Lough Oughter (629)
Ireland, Europe
Site overview
KBA status: confirmed
Year of last assessment: 2009
National site name: Lough Oughter
Central coordinates: Latitude: 54.0000, Longitude: -7.4667
System: freshwater, terrestrial
Elevation (m): 50 to 50
Area of KBA (km2): 18.27541
Protected area coverage (%): 90.59
KBA classification: Regional
Legacy site: Yes
Site details
Site description: A complicated system of inter-drumlin lakes, basins and islands on the River Erne, County Cavan. Sheltered shores support swamp and marsh habitat and the site also includes adjacent fields which occasionally flood. The site is a southward extension of Upper Lough Erne (UK site 287) in Northern Ireland.
Rationale for qualifying as KBA: This site qualifies as a Key Biodiversity Area of international significance that was identified using previously established criteria and thresholds for the identification of Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas (IBAs) and for which available data indicate that it does not meet global KBA criteria and thresholds set out in the Global Standard.
Additional biodiversity: This site is important for its wintering birds. Other species wintering in numbers of national importance are Podiceps cristatus (40 birds, 1996), Phalacrocorax carbo (139 birds, 1996), Cygnus olor (137 birds, 1996) and Anas penelope (1,544 birds, 1995).
Habitats
Land use: agriculture (20%) | fisheries/aquaculture (70%) | not utilised (10%)
| IUCN Habitat | Coverage % | Habitat detail |
|---|---|---|
| Artificial - Terrestrial | 10 | |
| Wetlands(Inland) | 70 | |
| Forest | 10 | |
| Grassland | 10 |
Threats
Summary of threats to biodiversity at KBA: The deepening of drains and excessive use of fertilizer are resulting in nutrient pollution of the lake.
| Threat level 1 | Threat level 2 | Threat level 3 | Timing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Biological resource use | Hunting & collecting terrestrial animals | Unintentional effects (species being assessed is not the target) | Ongoing |
| Pollution | Agricultural & forestry effluents | Type Unknown/Unrecorded | Ongoing |
| Pollution | Domestic & urban waste water | Type Unknown/Unrecorded | Ongoing |
| Pollution | Industrial & military effluents | Type Unknown/Unrecorded | Ongoing |
| Human intrusions & disturbance | Recreational activities | Ongoing | |
| Residential & commercial development | Tourism & recreation areas | Only in the future | |
| Residential & commercial development | Housing & urban areas | Ongoing | |
| Transportation & service corridors | Shipping lanes | Only in the future |