Garron Plateau facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Designations
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| Official name: Garron Plateau | |
| Designated: | 31 December 1998 |
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| Reference #: | 969 |
The Garron Plateau ASSI is a very special natural area in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It covers a huge space of over 4,600 hectares. ASSI stands for "Area of Special Scientific Interest." This means the area is protected because it has rare plants, animals, or unique land features.
Most of the Garron Plateau is covered by blanket bog. This is a type of peatland that forms in wet, cool places. Underneath the bog are basalt rocks, which are a type of volcanic rock. Water flowing over these rocks brings minerals, creating special "fen" areas. These fens have different plants than the bogs. About 70% of the plateau is bogs, marshes, or fens. The rest is heathland, scrubland, and different types of grasslands.
Contents
Garron Plateau: A Unique Landscape
The Garron Plateau is like a giant, natural sponge. It has many different types of wet areas. These include raised bogs, which are like domes of peat, and fens fed by mineral-rich water. There are also small, clear lakes called oligotrophic lakes. These lakes have very few nutrients, so they are home to special plants and animals that like clean water.
What Makes the Plateau Special?
The mix of different wet habitats makes Garron Plateau very important. It's a great example of a healthy peatland system. Peatlands are important because they store a lot of carbon. This helps to fight climate change. They also act like giant filters, cleaning the water that flows through them.
Amazing Plants of Garron Plateau
The Garron Plateau is home to many interesting plants. Some common plants you might see in the bog areas include:
- Erica tetralix (Cross-leaved heath)
- Trichophorum cespitosum (Deergrass)
- Eriophorum vaginatum (Hare's-tail cottongrass)
You can also find dwarf-shrubs and different types of Sphagnum mosses. These mosses are very important for forming peat. Some types found here are Sphagnum papillosum, Sphagnum fuscum, and Sphagnum imbricatum.
Rare and Special Plants
Garron Plateau is especially important for two rare plants:
- Carex pauciflora (Few-flowered sedge)
- Carex magellanica (Tall bog-sedge)
These plants are very rare in Ireland. The plateau is one of the main places where they grow. The fen areas, where water brings in minerals, are also rich in different plant species. Here you might find:
- Schoenus nigricans (Black bog-rush)
- Different types of brown mosses
The site also has populations of two other rare plants:
- Saxifraga hirculus (Marsh saxifrage)
- Hammarbya paludosa (Bog orchid)
These plants show how special and important the Garron Plateau is for nature. Protecting this area helps these rare species survive.
