In the following account of this LCA it should be noted that for consistency, the biodiversity section follows the standard order for all LCAs even though some of the communities discussed later may have more importance for biodiversity than those discussed earlier
Key CharacteristicsWoodlands account for approximately 2.5% of the land cover, about half the average for Northern Ireland. Nearly four-fifths of the woodland is broadleaved or mixed with conifer woods in small private plantations and a small portion of Ballyboley Forest clipped by the LCA boundary. The broadleaved and mixed woodlands comprise three main groups - those in estates or parklands, mature woodland or hazel woodland-with-standards, and hazel dominated low woodland and scrub.
Estate woodland (lowland woodland pasture and parkland) is mainly comprised of Kilwaughter Castle and Magheramorne Hotel. Relatively little remains of the once extensive woodlands at Kilwaughter Castle. The main remnant is around the lake; there are some scattered and ornamental trees through the former park and near the castle, and a few larch and Scots pine with clumps of ash and alder mark the former boundary woodlands. Nevertheless there is a wide range of species including lime, elm, oaks, beech, Monterey cypress and other conifers that reflect the former planting. However, ash and sycamore are the most common species and appear to be increasing. Near the lake, there is an understorey of laurel and rhododendron and the herb layer, including meadowsweet and golden saxifrage, reflects the damp ground conditions.
Magheramorne, despite the quarry on its southern flank, retains the extensive planting of the early and late nineteenth century. Common broadleaved species include beech, lime, oak, elm, sycamore, and ash with larch, Scots pine and firs scattered through. Cherry laurel dominates the understorey in parts.
There is a small area of planted woodland at Glenoe (a National Trust site); this is mostly beech with occasional sycamore and a few wych elm, ash and common lime. There is little understorey but a diverse herb and ground flora including mosses and ferns.
The mature woodland and hazel woodland-with-standards is concentrated mainly in Glenoe and the steep slopes to the north and south of Glynn. Most have ash as the dominant tree species (upland mixed ashwoods). Glenoe ashwood is well-drained generally, but localised flushing is frequent. The tree canopy includes widespread and abundant ash standards, with locally frequent mature trees of beech and sycamore. Horse chestnut occurs in parts, and at the top of there are downy birch and planted pines. A mixed understorey occurs of hazel, with hawthorn, blackthorn, willows and occasional holly and spindle. The herb layer is dominated by wood anemone and other spring flowering plants. Locally there is a high moss cover of Thuidium tamariscinum and Eurhynchium striatum on the woodland floor. Meadowsweet is prominent in flushed areas.
At Glynn Hill Wood ash dominates most of the wood, with frequent sycamore and beech. Only in the central and extreme eastern parts of the wood is there a well-developed understorey of hazel. Downy birch and rowan are occasional along the top of the wood, with willow occurring where soils are wetter. Both ash and hazel show signs of having been coppiced. Ground and field layer communities are characteristically dominated by great wood-rush at the top of the slopes, and wood anemone on the lower slopes.
Glynn River Wood/Ballylesson Wood has a canopy dominated by hazel with occasional tall ash. Many trees are multi-stemmed indicating past coppicing. In general the canopy is low and fairly open, with tall trees generally restricted to the riverside where ash, oak and sycamore occur. The ground flora, as in the other woods, tends to be dominated by vernal species, particularly wood anemone. Dog's mercury is locally frequent/abundant along the lower slopes of the western bank. Despite grazing the wood contains a diversity of vascular plants indicative of base-rich woodland. Notable species include toothwort, rough horsetail and wood melick.
Craiganee is also mainly ash, but has some planted larch, and although there is some dense understorey of hawthorn and hazel coppice, open areas dominate. Unlike other examples, the ground flora is patchy with much bare ground.
Glynn North Wood has a dense, even-aged low canopy of hazel and is one of the best examples of calcicolous (lime loving) hazel scarp woodland in southeast Antrim. It has diversity of floral communities, which display a sequence from wet to dry types up the slope, and also in its species richness. Although both sycamore and beech are present throughout the wood they are generally only of local or sporadic occurrence; native species dominate.
