present in the LCA; these include song thrush, skylark, spotted flycatcher, bullfinch, linnet, reed bunting and golden plover, in addition to the waders and other wetland birds on the islands and the lough (see below).Woodlands cover just less than 10% of the LCA of which about a half is broadleaved and mixed woodland. The conifer forests are largely of Sitka and Norway spruce with some lodgepole pine. These forests are generally of low biodiversity, particularly the more recently planted, but parts that are located on previous estates contain broadleaves and a wider range of species. For example, at Castlecaldwell although Sitka and Norway spruce are dominant, there are small compartments of beech, Scots pine and oak, and ash, as well as of western red cedar and western hemlock. The majority of the present forest occupies land that was wooded in 1834 and is therefore 'long-established' and may contain species not found in more recent woodland. (Note that parts of Castelcaldwell Forest are in the Forest Service 'Plantations on Ancient Woodland Sites' programme by which conifer planted areas are restored to native broadleaves.) At Magho Forest on the south side of the lough, there is also more diversity of woodland; native alder scrub occurs alongside incised streams and hazel-ash scrub beneath the scarp (see below), but there has also been planting of alder, sycamore and mixed hardwood compartments. Parts of this forest were present in 1834.
Castlecaldwell NNR and Castlecaldwell FNR have good examples of wet woodland. Castle Bay, Birch Bay and Kellums Bay have old oak trees forming a line along what was once the lough shore. The Lower Lough Erne was lowered in the 1950s exposing new land that has been colonised by natural scrub of alder and willow. The reserve is an outstanding example of the development of a swamp/fen/carr complex in response to the change of water level - a complex that occurs frequently around the edge of the lough and its islands.
Upland mixed ashwoods are also common in the LCA, particularly on the south side beneath the limestone scarp. Here much of the lower slopes are covered by one of the largest semi-natural woodlands in Northern Ireland, part of which is included in the Cliffs of Magho ASSI (see also Magho FNR). This woodland is very diverse and contains the highest number of woodland species recorded at a single site, although the wood is not shown on the OS 6" map of 1834. Rare species within the wood include Welsh poppy, thin-spiked wood sedge and bird's-nest orchid. These under-scarp woodlands are varied; although ash is dominant, in wetter parts there is much alder and willow and in other parts hazel scrub.
Ash woodlands also dominate on drier slopes around the lough and on the islands; the ash is associated with sycamore, birch and oak, but many of these woodlands also have beech and elm that are indicative of planting - as for example on Lusty Beg Island.
Apart from Castlecaldwell, that is now State Forest, there are few estate woods in the LCA. Water Foot has woodland that was present in 1834 although the park was not extensive; included in a range of tree species are ash, sycamore, oak, beech and alder and willow as well as some conifers (larch, spruce and fir) (lowland woodland pasture and parkland). Although the herb layer is only of moderate to poor diversity, there are abundant epiphytic mosses and lichens. Woodland at Magheramenagh Castle is somewhat similar.
Grassland and ArableGrassland accounts for around 40% of the LCA, a low figure in comparison with that for Northern Ireland (c. 71%) as a whole but explained by the large area occupied by the lough. Of the grassland, just under half is in improved pasture, which is significantly lower than for Northern Ireland (about seven-tenths). Although some of the improved pastures are located on the better-drained drumlins their distribution, especially on the south side of the lough, often owes more to management practices of individual farmers and to local variation in soils. Improved pastures generally have low biodiversity as a result of relatively intensive management. Some of the pastures are sown grasslands dominated by ryegrass and few other species - low biodiversity is in-built. Other grasslands have been converted to improved pastures through management. High levels of grazing or repeated cutting for silage, high inputs of fertilizers and slurry, and selective herbicides serve to reduce diversity of both flora and fauna. Arable land is insignificant in this LCA.
Biodiversity in areas of improved pastures and arable is often concentrated in hedgerows. Indeed, they may be the most significant wildlife habitat over much of lowland Northern Ireland, especially where there are few semi-natural habitats. Hedgerows are a refuge for many woodland and farmland plants and animals. In this LCA hedgerows are generally not well-managed and tend to be overgrown and gappy; even in the improved grasslands field boundaries are often reinforced by wire.
