The Dublin Bay Biosphere Reserve (based on what was, pre-2015, the

North Bull Island Bull Island (), more properly North Bull Island (), is an island located in Dublin Bay in Ireland, about 5 km long and 800 m wide, lying roughly parallel to the shore off Clontarf, Dublin, Clontarf (including Dollymount), Raheny, Kilbarra ...

reserve) is a biosphere reserve comprising

Dublin Bay Dublin Bay () is a C-shaped inlet of the Irish Sea on the east coast of Ireland. The bay is about 10 kilometres wide along its north–south base, and 7 km in length to its apex at the centre of the city of Dublin; stretching from Howth He ...

, North Bull Island and adjacent land, including parts of

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

, the capital city of

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

, and the outfalls of multiple rivers. It contains one of the finest

sand dune A dune is a landform composed of wind- or water-driven sand. It typically takes the form of a mound, ridge, or hill. An area with dunes is called a dune system or a dune complex. A large dune complex is called a dune field, while broad, flat ...

systems on the island of Ireland, and is internationally important in terms of its conservation value. There are high quality examples of several rare and threatened coastal habitats present within its area.

Ecological characteristics

The biosphere reserve is significant from a conservation perspective since it supports well-developed

salt marsh A salt marsh, saltmarsh or salting, also known as a coastal salt marsh or a tidal marsh, is a coastal ecosystem in the upper coastal intertidal zone between land and open saltwater or brackish water that is regularly flooded by the tides. I ...

es and dune systems displaying all stages of development from the earliest phase of colonization to stable and full maturity. The area is also important for nesting and wintering

waterfowl Anseriformes is an order of birds also known as waterfowl that comprises about 180 living species of birds in three families: Anhimidae (three species of screamers), Anseranatidae (the magpie goose), and Anatidae, the largest family, which i ...

. The major habitats and land cover types are saltmarsh with glasswort ('' Salicornia dolichostachya'' and '' S. europaea''), ''

Puccinellia maritima ''Puccinellia maritima'' is a species of grass Poaceae ( ), also called Gramineae ( ), is a large and nearly ubiquitous family (biology), family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, ...

'' and sea lavender (''

Limonium humile ''Limonium humile'' is a species of sea lavender ''Limonium'' is a genus of about 600 flowering plant species. Members are also known as sea-lavender, statice, caspia or marsh-rosemary. Despite their common names, species are not related to ...

''); sand dune complex with saltwort (''

Salsola kali ''Salsola kali'' is the restored botanical name for a species of flowering plants in the amaranth family that has been treated as ''Kali turgidum''. It is native to Macaronesia, and from the Atlantic coasts of Europe to the Baltic Sea and the Me ...

''), sea rocket (''

Cakile maritima ''Cakile'' is a genus within the flowering plant family Brassicaceae. Species in this genus are commonly known as searockets, though this name on its own is applied particularly to whatever member of the species is native or most common in the ...

''), sea couchgrass ('' Agropyron junceiforme'') etc.; beaches; lagoonal sand flat; lagoonal mud flats with algae such as ''

Enteromorpha intestinalis ''Ulva intestinalis'' is a green alga in the family Ulvaceae, known by the common names sea lettuce, green bait weed, gutweed, and grass kelp. Until they were reclassified by genetic work completed in the early 2000s, the tubular members of the ...

'', '' E. compressa'' and ''

Ulva lactuca ''Ulva lactuca'', also known by the common name sea lettuce, is an edible green alga in the family Ulvaceae. It is the type species of the genus ''Ulva''. A synonym is ''U. fenestrata'', referring to its "windowed" or "holed" appearance. De ...

''. The biosphere reserve also holds international importance as the numbers of three species exceed the international threshold – light-bellied brent goose ('' Branta bernicla hrota''), black-tailed godwit (''

Limosa limosa The black-tailed godwit (''Limosa limosa'') is a large, long-legged, long-billed shorebird first described by Carl Linnaeus in 1758. It is a member of the godwit genus, ''Limosa''. There are four subspecies, all with orange head, neck and chest ...

'') and bar-tailed godwit (''

Limosa lapponica The bar-tailed godwit (''Limosa lapponica'') is a large and strongly migratory wader in the family (biology), family Scolopacidae, which feeds on Polychaete, bristle-worms and shellfish on coastal mudflats and Estuary, estuaries. It has distincti ...

''). Species such as grey heron ('' Ardea cinerea''), goldeneye ('' Bucephala''), red-breasted merganser (''

Mergus serrator The red-breasted merganser (''Mergus serrator'') is a duck species that is native to much of the Northern Hemisphere. The red breast that gives the species its common name is only displayed by males in breeding plumage. Individuals fly rapidly, ...

'') and greenshank ('' Tringa nebularia'') are regular in winter in numbers of regional or local importance. The North Bull Island and parts of the buffer zone in north Dublin used to include populations of Irish mountain hare ('' Lepus timidus hibernicus''), a uniquely Irish sub-species of a species of national and international importance, which came under severe pressure from recreational disturbance and illegal poaching. Dublin Bay Biosphere Reserve also contains three Ramsar sites –

Sandymount Strand Sandymount Strand () is a large strand on the east coast of Ireland, adjacent to the village and suburb of Sandymount in Dublin. It is part of South Bull - a major component of the south side of Dublin Bay, and part of the Dublin Bay Biosphere ...

, North Bull Island and

Baldoyle Bay Baldoyle Bay is a sea inlet on the east coast of Fingal in Ireland, in the traditional County Dublin. It is situated between Portmarnock, at its head, and Baldoyle. It contains two small estuaries, those of the Sluice River and the Mayne River, ...

Socio-cultural aspects

The beaches and amenities of the reserve serve the population of the capital of Ireland. Dublin city is the most populated area of the country, with the urban area having a population of more than a million people. Dublin Bay is the only biosphere reserve worldwide which includes within its area parts of a national capital. Therefore, its impact on society is higher than for just the immediate resident population. In addition to its ecological value, Bull Island island has an important educational and recreation function, for school classes, day visitors and more. Two golf courses are situated on Bull Island and there are some boating activities in the adjacent waters.

References

Sources

Footnotes

{{coord, 53.36147, N, 6.16264, W, source:wikidata, display=title Dublin Bay Protected areas of County Dublin Biosphere reserves of the Republic of Ireland