Killarney National Park

Killarney National Park is in southwest Ireland close to the island's most westerly point. A major geological boundary between Devonian Old Red Sandstone and Carboniferous limestone lies in the park. The underlying geology of the majority of the park is sandstone, with the limestone pavements occurring on the low eastern shore of Lough Leane. Mean daily temperatures range from a low of in January to a high of in July. The park experiences high rainfall and changeable fronts, with light showery rainfall being frequent throughout the year. The mean rainfall is per year, 223 days per annum typically having more than precipitation. The mean number of frost days is 40. The geological boundary, the park's wide range of altitudes, and the climatic influence of the Gulf Stream combine to give the park a varied ecology. These ecosystems include bogs, lakes, moorland, mountains, waterways, woodland, parks and gardens. Outcropping rock, cliffs and crags are features of the park. Above , the mountainous sandstone areas support large areas of blanket bog and heath. ==History==

Early history Killarney National Park is one of the very few places in Ireland that has been continuously covered by woodland since the end of the most recent glacial period, approximately 10,000 years ago. Humans have lived in the area since at least the Bronze Age, approximately 4,000 years ago. Archaeologists have found evidence that copper mining took place in the Ross Island area during this period, which suggests that the area was of considerable importance to Bronze Age people. The park has many archaeological features, including a well preserved stone circle at Lissivigeen. In 1780 Young famously described Derrycunihy wood as "a great sweep of mountain, covered partly in wood, hanging in a very noble manner, but part cut down, much of it mangled, and the rest inhabited by coopers, boat-builders, carpenters and turners..".. and the Muckross estate was purchased by Lord Ardilaun of the Guinness brewing family in 1899. Creation of the park In 1910, the American William Bowers Bourn bought Muckross Estate as a wedding present for his daughter Maud on her marriage to Arthur Vincent. They spent £110,000 improving the estate between 1911 and 1932, building the Sunken Garden, the Stream Garden, and a rock garden on an outcrop of limestone. The Act required the Commissioners of Public Works to "maintain and manage the Park as a National Park for the purpose of the recreation and enjoyment of the public". Around 1970 there was public disquiet about threats to the Bourn Vincent Memorial Park. The Irish authorities looked at international practices in classifying and managing of national parks. It was decided to expand and re-designate the park as a national park that corresponded broadly to IUCN Category II. A decision was also made to establish other national parks in Ireland. Almost has been added to the original park, including the three lakes, Knockreer Estate, Ross Island, Innisfallen, and the townlands of Glena, Ullauns, and Poulagower. As the Irish economy became wealthier and the perception of the role of national parks changed, much more money was made available to the park. ==Lakes of Killarney==

. Ladies' View provides a good view of the Lakes including the Gap of Dunloe, the Black Valley and Ross Castle. The Lakes of Killarney are Lough Leane (the lower lake), Muckross Lake (the middle lake), and the Upper Lake. These lakes are interlinked and together make up almost a quarter of the park's area. Despite being interlinked, each lake has a unique ecosystem. The lakes join at the Meeting of the Waters, a popular tourist area. Sport angling on the lakes has been a pastime in the area for some time, in particular of the lakes' brown trout and salmon populations. Lough Leane is approximately in size and is by far the largest of the three lakes. It is also the lake richest in nutrients. It has become eutrophic as a result of phosphates from agricultural and domestic pollution entering Lough Leane Reedbed, an important habitat on the edge of Lough Leane. This nutrient enrichment has caused several algal blooms in recent years. The blooms have not yet had a severe effect on the lake's ecosystem. To prevent further pollution causing a permanent change in the lake's ecosystem, a review of land use in the catchment area is being carried out. Water quality in the lake appears to have improved since phosphates were removed from sewage in 1985. As of August 2007, several large hotels and businesses have stated their intention to stop using phosphate detergents, in an effort to preserve the quality of the lake water. Muckross Lake is the deepest of the three lakes. It has a maximum depth of , close to where the steeply sloping side of Torc Mountain enters the lake. The lake lies on the geological boundary between the sandstone mountains to the south and west and the limestone to the north. Lough Leane and Muckross Lake lie across the geological boundary. The presence of limestone causes both of the lakes to be slightly richer in nutrients than the Upper Lake. There are many caves in the limestone at lake level, created by wave action combined with the dissolution effect of the lakes' acidic water on the exposed rock. These caves are largest on the northern shore of Muckross Lake. From the Meeting of the Waters a narrow channel called the Long Range leads to the Upper Lake, the smallest of the three lakes. This lake is located in rugged mountain scenery in the upper Killarney/Black Valley area. The fast run-off in its catchment area can cause the level of the lake to rise by up to a meter in a few hours during heavy rain. Muckross Lake and the Upper Lake are high quality oligotrophic systems, with water that is slightly acidic and low in nutrients. This is caused by run-off from the upland sandstones and blanket bogs in their catchment areas. They have diverse aquatic vegetation, including quillwort (Isoetes lacustris), shoreweed (Littorella uniflora), and water lobelia (Lobelia dortmanna). All three lakes are very acid sensitive and therefore vulnerable to afforestation within their catchment areas. ==Woodlands==