The third group of woods, hazel dominated low woodland and scrub, is concentrated in the southwest of the LCA and includes Carndoo Wood where hazel and downy birch are the main tree species. Eared willow, bird cherry, hawthorn, ash and blackthorn are also present. Mackeystown Wood is similarly hazel dominated with blackthorn, hawthorn and rowan. These scrub/wood patches are quite widespread in this part of the LCA colonizing abandoned fields and parts of the dismantled railway. In some instances they are of blackthorn, hawthorn and gorse with bracken dominating the herb layer.
Grassland and Arable
Grassland accounts for about 76% of the land cover, slightly above the Northern Ireland average (71%). Almost nine-tenths of this is in improved pasture with rough grazing restricted to a few locations where the eastern border has clipped upland grassland. There are also areas of damp grassland in flat bottoms of valleys and where there are thin peaty soils. These areas are usually dominated by rushes, but may be more species rich where soils are more basic; some damp pastures and rough grazing are being colonised by shrubs and trees (see above). Irish Hare and marsh fritillary butterfly have been recorded in some of these grasslands.
Improved pastures generally have low biodiversity as a result of relatively intensive management. Some are sown grasslands dominated by ryegrass and few other species - low biodiversity is in-built. Others 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, which includes grass-reseeding, accounts for 11% of the land cover, almost double the Northern Ireland average. It is concentrated on more freely draining soils to the north of Glynn, around Browndod and around Ballyboley Reservoirs; elsewhere less well drained soils and steep slopes restrict arable agriculture.
Biodiversity in areas of improved pastures and arable is often concentrated in hedgerows. These are a refuge for many woodland and farmland plants and animals. In this LCA, hedgerows are of varying quality. They decline with altitude to field boundaries of walls, fences and remnants of hedges often with whin; on some of the better land with large fields, hedges are replaced by fencing - in some cases the result of field amalgamation. Where hedges are more common, some are well maintained and stock-proof but others are overgrown and gappy. Hawthorn is the most common hedgerow shrub; ash is the dominant hedgerow tree although beech is locally frequent.
Farmland birds recorded in the LCA include several Priority Species - linnet, skylark, song thrush and, reflecting the many streams and damp areas within the farmland, reed bunting.
Heaths and BogsThere are no significant areas of heath in the LCA except for patches of gorse (whin) that occupy some steeper slopes, sometimes merging into scrub and low woods, and some peaty areas. Where gorse occurs on former bog, additional species of birds are attracted that can typically include linnet, stonechat and whinchat.
Most of the former peat bogs that existed in this LCA have been reclaimed for agriculture; some remain damp rough grazing. The only extant bog is Riggs Moss, but this is cut-over. Breeding snipe have been recorded at this site.
Wetlands and LakesThere are few significant wetlands in the LCA. There is a little fen at Kilwaughter Lake as well as around the brackish lagoon at Glynn where there is a small amount of wet woodland with alder. The lakes and reservoirs have been classed as of low priority for conservation and biodiversity interest. The Six-Mile Water has river water-crowfoot and otter have been recorded from the Larne (Inver) River.
CoastalLarne Lough ASSI (also Larne Lough SPA and a Ramsar site) is internationally important for wetland bird species (see LCA 128) including the Swan Island NNR with its internationally important populations of breeding terns (roseate, common, sandwich and occasionally arctic). Generally, however, the coastal communities immediately along the border of this LCA are not of major significance to biodiversity. The boulders and stones of the sheltered headland at Dalaradia Point, where freshwater seeps into the middle shore, provides a rich habitat for several algal species. There are also soft mudflats between Glynn and Dalaradia Point.
Key IssuesGeneral actions for UK and NI Priority Habitats and Priority Species are detailed in the Habitat Action Plans and Species Action Plans.
WOODLANDSIssue: low woodland cover of variable biodiversity value, but with significant estate
woodland and particularly significant ash and hazel woodlands.
Actions:
Issue: poor biodiversity of farmland
Actions:
There are no significant heaths or bogs in the LCA. However, excessive clearance of gorse (whin) patches should be avoided.
WETLANDSIssue: there are few fens in the LCA, but those around the Glynn lagoon are unusual in
Northern Ireland
Action:
Issue: rivers of importance for Priority Species
Actions:
Issue: Larne Lough is internationally important for coastal and wetland birds and contains habitats essential to them as well as other Priority Habitats.
Actions: