Pettigo Plateau Nature Reserve

Dublin Core

Title

Pettigo Plateau Nature Reserve

Subject

Lough Derg--Region--Pettigo Plateau--Nature Reserve

Description

The watershed, geology and wildlife of the Pettigo Plateau Nature Reserve

Creator

National Parks and Wildlife Service, Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Ireland

Source

Site Synopsis, Pettigo Plateau Nature Reserve Special Protection Area (SPA) entry

Publisher

National Parks and Wildlife Service, Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Ireland

Date

24 April 2012

Rights

CC BY 4.0 International License

Format

Environmental Special Protection Area (SPA) entry

Language

English

Type

Biodiversity database

Identifier

DD_0297

Coverage

54.6162, -7.94567

References

Site code: 004099

Text Item Type Metadata

Text

Located to the west of Lough Derg in Co. Donegal, this site comprises an extensive complex of blanket bog, 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, e.g. hummocks, inter-connecting pools and flushes. The principal lakes within the site are the Dunragh Loughs, Lough Barderg and the eastern half of Lough Golagh. The site is bounded by extensive conifer plantations to the east and south, with further bog to the north and west. The area is underlain by metamorphic gneiss and schist.

At the time this site was designated as a Special Protection Area (SPA) it was being utilised by a Greenland White-fronted Goose population. In the 1980s, the Greenland White-fronted Goose flock utilising this site largely deserted the bogs in favour of coastal grassland sites, e.g. Durnesh Lough SPA. Greenland White-fronted Goose still occurs within this site and it is one of the few places where this species continues to utilise peatland habitats. Greenland White-fronted Goose is regarded as a special conservation interest for this SPA.
Both Merlin and Hen Harrier have been recorded nesting in the vicinity of the site and may forage within it.

Much of the site is designated a Statutory Nature Reserve and a Biogenetic Reserve, and is also listed under the Ramsar Convention.

Original Format

Biodiversity database

Citation

National Parks and Wildlife Service, Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Ireland, “Pettigo Plateau Nature Reserve,” Digital Derg: A Deep Map, accessed March 29, 2024, https://digitalderg.eu/items/show/317.

Geolocation