Away from the improved pastures and inland of the lough, grasslands are often rushy and farmland abandoned. This is particularly notable on the south side of the lough beneath the scarp face; here fields are being invaded not only by rushes, but also by scrub from stream-sides and from the former hedges. However, there are also fields with traditional management, either used for hay and/or grazing with a low stocking rate. Lergan ASSI supports a wide range of grassland types. Parts are dominated by a mixture of jointed rush, common sedge, marsh pennywort and meadowsweet, with marsh lousewort and marsh marigold locally prominent (purple moor grass and rush pastures). On the lower and middle slopes flushed areas have much marsh hawk's-beard and quaking grass. Vegetation on the upper slopes is grassier, and there is locally high cover of sweet vernal grass, red fescue, Yorkshire fog and crested dog's-tail. There is an abundance of orchids at this site, including lesser butterfly orchid, heath spotted orchid and common twayblade. Similar wet grasslands are located at Rossmore.
The farmland is only a narrow strip around the lough and also contains within it several habitat types - improved pastures, traditional and wet pastures, woods, scrub, reedbeds and bogs - so that there is a diversity of bird Priority Species (.PDF 41Kb) present in the LCA; these include song thrush, skylark, spotted flycatcher, bullfinch, linnet, reed bunting and golden plover, in addition to the waders and other wetland birds on the islands and the lough (see below).
Blanket bog is of restricted occurrence with a small amount clipped into the southwest of the LCA and on Deerin Mountain in the north. There is no intact blanket bog. Lowland raised bog is also rare and confined to a few inter-drumlin hollows. The only intact area noted by the Northern Ireland Peat Survey is near Rosscark on Boa Island. Lowland raised bog is a rare habitat in the UK, and Northern Ireland has a large proportion of that remaining; in particular it has much of the intact lowland bog. In the best examples there is a diversity of structural features including hummocks and hollows and pools that give rise to micro-habitats related especially to the height of the water table. The plant species are adapted not only to the generally waterlogged, acid and low nutrient conditions, but also to these small-scale variations in topography and water level. Typical plant species include bog mosses, deer sedge, cotton sedges, bog asphodel, sundews, cross-leaved heath and common heather. Curlew and snipe are recorded from raised and blanket bog in the LCA.
Wetlands and LakesLower Lough Erne is one of the largest water bodies in Northern Ireland and is recognised not only for the quality of its landscapes, but also for its fish and bird life as well as for the shoreline communities (reedbeds, wet woodlands). The lough has an international reputation in angling and in addition to common species, Lower Lough Erne is one of only two sites in Northern Ireland for pollan |(.PDF 86Kb) (the other is L. Neagh). The Lower Lough Erne Islands are especially important for birds (several islands included in the RSPB Lower Lough Erne Islands Reserve). Breeding birds on the islands include snipe, redshank, curlew (.PDF 125Kb), lapwing, dunlin and sandwich terns. Sparrowhawks, long-eared owls, crossbills and siskins are found in the forests that jut out into the lough at Castlecaldwell, with great-crested grebes and little grebe in the sheltered bays around the Lough. In winter, whooper swans, greylag geese and ducks, including widgeon, pochard and tufted duck, may be seen on the Lough.
Despite the quality of its water, the Lough is sensitive to eutrophication; the Erne Nutrient Management Scheme aims to improve the quality of water in tributary rivers, by limiting phosphate losses from agricultural sources. Similarly, there are potentially competing interests in the wildfowl, but local action is seeking to mitigate possible conflicts between wildfowlers and the demands of conservation.
Keenaghan Lough and Lough Scolban are both mesotrophic lakes, that is, characterised by having a middle level of nutrients between nutrient poor (oligotrophic) and nutrient rich (eutrophic). Mesotrophic lakes potentially have the highest macrophyte diversity of any lake type. Furthermore, relative to other lake types, they contain a higher proportion of nationally scarce and rare aquatic plants. This is an increasingly rare type of lake in Northern Ireland because the nutrient status of many is being increased through input of water from agricultural land that has had applications of fertilizers and slurry. Lough Scolban is a particularly rare type (Isoetes-Lobelia) - a type that contains most of the Northern Ireland records for both type species; it also has the white-clawed crayfish.
The R. Erne is important for salmon and the Bannagh River has river water crowfoot and the white-clawed crayfish - the latter also found in the Termon and Garvary Rivers.
Key IssuesGeneral actions for UK and NI Priority Habitats and Priority Species are detailed in the Habitat Action Plans and Species Action Plans.
WOODLANDSIssue: woodland cover of varied biodiversity value but including prime examples of upland mixed ashwoods and wet woodland
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Issue: varied biodiversity of farmland - including low biodiversity improved pastures and high biodiversity wet pastures and traditionally managed pastures
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Issue: peat bogs are rare in the LCA and it is important to retain the few examples
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Issue: fens in Northern Ireland are a large proportion of the UK resource and found particularly in the Armagh-Down drumlin field and around the loughs of Fermanagh
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Issue: important lakes and rivers - with Priority Species and rare fauna and flora
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