Drumlea and Mullan Woods ASSI

Drumlea & Mullan Woods is the 3rd largest intact, semi-natural broad-leaved woodland in the Sperrins and is one of the largest representative examples of a mature calcifugous oak woodland in Northern Ireland. Such semi-natural woodland is typical of more extensive habitats prior to clear-felling in the 17th and 18th centuries, and is now scarce in Northern Ireland.

The woodland is composed entirely of native trees with a variable structure and a well defined gradient from open, mature and over-mature canopy in the west, to a young and dense canopy in the east. The site is dominated by sessile oak (60%) and downy birch (20%) with occasional pedunculate oak and rowan, and localised grey willow and alder in wetter areas. The understorey is poorly developed and the major ground cover is composed of a diverse bryophyte and grass community characteristic of a grazed calcifugous woodland.