Beagh's Burn - United Kingdom

UK Upland Waters Monitoring Network (UK UWMN) site. Beagh's Burn lies in the Glens of Antrim in north-eastern Northern Ireland. The catchment area is 302 ha and rises steeply from 150 m, just above the confluence with the Glendun River, to a maximum of 397 m at Oghtbristacree. Localised mineral soils in the lowermost area give way to blanket peats which dominate most of the catchment. In the upper catchment the peat is partly drained and in places extensively eroded. The underlying geology is quartz-schists of the Glendun series. Deciduous trees grow on the steep slopes immediately adjacent to the lowermost stream stretch which coincides with the sampling station. Elsewhere moorland species characterised by Calluna, Molinia and Sphagnum mosses, comprise the catchment vegetation. Old walls, derelict sheep pens and improvement of the lowest grazing land attest to a former level of land-use which exceeded the present low intensity sheep grazing. The annual rainfall is c. 1600 mm. Some data are managed by UK ECN Data Centre. Note: The area is the size of the catchment.