Carn/Glenshane Pass ASSI

Carn/Glenshane Pass represents a very large area of upland blanket bog, much of which remains intact.
Located within the Sperrin Mountains, it is one of the few remaining areas of extensive intact blanket bog within this region of Northern Ireland.

The area is characterised by undulating topography and exhibits a number of notable structural features. These include a large, well-developed hummock and pool system and extensive eroding hagg complexes within a thick mantle of blanket peat. Ericoid dwarf- shrubs and sedges dominate the blanket bog vegetation over a carpet of Sphagnum bog mosses. The site includes rare and unusual plant species. On steeper slopes, where peat deposits are thinner, blanket bog forms a mosaic with wet heath. These slopes frequently give way to flushed grassland with poor-fen vegetation developing at their base. Bog-sedge and the notable Dioecious sedge are found in the most species rich flushes. Dry heath dominated by bell heather occurs on the driest slopes forming a mosaic with scattered stands of upland grassland.

These habitats add diversity to this large, upland area which supports an array of associated plant and animal communities including breeding red grouse.