Machair

The machair (Scottish Gaelic pronunciation: ['maxɪɾʲ]; sometimes machar in English) refers to a fertile low-lying grassy plain found on some of the north-west coastlines of Ireland and Scotland, in particular the Outer Hebrides. Two distinct types exist:

• A type of sand-dune pasture, subject to agricultural cultivation, which prevails in wet and windy conditions;
• The land between a beach and the area where sand encroaches on peat bogs further inland.

Contents 1 Geology 2 Ecology 3 References 4 Endnotes 5 External links

Geology

In both cases, a machair is a former beach, left higher in elevation than the current adjacent beach following a drop in sea level or isostasy.

Machairs largely owe their fertility to the fact their sand has a high seashell content- sometimes as high as 90%. This sand is blown inland, acts to neutralize the acidity of the peatbogs and results in the fertility of the grassland.

Ecology

Machairs have received considerable ecological and conservational attention, chiefly because of their unique ecosystems. They can house rare carpet flowers, such as Irish Lady's Tresses, orchids and Yellow Rattle,^[1] along with a diverse array of bird species including the Corn Crake, Twite, Dunlin, Common Redshank and Ringed Plover, as well as rare insects such as the northern colletes bee. Some machairs are threatened by erosion caused by rising sea levels as well as by recreational use of vicinity beaches.

References

• Angus, S. (1997). The Outer Hebrides: the Shaping of the Islands". The White Horse Press. ISBN 1-874267-33-2

Endnotes

External links

• Wildlife Hebrides - wildlife in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland.
• Living Landscape Series - Grasslands - Creating Grasslands
• Action plan for Machair

Coastal geography Landforms Anchialine pool Avulsion Archipelago Atoll Ayre Barrier bar Barrier island Bay Baymouth bar Bight Brackish marsh Cape Channel Cliff Cliffed coast Cliff-top dune Coast Coastal plain Coastal waterfall Continental margin Continental shelf Coral reef Cove Dune Estuary Firth Fjard Fjord Flat coast Freshwater marsh Fundus Geo Graded shoreline Gulf Headland Inlet Intertidal wetland Island Islet Isthmus Lagoon Marine terrace Mouth bar Raised shorelines Machair Mega delta Mudflat Natural arch Peninsula Reef Ria River delta Rocky shore Salt marsh Shore Sound Stack Steep coast Strait Strand plain Submarine canyon Tied island Tidal island Tidal marsh Tide pool Tombolo More... Beaches Beach cusps Beach evolution Beach ridge Beachrock Modern recession of beaches Pocket beach Raised beach Storm beach Shingle beach Processes Blowhole Coastal erosion Concordant coastline Current Cuspate foreland Discordant coastline Emergent coastline Feeder bluff Fetch Headlands and bays Large scale coastal behaviour Longshore drift Marine regression Marine transgression Rip current Sea cave Sea foam Shoal Spit Submergent coastline Surf break Surf zone Surge channel Swash Volcanic arc Wave-cut platform Wave shoaling Wind wave Wrack zone Management Coastal management Accretion Integrated coastal zone management Submersion Related Bulkhead line Coastline length Intertidal zone Littoral zone Particle size boulder shingle pebble sand silt clay Physical oceanography Region of freshwater influence Scree More...