Killarney possesses the most extensive area (approximately ) of semi-natural native woodland (woodland dominated by indigenous species) remaining in Ireland. Most of this woodland is encompassed by the national park. There are three main types of woodland in the park: acidophilous oak woodland (Quercus petraea-Ilex aquifolium) on Devonian sandstone; moss-rich yew woodland (Taxus baccata) on Carboniferous limestone outcrops; Yew woodlands are one of the rarest types of woodland in Europe, mostly restricted to western Ireland and southern England. It has priority habitat status under Annex I of the EU Habitats Directive. It is the only significant area of yew woodland in Ireland and is one of just three pure yew woodlands in Europe. The soil in the wood is mostly thin and in many places the trees are rooted to fissures in the bare limestone. This is one of the most extensive areas of this woodland type in Ireland. The dominant canopy species here are alder (Alnus glutinosa), ash (Fraxinus excelsior), downy birch (Betula pubescens), and willow (Salix spp.). The areas that are periodically covered by water are rich in species including grasses, rushes, sedges, and flowers such as marsh bedstraw, meadow sweet, and water mint. Red deer and sika deer heavily use the wetland woods as cover, and bare muddy "deer wallows" are a characteristic feature. Rhododendrons are the greatest threat to these woodlands. They are invading the woodlands, using raised areas such as tussocks or tree bases where the floor is too wet for seedlings to become established. Although some clearance has occurred reinvasion continues. ==Bogland==

While the lower slopes of the mountains are dominated by sessile oak (Quercus petraea), above the mountains are virtually treeless and are dominated by blanket bog and wet heath. The bogs in the park mostly have a characteristic flora that includes heather (Calluna vulgaris), bell heather (Erica cinerea) and western gorse (Ulex gallii), with occasional bilberry (Vaccinium myrtillus). Large-flowered butterwort (Pinguicula grandiflora) is common. The bogs also support a number of notable species, including mosses (Sphagnum pulchrum, S. fuscum, S. platyphyllum, S. strictum, S. contortum and Calliergon stramineum), liverworts (Cladopodiella francisci and Calypogeia azurea) and lichens (Cladonia mediterranea, C. macilenta, C. rangiferina, C. arbuscula and Cetraria islandica). The remoteness of some of the upland areas aids the survival of Ireland's only remaining wild herd of native red deer. The bogs are threatened by grazing, turbary, burning and afforestation. ==Flora==

A large number of plant and animal species of interest occur within the site, including most of the native Irish mammal species, several important fish species including Arctic char, and a range of rare or scarce plant species. The park has been designated a biosphere reserve because of the presence of such rare species. Significant amounts of plant species found in the park have unusual geographic distributions and are of localised occurrence within Ireland. These plant species are grouped within four main categories: arctic-alpine plants, Atlantic species, North American species and very rare species. Atlantic species are species which are otherwise found mostly in southern and south-western Europe, for example arbutus, St Patrick's cabbage and greater butterwort. North American species include blue-eyed grass and pipewort. Bryophytes Bryophytes (mosses and liverworts) flourish in the park, due partly to the area's mild oceanic climate. The park is internationally significant for bryophytes. Many of the bryophytes found in the park are not found anywhere else in Ireland. Mosses, ferns such as filmy ferns, and liverworts grow luxuriantly. Many of them live as epiphytes, growing on the branches and trunks of trees. Other plant species The Killarney fern (Trichomanes speciosum) is probably the most rare plant species in the park. It is a filmy fern that grows in the splash zone of waterfalls and other damp places. Although it was once quite common, it was picked almost to extinction when pickers collected it to be sold to tourists. The few sites where this fern remain tend to be in isolated mountainous locations where pickers never found it. Although the strawberry tree (Arbutus unedo) is relatively common in the park, it is one of Ireland's rarest native tree species and is found in very few locations outside Killarney. In the park it is found on cliff tops and the edges of the woodlands around the lake. Killarney whitebeam (Sorbus anglica) is a shrub or small tree that grows on rocks close to lakeshores. It is found only in Killarney. The more common Irish whitebeam (Sorbus hibernica) is also found in the park. The greater butterwort (Pinguicula grandiflora) (also known as the Kerry violet) is a carnivorous plant found in bogs. It digests insects to supplement the poor supply of nutrients (especially nitrogen) available from the bog. Its purple flowers bloom in late May and early June. Irish spurge (Euphorbia hyberna) is an Atlantic species that in Ireland is only found in the southwest. In the past the milky sap from its stem was used to cure warts. Fishermen used it to capture fish, utilising compounds in the sap that prevent fish gills from functioning properly and so suffocate the fish. A number of rare species of myxomycete fungus have been recorded in the park. These are Collaria arcyrionema, Craterium muscorum, Cribraria microcarpa (the only known location in Ireland), C. rufa, C. violacea, Diderma chondrioderma, D. lucidum, D. ochraceum, Fuligo muscorum, and Licea marginata. The park has a highly diverse lichen flora. ==Fauna==

