We started Thursday morning with a visit to the Burren National Park. This is a karst landscape in the Burren that is owned by the National Parks and Wildlife Service here in Ireland. For context, karst means that the landscape was formed by the dissolution of soluble bedrock. In this park, we saw lots of areas of limestone with clints (the flatter bumps) and grykes (the crevices) that ultimately form what they refer to as limestone pavement. This lends itself to a fascinating landscape with plenty of areas of rocks, shrubs, rainforest, and even larger mountainous forms. The limestone here can be dated to roughly 330 million years old. We learned about each of these parts in turn.
For background, the area was initially acquired in 1990/1991 and developers intended to build an interpretive center to boost tourism and the economy. People very quickly objected to this plan, mostly due to the proximity of the water table and risk of water pollution. In order to reverse the construction that had already begun, the developers had to bring in soil from remote location. This is what initially introduced many invasive species, including those which are now still being removed by hand. Other invasive species have come from people’s gardens and home plants. The problem with these is that do not support other plants and animals or insects that have not coevolved with them, therefore disrupting many parts of the ecosystem. This can also have many indirect effects. One of these plants is gorse and another is rhododendron.
Liz explaining how the yellow ant (Lasius flavus)
engineers the habitat making mounds and increasing
habitat diversity on otherwise flat grassy habitats
Initially, we explored a slightly more open area that had lots of large mounds in the grass with some different plants. Liz, our guide explained to us how these mounds are actually anthills! The ants enrich the soil and aerate it, which creates ‘hot spots’ for a more diverse range of plants. Examples of these include ox eye daisies and wild marjoram and thyme. The ant hills are a marker of largely untended land which is allowed to thrive without human interruption.
After this we discussed much of the biodiversity and where it comes from, which is in part due to winterage, a traditional Burren practice where cattle will roam higher lands during winter months and contribute to very rich and fertilized soil. An example of biodiversity here is the presence of Mediterranean plants growing right alongside arctic plants, a phenomenon unseen in many other places.
We made a quick stop at the ash trees, where we discussed the problems that are affecting them in Ireland. In the US, we have emerald ash borers, but here the ash trees suffer from Ash Dieback, a fungal disease. This has slowly affected 98-99% of all the ash in Ireland. This is unfortunate because they are an important species but also because they are an important part of the Irish culture. Ash trees are crucial to the hurling industry as they are the correct shape and size for hurling sticks. Without ash, hurling sticks must be made of a lesser quality bamboo.
Upon entering the temperate rainforest, we saw a rich variety
of plants and trees. The air was noticeably more humid and slightly warmer
even. The rainforest is home to plenty of moss, lichens, small shrubs, trees,
insects, and animals. It felt like a different world. At one time, the entire
Burren was rainforest like this before early farmers cleared the land and the
rain was able to wash away much of the thin soil, forever ruining the odds of
the same climate. In the rainforest we also observed ivy, which is much more popular
in Ireland Vs Vermont. Here, they like it because it is very good for birds,
bats, and many insects as a home and protective environment. 
Mosses coat tree trunks in temperate rainforests.
After emerging from the rainforest we saw three large limestone formations in the distance. These were fascinating! They looked stripy and had layers of plants as well as rock. I’ll add a picture below. The furthest to the right is called Mullaghmore, which means big hill in Irish. The one in the middle is called Sliabh Rua which means red mountain. The third is another translation of big hill. The layers of limestone were formed because of the tectonic movements which were part of the process of mountain formation across all of Europe. The rise and fall of sea level also contributed to their unique shape and look.
Upon entering another section, we discussed the mammal habitat. In this area, they have pine martins, which are native and have returned from near endangerment. They also have mink, which came invasively from fur farms. These are detrimental to ground nesting birds. They also have grey squirrels, which are also invasive. Funnily enough, these came from a present given to a rich girl in 1911. They soon took over majorly in the habitat. The grey squirrel carries diseases, which wiped out the native red squirrel population. The pine martins will manage the grey squirrel population, assisting the red squirrel population recovery significantly. They also have Eurasian badgers and foxes!
One thing I learned that I really thought was interesting was that almost all the plants have a traditional use, which I think is a neat part of the Irish culture.
Rylee Burnham
 |
| Mullaghmore's rocks were laid down flat in ancient seas were folded by tectonic forces. The broader geological region is part of the same rock formation seen at St. Anne's Shrine and the reason you can find tropical corals in Irish and Vermont rocks. .....and what a handsome group? |
No comments:
Post a Comment