Frosses Bog ASSI

A compact, relatively undisturbed lowland raised bog representing the most southern example within the River Main series which includes the existing ASSIs Dunloy Bog and Caldanagh Bog. The intact bog surface exhibits a well defined dome profile with structural features including hummock and lawn complexes and small shallow pools.

It also supports a dense and diverse cover of Sphagnum bog -mosses, including the nationally rare Sphagnum pulchrum in the wetter hollows and the notable hummock forming mossSphagnum imbricatum. The abundance of cranberry throughout the bog plain is notable and the presence of crowberry on the intact dome is an unusual feature on a lowland raised bog.

The lagg surrounding the bog has been cut for turf, creating a mosaic of habitats dependent on peat-depth and age of cutting. Vegetation communities range from acid pools choked with Sphagnum mosses through acid grassland to 'poor' fen and swamp.