What is so special about bogland biodiversity?
The bogland of Ireland is home to a variety of plants and animals, many of which cannot be found living in other Irish habitats.
To survive in the wet and open bogland habitat plants and animals have had to adapt.
To mark National Biodiversity Week, the Irish Peatland Conservation Council (IPCC) has offered an insight into why bogland biodiversity is so special.
The national charity which works towards the conservation of a representative sample of Irish peatlands for people to enjoy today and in the future.
Bogland
According to the IPCC, sphagnum mosses can hold up to ten times their own weight in water as they have internal specialised cells known as hyaline cells.
There are over twenty different species of sphagnum moss found on Irish bogs, which are known as the 'bog builders'.
The ability of sphagnum mosses to store water helps to prevent flooding in communities, one of the many ecosystem services of this type of habitat, the council added.
The IPCC said that boglands are also the only habitat in Ireland where you will find cranberries growing, a food that was traditionally picked to make preserves for the winter ahead.
Biodiversity
A bogland is 90% water and 10% dead plants. The surface of a bog is made up of drier hummocks and wetter bog pools.
There is a great diversity of invertebrate communities living within these bog pools, including Ireland's largest spider, the raft spider.
The pools also act as important nurseries for the larval stages of many species of damselfly and dragonfly.
Two of Ireland's amphibians – the common frog and smooth newt – both lay their eggs in bog pools where their young develop.
The presence of these invertebrates and amphibians in turn support bird life including the curlew and snipe.
These birds both have long beaks to probe deep under the surface of the bog pools in search of a tasty meal.
Due to the wet and nutrient poor nature of these habitats, the growth of taller plants is not supported and as a result all bogland plants are low growing.
Bogland birds must nest on the open bogland habitat relying on heather for shelter.
Ireland's insect eating plants, the native sundew and butterwort, have adapted to trap and eat insects rather than depending on absorbing nutrients from peat.
The IPCC said that species such as the large heath butterfly, red grouse, cottongrasses and devil's matchstick lichen can all be described as 'iconic bogland biodiversity'.
'What's so special about bogland biodiversity? The variety of, their quirky adaptations and the many services they provide for us all combine to make bogland biodiversity special,' the council added.
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