and occasional remnant pool systems. In addition, a number of notable plant species have been recorded.

To the south-west of Murrins, there are a number of glacial moraines, or eskers, where heath has developed on sands and gravels. These heathland communities consist of both wet and dry types and depend upon local environmental conditions such as slope and aspect. Dry heaths are a limited resource in Northern Ireland.

A number of distinct upland lakes occur within the kettle holes of the outwash complex. The most common lake type is dystrophic (peaty) lakes which occur in small basins within the peat and are characterised by the aquatic mosses such as Sphagnum cuspidatum and Sphagnum auriculatum. The floating and marginal vegetation is limited to a poor acid fen fringe generally dominated by bottle sedge and common sedge. Within the ASSI, eight lakes were identified as being dystrophic (Northern Ireland Lake Survey, 1992). Notably, tall bog-sedge, one of the rarest sedges in Ireland, was found along some of the lake and pool edges in association with dense carpets of bog-moss, Sphagnum mosses and other sedge species.

Site Related Documents

Site map (.PDF 1.07Mb), Citation document (.PDF 177Kb) and Views about Management document (.PDF 73Kb).