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The Flow Country

Les noms des biens figurent dans la langue dans laquelle les Etats parties les ont soumis.

Royaume-Uni de Grande Bretagne et d'Irlande du Nord (Europe et Amérique du nord)

Date de soumission : 21/06/1999
Critères: (x)
Catégorie : Naturel
Soumission préparée par :
Dep. For Culture, Media and Sport Buildings, Monuments and Sites
Coordonnées
Long. 3°59'93" W / Lat. 58°20'53" N Scotland
Ref.: 1323

Description

These peatlands are possibly the largest single area of blanket bog in the world. Together with associated areas of moorland and open water they are of international importance for conservation both as a habitat in their own right and because they support a diverse range of rare and unusual breeding birds.



The Caithness and Sutherland Peatlands are important because of the large areas of semi-natural peatland vegetation with extensive Sphagnum carpets and hummocks. They also encompass an exceptionally wide range of vegetation and surface pattern types, including numerous intact pool systems. These features are usually rare and localised on other bog systems in the UK, but here they are widespread and a high proportion of the ground remains undisturbed. The range of mire types varies from those of the Caithness plain in the east, with their continental affinities, through to those of the much more oceanic west and include both upland and lowland areas. Extensive areas of active blanket bog, where bog moss Sphagnum and other bog species ensure continuing peat accumulation, occur in intimate association with a range of open water, wet heath, grassland and fen communities. This provides the diversity of habitats necessary to support a wide range of wetland and moorland species.



The range of habitats provided by the peatland supports a very characteristic vertebrate and invertebrate fauna. Of particular importance are the birds, the structural mosaic within the peatlands providing habitats which satisfy the breeding and feeding requirements of a range of waders, waterfowl and raptors. Many of these are typically northern species found here at the southern limit of their range. Several of the breeding bird species occur in nationally important numbers and there are significant proportions of the breeding populations of certain species in a European context. Breeding birds occurring in nationally important numbers include red-throated diver, black-throated diver, golden plover, greenshank, wood sandpiper, hen harrier, golden eagle, merlin and short-eared owl.



Mammals of importance include the otter and the larger burns and rivers provide spawning grounds for the Atlantic Salmon. The insect fauna includes a nationally rare water beetle and several nationally scarce species including the azure hawker dragonfly. The rare and endangered freshwater pearl mussel is found in some larger burns and rivers.