Claish Moss and Kentra Moss

General site character

• Salt marshes, Salt pastures, Salt steppes (2%)
  
• Bogs, Marshes, Water fringed vegetation, Fens (70%)
  
• Heath, Scrub, Maquis and Garrigue, Phygrana (16%)
  
• Humid grassland, Mesophile grassland (12%)
  

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

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

  Claish Moss lies along the southern shore of Loch Shiel, while neighbouring Kentra Moss opens into Kentra Bay. They are representative of a highly oceanic blanket bog type found on the north-west coast of Scotland. These are two of the only three known ‘eccentric’ mires in Britain and are selected because of the rarity of this bog form. ‘Eccentric’ bogs are characterised by spectacular surface patterns and are similar in structure to types more commonly found in central Scandinavia, generally as raised bog. The development of this type is very unusual in a blanket bog landscape and is of special interest. The species composition is very rich, with 14 Sphagnum species having been found on the site, including Sphagnum imbricatum and S. pulchrum. Other species, such as the liverwort Pleurozia purpurea and brown beak-sedge Rhynchospora fusca, reflect the strong oceanic influence on the site. Transitions to saltmarsh are a notable feature of Kentra Moss.

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

• 7150 Depressions on peat substrates of the Rhynchosporion

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