Special Areas of Conservation
The European Union's Habitats Directive (92/43EEC) requires member states of the EU to protect wildlife areas. The European Communities (Natural Habitats) Regulations 1977, as amended, implements the directive in the Republic.
Lough Lene is a deep lake as it plunges to 20m max. in certain parts. It is a clear hard water lake with marl deposition particularly noticeable along long stretches of its shores.
The lake supports a range of pondweeds that include potamogeton perfoliatatus and p.lucens, Canadian pondweed, and a variety of stoneworts (chara spp.) such as (C. pedunculata) and (c. curta) which are marl or hard-water lake indicators.
A stony shore line fringes much of the lake, where there are species such as spike-rush ""(Eleocharis sp.)jointed rush (Polygonum persicaria), marsh pennywort, (hydrocotyle vulgaris) and sedges carex spp are found. A narrow fringe of emigerent plant species dominated by common reed (phragmites austrailis) and common club-rush (schoenoplectus lacustris) occures along some stretches of the lakeshore.
Patches of wet woodland colonise former areas of cut-away and other low-lying areas close to the lake and are dominated by willows (salix spp.), birch (betula sp) and alder (alnus glutinosa) with patches of common reed also occurring. These areas support a rich flora. The ground flora of the wood at the northwestern end of the lake supports a range of sphagnum mosses, bilberry (vaccinium myrtillus) and heather (Calluna vulgaris). Alder carr occurs on the juttland into the lake at its northwestern side.
Freshwater marsh/fen vegetation, with such species as purple moor-grass (Molina careula), bottle sedge (Carex rostata), black bog-rush schoenus nigricans, and marsh minquefoil potentilla palustris, occurs in certain areas near the lake; one such area supports a population of rare round-leaved wintergreen (pyrola rotundifolia subsp. rotundifolia).
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