Clara Bog Ireland - Unique Nature Reserve

Clara bog, encompassing some 460 hectares, is now an Irish government protected nature reserve and perhaps one of the best remaining examples of a raised bog ecosystem in Western Europe. Under European Union (EU) directives and lobbying from conservation groups the area was designated as a Special Area of Conservation (SAC) and a statutory Nature Reserve in 1987. Because of their unique ecological structure and importance as a natural habitat to a diversity of insect, animal, and plant life, raised bogs such as Clara are now a major conservation agenda. Oceanic raised bogs, a distinctive type of peat bog, were once extensive throughout North-Western Europe. However, only a tiny fraction of those ecosystems remains, mainly because of extensive area loss resulting from peat extraction for fuel and conversion to agricultural land (Crushell et al., 2009).
Clara bog formed from the activity of the last Ice Age. Over 10,000 years ago, moving ice sheets laid down eskers to the north and south, while retreating glaciers hollowed out the low lying area of Clara, which became a shallow lake located in the great central plain of Ireland. In time, the lake overgrew with plant-life that because of the water acidity decayed at a slow rate and created a raised bog landscape of compacted peat (National Parks & Wildlife Service, 2013). Eventually Clara bog rose above the surrounding landscape because so many layers of peat accumulated. The landscape contains pertinent examples of hummocks, hollows, lawns, pools and flushes, which are common characteristics of a raised bog ecosystem.
While much of Clara bog’s surface remains intact, human interaction over the centuries has greatly altered the biogeochemical cycles of the ecosystem. Approximately two-thirds of the original bog dome has been cut as a result of peat-extraction for fuel (Crushell et al.,2008). The three elements of water, peat and vegetation are interconnected; if there is a deficiency in any of those element, the biochemical balance of the ecosystem is offset, and the composition of nitrogen, phosphorus, and carbon alters. The biochemical cycle of wetlands are naturally influenced by the unique hydrologic conditions prevalent in ecosystems, such as Clara (Carolina University, 2005). Surrounding drainage in the cut-away area of the bog for converting the rugged landscape to land suitable for agricultural grazing grassland or tillage has affected natural biogeochemical cycles. These changes and degradation of the natural bog land are the direct result of human activity. According to Botkin and Keller (2013), since the beginning of the twentieth century, the use of commercial fertilizers has increased exponentially with the fluctuations of fixed nitrogen deposits in the land. Changes in the nitrogen levels of plants, such as Sphagnum Moss—a natural bog builder—affect plant growth rate and profusion. Other plants such as the carnivorous Round Leaved Sundew growing along the edges of bog pools have also decreased in number. Carnivorous bog land plants have adapted to the nutrient poor peat-land by trapping insects with their leaves. The plants then release digestive chemicals to biodegrade the insects and absorb their nutrients (IPCC, 2013).
Restoration, preservation, and government protective legislation began with the intervention of Matthijs Schouten, a Dutch conservationist who was responsible for the conservation of Bergerveen peat-lands in Holland. Schouten was shocked by the extent of damage caused by commercial peat extraction with little concern for the natural ecosystem. Through his actions, in cooperation with the Dutch and Irish governments, the Irish Peatland Conservation Council (IPCC) was established to conserve a representative sample of peat-lands (IPPC, 2013). Clara was designated as an area of principle conservation because of the large area of original bog remaining. The EU funded research into the Clara bog ecosystem gained valuable restoration insight from the work completed to preserve Bergerveen. The findings stressed that restoration and preservation measures must take into account the bog’s hydrological processes. Geological research established that Clara bog was not an isolated hydrological entity, but rather it was intrinsically linked to the regional groundwater table (Regan & Johnston, 2010). Understanding this hydrological connection became central to ensuing restoration activities aimed at arresting subsidence and restoring water levels by constructing perimeter dams to prevent water seepage.
Clara bog supports a variety of plant, bird, and animal life, and the restoration program helps preserve their various habitats. Human visitors to the national wildlife reserve must remain on the boardwalks that provide ample viewing of the unique landscape without much disruption. Furthermore, because access to the bog is restricted, neither the plants are trampled nor the surface pools disturbed, which are home to a variety of insects and pond life. The drier areas of the bog’s dome provides good cover for Red Grouse, Snipe and Curlew (National Parks & Wildlife Service, 2013). The bog provides an ideal and undisturbed breeding ground for the Merlin, Skylark, and Meadow pipit. A variety of insect life can also be found in the wetter bog land and pools, such as dragonflies and two species of rare midges. Since the inception of the reserve, the number of newts, lizards, and frogs have increased. Former dewatering because of surrounding drainage or turf harvesting altered the integrity of Clara bog, resulting in significant species change and loss of biodiversity. However, under conservation management rewetting drier tracts of peat-land has helped restore those areas to their natural condition (Bord na Mona, 2011). In turn, maintaining near optimum hydrological conditions has resulted in greater species interaction and biodiversity.
The raised bog at Clara is a living ecosystem that continues to diversify and evolve; its future preservation is assured, chiefly because peat harvesting, at least in this area, has ceased. Even I cutaway areas of the bog, nature can re-colonize; although, the plant species are different from those associated with virgin bog-lands. For example, Sphagnum Moss is unlikely to flourish in restored cutaways. Nevertheless, new vegetation, related fauna, and insect life has biodiversity value. Even the major commercial turf harvesting company, “Bord na Mona” has outlined long-term strategic conservation plans to promote and develop best practice to rehabilitate and stabilize former peat production areas with the objective of enhancing biodiversity (Bord na Mona, 2011). Through continued public and government awareness, together with environmentally sensitive management and restoration projects, valuable ecosystems, such as Clara bog can be preserved for future generation.

References
Bord na Mona. (2011). Strategic Framework for Future Use of Cutaway Bogs. Retrieved from http://www.landrehab.org/userfiles/files/Bord%20Na%20Mona/BNM%20Future%20Use%20of%20Cutaway%20Bogs.pdf
Botkin, & Keller. (2013). Environmental Science: Earth as a Living Planet (8th ed.). Retrieved from The University of Phoenix eBook Collection database..
Carolina University. (2005). Biochemical Cycles. Retrieved from http://kingfish.coastal.edu/biology/sgilman/778BioChemCycles.htm
Crushell, P. H., Smolders, A. P., Schouten, M. C., Roelofs, J. M., & van Wirdum, G. G. (2009). The origin and development of a minerotrophic soak on an Irish raised bog: an interpretation of depth profiles of hydrochemistry and peat chemistry. Holocene, 19(6), 921-935.
Irish Peatland Conservation Council – IPCC. (2013). Lodge Bog, Co. Kildare. Retrieved from http://www.ipcc.ie/discover-and-learn/ipccs-peatland-nature-reserves/lodge-bog-co-kildare-visitor-map-guide/
Irish Peatland Conservation Council – IPCC. (2013). Dutch-Irish Bog Conservation. Retrieved from http:// http://www.ipcc.ie/a-to-z-peatlands/dutch-irish-bog-conservation/
National Parks & Wildlife Service. (2013). Clara Bog Nature Reserve. Retrieved from http://www.npws.ie/naturereserves/offaly/clarabognaturereserve/
Regan, S., & Johnston, P. (2010, Summer). Consequences of marginal drainage from a raised bog and understanding the hydrogeological dynamics as a basis for restoration. EGU General Assembly, 12(EGU2010-11760).

Note: Image not photographed by me. Instead from http://www.clarabognaturereserve.ie/