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Special Areas of Conservation

Slieve Beagh

Designated Special Area of Conservation (SAC)
Country Northern Ireland
Unitary Authority Northern Ireland
Centroid* H524447
Latitude 54.3481
Longitude -7.1939
SAC EU Code UK0016622
Status Designated Special Area of Conservation (SAC)
Area (ha) 1888.18
* This is the approximate central point of the SAC. In the case of large, linear or composite sites, this may not represent the location where a feature occurs within the SAC.
Location of Slieve Beagh SAC

General site character

  • Inland water bodies (Standing water, Running water) (1%)
  • Bogs, Marshes, Water fringed vegetation, Fens (85%)
  • Heath, Scrub, Maquis and Garrigue, Phygrana (14%)

Download the Standard Data Form for this site (PDF <100kb)

Note When undertaking an appropriate assessment of impacts at a site, all features of European importance (both primary and non-primary) need to be considered.

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

  • 3160 Natural dystrophic lakes and ponds

    Slieve Beagh in Northern Ireland is an extensive area of undulating upland 7130 Blanket bogs and heathland that extends into County Monaghan in the Republic of Ireland. Within Northern Ireland, the peatland complex contains a number of natural dystrophic lakes and ponds that range in size from 5.5 ha to less than 0.5 ha. The site contains the largest concentration of medium- to large-sized dystrophic lakes in Northern Ireland. The smaller lakes and ponds are steep-sided with banks and bed formed by layers of deep peat. The larger lakes have shallow, shelving shores and hard, stony beds. Although the base-poor waters are low in plant nutrients and tend to have a characteristically impoverished flora and fauna, some important communities are present on the site. The most common type is characterised by the aquatic mosses Sphagnum cuspidatum, S. denticulatum, Drepanocladus spp. and the liverwort Jungermannia sp. The floating and marginal vegetation tends to be sparse and restricted, and consists of a scattered swamp and acid poor-fen fringe. The lakes are also important for a range of upland invertebrates.

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

    Slieve Beagh is one of the most extensive areas of intact blanket bog in Northern Ireland. It contains a comparatively large area of a mixture of generally Sphagnum-rich mire vegetation with cross-leaved heath Erica tetralix and Sphagnum papillosum, together with deergrass Trichophorum cespitosum and hare’s-tail cottongrass Eriophorum vaginatum with high dwarf-shrub cover. It is less markedly oceanic than other Northern Ireland sites but has some limited areas of surface patterning

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

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

Many designated sites are on private land: the listing of a site in these pages does not imply any right of public access.