Mammals Most mammals native to Ireland and long established introduced species are found in the park. an increase from less than 100 individuals in 1970. They are found in upland areas of the park, mostly on Mangerton and Torc mountains. This herd has been continuously in Ireland for 4,000 years, since the return of red deer to the island, possibly aided by humans, after the last ice age, including upland, woodland and wintering waterfowl species. Despite a poisoning incident in 2009, the program is continuing and birds introduced to the area have now been tracked to Wicklow and Donegal. Fish species The Lakes of Killarney contain many brown trout and an annual run of salmon. Rare species found in the lakes are Arctic char and Killarney shad. The Killarney shad (or goureen) (Alosa fallax killarnensis) is a land-locked lake-dwelling subspecies of twaite shad, a mostly marine species. It is unique to the Lakes of Killarney. It is rarely seen because it feeds mainly on plankton and thus is rarely caught by fishers. It is listed in the Irish "Red Data Book" of threatened species. The oak woods in the remote Glaism na Marbh valley are a stronghold for Formica lugubris Zett., a wood ant species that is rare both in the Killarney woods and in Ireland as a whole. The Kerry slug (Geomalacus maculosus) is a hiberno-lusitanean species. It emerges in Killarney's frequent wet weather to graze on lichens on rocks and tree trunks. It is reputedly the only slug capable of rolling itself into a ball. It is on both Annex II and Annex IV of the EU Habitats Directive. ==Conservation threats==

The park has a number of conservation and management challenges. One of these is the park's proximity to Killarney town, one of Ireland's best known tourist destinations. Killarney has hundreds of thousands of visitors every year. Most of these visitors spend time in the park. Careful management is needed to ensure minimal conflict between conservation and recreation. Fires caused by human activity occur with some frequency in the park. Despite the wet climate, they can spread quite rapidly to cover large areas. These fires rarely penetrate areas covered by dense woodlands, but they do burn readily through stands of open woodland. The main land use within the site is grazing by sheep. It is an evergreen shrub with a natural distribution in the Mediterranean and Black Sea areas. Rhododendrons died out in Ireland because of climate change thousands of years ago. It was introduced to the Killarney area during the 19th century, and rapidly took hold. It has spread through its large numbers of very small easily dispersed seeds. It shades the ground flora and so prevents the regeneration of native woody species. More than of the park are now completely infested. They have had a devastating effect in certain parts of the park. As light cannot penetrate the dense thickets of rhododendrons, very few plants can live beneath it. The park's oak woods are in long-term danger because they cannot regenerate. There is a policy of control and eradication of rhododendrons in the park. ==Tourism==

– One of many sights in the park The park is open for tourism year-round. There is a visitor and education centre at Killarney House. Visitor attractions in the park include Dinis Cottage, Knockreer Demesne, Inisfallen Island, Ladies View, the Meeting of the Waters and the Old Weir Bridge, Muckross Abbey, Muckross House, the Muckross Peninsula, the Old Kenmare Road, O'Sullivan's Cascade, Ross Castle and Ross Island, Tomies Oakwood, and Torc Waterfall. There is a network of surfaced paths in the Knockreer, Muckross, and Ross Island areas that can be used by cyclists and walkers. The Old Kenmare Road and the track around Tomies Oakwood have views over Lough Leane and Killarney. Boat trips on the lakes are available. Muckross House is a Victorian mansion, close to Muckross Lake's eastern shore, beneath the backdrop of Mangerton and Torc mountains. The house has now been restored and attracts more than 250,000 visitors a year. Muckross Gardens are famous for their collection of rhododendrons, hybrids and azaleas, and exotic trees. Muckross Traditional Farms is a working farm project that recreates Irish rural life in the 1930s, prior to electrification. Knockreer House is used as the National Park Education Centre. ==See also==