Pettigo Plateau

Pettigo Plateau
Pettigo Plateau
Pettigo Plateau
Pettigo Plateau
Pettigo Plateau
Pettigo Plateau
Pettigo Plateau

Pettigo Plateau

  • Country: 
    Ireland
  • Site number: 
    334
  • Area: 
    900 ha
  • Designation date: 
    31-07-1986
  • Coordinates: 
    54°36'N 07°56'W
Materials presented on this website, particularly maps and territorial information, are as-is and as-available based on available data and do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Secretariat of the Ramsar Convention concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area, or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.

Overview

The Site comprises a remote and extensive complex of blanket bog with wet heath, lakes and pools in an area of low hills and broad basins. The bog is mostly undisturbed and has a good range of vegetation communities and microtopographical features, such as hummocks, interconnecting pools and flushes. A number of regionally scarce plants are found, such as cranberry (Vaccinium oxycoccos), cowberry (Vaccinium vitisidaea) and the bog mosses Sphagnum fuscum and Sphagnum imbricatum. Along with characteristic plant communities, the Site and wider area support mammals including otters and a number of notable birds: it is one of the few places where Greenland white-fronted geese (Anser albifrons flavirostris) continue to utilize peatland habitats, while other typical bogland birds which breed here include red grouse (Lagopus lagopus), snipe (Gallinago gallinago), golden plover (Pluvialis apricaria), merlin (Falco columbarius), peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus) and hen harrier (Circus cyaneus). The Site is used for recreation and scientific and educational purposes. The invasive Rhododendron ponticum which is spreading on the blanket bog presents a serious threat to the Site, while peat extraction and drainage also affect its ecological character.

Administrative region: 
Border (NUTTS 3)

  • National legal designation: 
    • Nature Reserve - Pettigo Plateau Nature Reserve
  • Regional (international) legal designations: 
    • EU Natura 2000
    • Other international designation
  • Last publication date: 
    07-03-2023