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Pitcher plant: an insect-eating plant that is not native to Ireland but found on a few raised bogs. Photo by John Earley peatlaNds Bogs Marsh fritillary butterfly visiting a knapweed flower. Photo by John Earley 22 Two types of bogs can be found in Roscommon, raised bogs and blanket bogs. Bogs are a type of peatland that usually have a mix of sedges, rushes, bog mosses and heathers growing on them. Peat builds up under waterlogged and acidic conditions to form bogs. Peat is just an accumulation of partially rotted plant remains! The waterlogging (which leads to a lack of oxygen) and acidity results in very low decomposition rates so that when plants die they are partially preserved in the peat. Blanket bogs are found in areas where the high rainfall and acidic bedrock are perfect for peat formation. This type of peatland started to spread about 6000 years ago after the first farmers arrived and started to clear woodland to make way for agriculture. Woodland clearance opened up the soils to leaching of nutrients and iron from the soil, which led to waterlogging. Woodlands were often burnt to help clear the land and the charcoal layer produced clogged the soil also leading to waterlogging of the soils. The acidic bedrock produces the required acidity for peat formation. On blanket bogs peat can build up to about 2-6m depth. Roscommon is a relatively low-lying county with few upland areas but blanket bog is found on Kilronan and Corry mountains (designated as Natural Heritage Areas). Bell heather. Photo by John Earley
Bog asphodel. Photo by John Earley 23 The second, and more common, type of bog found in Roscommon is raised bog. Raised bogs form in lake basins over thousands of years. Plants that grew in and around the lakes fell to the bottom of the lake when they died. This dead plant material accumulated over time infilling the lake and forming what is known as a ‘fen’ peatland. Once the bog moss, Sphagnum, invaded the peatland it acidified the environment, slowing down decomposition rates further, and bog peat started to accumulate more rapidly. Raised bogs can have a considerable depth of peat (up to 12m!) as many of them started to form soon after the end of the last ice age, 10,000 years ago. This type of bog is now very rare in the rest of Europe but there are several raised bogs in Roscommon. Dragonfly. Photo by John Earley focus oN coillte raised BoG restoratioN life project Drumalough Bog, Cloonshanville Bog, Frenchpark, and Lough Ree Bog, Kilteevan are owned by Coillte and are actively being restored as part of the Coillte Raised Bog Restoration LIFE project, which is funded by the European Union. This Coillte project aims to restore several raised bogs in their ownership to their natural state mainly by removing planted and non-native trees, and blocking drains in order to re-wet the bog surface and promote active peat growth. www.raisedbogrestoration.ie
Page 1: actioN for Biodiversity Nature and
Page 4 and 5: acKNoWledGemeNts Roscommon County C
Page 6 and 7: iNtroductioN roscommoN Roscommon is
Page 8 and 9: Goods aNd services provided By Biod
Page 10 and 11: FOCUS ON THE HUMBLE EARTHWORM The c
Page 12 and 13: plaNNiNG for Biodiversity In 1996 I
Page 14 and 15: Nature iN roscommoN 12
Page 16 and 17: farmlaNd As a largely rural and agr
Page 18 and 19: Ragged robin 16 RiveRs, lakes and w
Page 21 and 22: Tadpole. Photo by John Earley Water
Page 23: Turloughs are hugely important for
Page 27 and 28: Raised and blanket bogs are fabulou
Page 29 and 30: Buttercup Meadow. Photo by John Ear
Page 31 and 32: Woodland with carpet of bluebells.
Page 33 and 34: Toothwort. Photo by John Earley Fly
Page 35 and 36: The fox can sometimes be seen in ur
Page 37 and 38: Alder buckthorn, leaves and berries
Page 39 and 40: Biodiversity is everywhere and all
Page 41 and 42: We all have a role in protecting ou
Page 43 and 44: Special Protection Area - Lough Ree
Page 45 and 46: Left to right: Dog rose; Fern. Both
Page 47 and 48: useful WeBsites www.batconservation
Page 49 and 50: 47 Sundew. Photo by John Earley
Page 52: Biodiversity is all around us in Ro

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