Report Cover Vol I - Clare County Library

The County Clare Wetlands Survey Patrick Crushell & Peter Foss 2008
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examples of Blanket Bog (although restricted in extent) identified in recent surveys (Derwin et al. 2004).
Clare also holds some of the most south-western raised bogs in the country in the south-western part of
the county. For this reason these raised bogs although heavily degraded are of considerable interest
(Foss and O’Connell 1991).
Fens & Flushes
When it comes to Fens and Flushes Clare is certainly one of the richest counties in Ireland for these
diverse wetland ecosystems. Although 483 ha of Fens and Flushes have been mapped in County Clare
and 117 sites have been reported in the literature, it is very difficult to get an accurate estimate of the
resource due to an absence of targeted survey work (Foss 2007). Recent surveys carried out in
Monaghan have highlighted the rarity of this ecosystem and also highlighted the absence of reliable
information on their distribution and extent (Foss and Crushell 2007 & 2008).
Wet Woodland
Wet woodlands were sparsely recorded during the mapping process with a total area of only 155 ha, the
habitat is likely to be under-represented in the GIS. Unfortunately, the GIS data from the National Survey
of Native Woodlands (NSNW) was not available on time to be incorporated into this study. However,
some relevé data that was reviewed indicates that a significant number of wet woodland sites have been
identified by the NSNW.
Coastal Wetlands
Coastal freshwater wetlands that occur in Clare include lagoons and dune slacks. As mentioned previously
dune slacks are very rare in the county despite some spectacular dune systems being present. These
dune slacks are of high ecological interest where they occur, however in Clare some have probably been
degraded or destroyed in the past by recreational use, including for example golf course developments.
Lagoons are rich habitats for birds and other fauna and have been reported from the northern and
southern coastline of Clare. They have been surveyed in the past and the 19 sites reported in the CWS
database is likely to be an accurate reflection of the occurrence of this habitat in the county.
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