1. Characteristics of the vegetation community of the riparian zone of headwater streams Cormac Mc Conigley Dr. Heather Lally Dr. Mary Kelly-Quinn

2. Headwaters First and second order Under 3m wide 77% of total river network Heterogeneous: rapid longitudinal change Edge to discharge ratio

3. Riparian zones Area along stream Dimensions delineation Vital for stream condition Forms the edge

4. Functions of the riparian zone Carbon Filtration Stabilisation Temperature regulation Intrinsic value

5. Site attributes SiteSoil typeCoordinatesCountyWidth (m)Depth (m) 31PeatF 850 193Mayo2.640.11 50PeatV 959 830Kerry2.000.66 58PeatC 033 239Donegal1.400.42 65PeatM 112 345Galway2.000.83 21Peat B 043 228 Donegal2.500.80 23Peat B 913 138 Donegal0.380.15 2Peaty podzolO 110 112Wicklow1.700.14 7Peaty podzolO 120 084Wicklow2.430.34 10Peaty podzolO 150 142Wicklow0.930.23 39Peaty podzolL 719 563Galway0.830.31 70Peaty podzolW 896 572Cork1.200.25 Table1. Attributes of 11 upland headwater sites

6. S2 R S2 L S1 L S3 R S1 R S3 L 100m 10m Moorland

7. S2 R S2 L S1 L S1 R R1 R2 R3 Station Moorland

8. Statistical analysis Standardised Cluster PERMANOVA Univariate

9. Cluster analysis of 179 relevés A B a b c def

10. nMDS from cluster analysis 48% cover

11. nMDS from cluster analysis a Bryophyta Sphagnum b Potentilla erecta Juncus effusus c Calluna vulgaris Vaccinium myrtillus d Pteridium aquilinum Bryophyta e Anthoxanthumodoratum Molinia caerulea f Juncus effusus Bryophyta

12. nMDS labelled by county b Potentilla erecta Juncus effusus e Anthoxanthumodoratum Molinia caerulea a Bryophyta Sphagnum c Calluna vulgaris Vaccinium myrtillus Wicklow d Pteridium aquilinum Bryophyta f Juncus effusus Bryophyta

13. Univariate

14. Mean organic content

15. Summary Wicklow High organic matter

16. Conclusions Equal diversity across groups Molinia caerulea most important for grouping East/West divide Organic content of soil

17. Acknowledgements Dr Mary Kelly-Quinn Dr. Heather Lally My funders: Department of Agriculture Food and Marine Partners: Woodlands of Ireland & Coillte

18. Thank you Questions?? Correspondence: cormacmcconigley@gmail.com