Banagher Glen

General site character

• Heath, Scrub, Maquis and Garrigue, Phygrana (5%)
  
• Dry grassland, Steppes (2%)
  
• Humid grassland, Mesophile grassland (4%)
  
• Broad-leaved deciduous woodland (89%)
  

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

• 91A0 Old sessile oak woods with Ilex and Blechnum in the British Isles

  Banagher Glen in the foothills of the Sperrin Mountains is one of the largest and least disturbed examples of old sessile oak woods in Northern Ireland. The site has a long history of continuous woodland cover, and has a well-developed structure with a range of different layers present. The naturalness of the wood is exemplified by the low number of non-native species and the relative abundance of old trees and epiphytes. The acid woodland flora is characterised by a canopy of sessile oak Quercus petraea and occasional downy birch Betula pubescens, with a ground flora of grasses, including wavy hair-grass Deschampsia flexuosa, and calcifuge mosses such as Rhytidiadelphus loreus. Where grazing is absent, bilberry Vaccinium myrtillus is dominant. Where conditions are rather less acidic, hazel Corylus avellana is occasional in the shrub layer, with great wood-rush Luzula sylvatica and bluebell Hyacinthoides non-scripta in the ground flora. The wood contains a rich variety of plants and includes a number of notable bryophytes and lichens.

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

• 9180 Tilio-Acerion forests of slopes, screes and ravines  * Priority feature

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