Allt na Coire nan Con - United Kingdom

UK Upland Waters Monitoring Network (UK UWMN) site. The Allt na Coire nan Con catchment lies in the Strontian region of western Scotland and drains into the River Polloch, an inflow to Loch Shiel. The catchment covers 817 ha and rises from 10 m at the sampling point to a peak of 756 m in the east. The dominant soil types are subalpine soils, peaty podsols and peat gleys. Peat erosion occurs on the exposed uppermost reaches of the catchment. The underlying geology is primarily schists and gneisses, principally of the Moine series. Approximately 40% of the catchment is covered by mature and maturing coniferous forest (mainly spruce and larch) through which a number of access tracks have been placed. Some felling and replanting has taken place during the monitoring period in areas of the lower catchment, especially to the south of the stream. The non-afforested upper slopes are dominated by Molinia interspersed with Calluna and in wetter areas, Sphagnum. Deer graze at low intensity in these areas. Mean annual rainfall is c. 2580 mm.Some data are managed by UK ECN Data Centre. Note: The area is the size of the catchment.