Black Rock Mountain is a landscape of ‘bog’ and ‘heath’ types of peatland. Peat is an acidic soil formed in a wet environment.
Peatlands are important for the environment. Bogs store huge amounts of carbon, but only when they are wet. When bog is drained to cut turf, carbon is released. Healthy peatlands are important in preventing flooding and improving water quality. There are projects across Ireland trying to re-wet drained bogs.
Peatlands also provide a home for a diverse range of species. Sphagnum moss is important for building bogs and can hold about twenty times its own weight in water. Heather has pink and purple flowers which cause dramatic changes in the colour of the landscape throughout the year. Carnivorous plants are plants that have evolved to eat insects because they do not get enough nutrition from the soils. They use a sticky substance to trap bugs and then digest them. These include round-leaved sundew and butterworts which can be found on Black Rock.
Peatland birds include meadow pipits, skylarks, and the rare, red grouse. Skylarks have a beautiful song which you can hear on a clear day. Frogs also like boggy areas, and you can listen out for the croaks of males as they call females during the breeding season in early Spring. If you look closely at the surface of the bog, you will discover a world of small insects and organisms. Beetles, butterflies, moths and lichens are beautiful to see up close.
Citizen Science
You can help record changes in the unique habitat on Black Rock Mountain by using the EarthTrack app.