SPU CO20-2023 - Monitoring Petrifying Springs (7220), in Ireland

Descriptions

Ireland is obliged to undertake surveillance/monitoring (Article 11) of the habitats listed on Annex 1 of the EU Habitats Directive and to report regularly on their conservation status (Article 17). The assessment of conservation status requires an understanding of the distribution, area, structures and functions and the pressures impacting on these habitats. Designing an effective surveillance programme involves monitoring a representative sample of the resource across its natural range. ‘Petrifying springs with tufa formation (Cratoneurion) 7220’ are a priority habitat in Annex I of the Habitats Directive. They form where lime-rich spring water deposits tufa (calcium carbonate) on the ground surface. Tufa-depositing waters are characterised by having a high pH, high levels of dissolved calcium and bicarbonate ions and by being oligotrophic (low in nitrogen and phosphorus). The petrifying spring habitat as it occurs in Ireland conforms in vegetation type and general characteristics to that described elsewhere in continental Europe and in Britain. It falls within the definition of the Habitats Directive and displays some interesting variants that confirm that Irish petrifying springs are of high conservation value. Petrifying springs on the Benbulbin Range are of particular importance for their species-rich flora. Irish petrifying spring vegetation has been classified into eight plant communities (Lyons and Kelly, 2016). These groups encompass a broad range of variation within petrifying springs as they occur in Ireland and include lowland, upland, wooded, unwooded and coastal springs.