The Gaelic word Machair or machar refers to a fertile low-lying coastal plain. The Machair occurs only in the North-West of Britain and Ireland, and it is particularly prominent in the Outer Hebrides. Two different definitions of Machair exist:
a type of sand-dunepasture, subject to agricultural cultivation, which prevails in wet and windy conditions
the span of land from the beaches to the area where sand encroaches on peat bogs further inland.
The Machair has received considerable ecological and conservational attention, mainly because of its unique ecosystem. It houses rare carpet flowers, such as Irish Lady's Tresses, orchids, and yellow rattle, along with a diverse array of bird species including the corncrake, twite, dunlin, redshank and ringed plover.
The Machair faces threats from erosion resulting from rising Atlantic sea levels, and from the recreational use of beaches.
The Scottish Gaelic word machair or machar refers to a fertile low-lying raised beach found on the coasts of Ireland and Scotland, in particular the Outer Hebrides.
In both cases, a machair is a former beach, left higher than the current beach beyond it after a drop in sea level.
Machairs have received considerable ecological and conservational attention, mainly because of their unique ecosystem.
Machair is a distinctive type of coastal grassland found in the north and west of Scotland, and in western Ireland.
Machair is highly susceptible to agricultural modification and is particularly sensitive to changes in grazing, sand and shingle extraction, and recreational impact.
Machair grassland is an integral part of a wider machair system comprising sand dunes, saltmarsh, coastal lagoons, open waters and marshes, and the action plans for these related habitats should be considered when planning management.
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