Cuilcagh Mountain

General site character

• Bogs, Marshes, Water fringed vegetation, Fens (72%)
  
• Heath, Scrub, Maquis and Garrigue, Phygrana (27%)
  
• Inland rocks, Screes, Sands, Permanent Snow and ice (1%)
  

Annex I habitats that are a primary reason for selection of this site

• 7130 Blanket bogs (* if active bog)  * Priority feature

  Cuilcagh is one of the most extensive areas of upland Blanket bogs in Northern Ireland. The area is situated at a relatively high altitude in a high rainfall area and has a wide range of features, including well-developed pool, hummock and lawn complexes, acid flushes and bog bursts. The site contains a mixture of cross-leaved heath Erica tetralix with Sphagnum papillosum and extensive areas of deergrass Trichophorum cespitosum and hare’s-tail cottongrass Eriophorum vaginatum, with a generally low cover of dwarf-shrubs. Sphagnum fuscum and S. imbricatum are present. The site also contains transitions to montane, rock and lake habitats.

Annex I habitats present as a qualifying feature, but not a primary reason for selection of this site

• 3160 Natural dystrophic lakes and ponds
• 4010 Northern Atlantic wet heaths with Erica tetralix
• 4030 European dry heaths
• 4060 Alpine and Boreal heaths
• 8110 Siliceous scree of the montane to snow levels (Androsacetalia alpinae and Galeopsietalia ladani)
• 8220 Siliceous rocky slopes with chasmophytic vegetation

Annex II species that are a primary reason for selection of this site

• Not Applicable

Annex II species present as a qualifying feature, but not a primary reason for site selection

• Not Applicable