Editing Machair

{{About|the landform|the TV series|Machair (TV series)|the area in Galloway from the same root|The Machars}}
{{short description|Fertile low-lying grassy plain}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2014}}
[[File:Berneray Machair.jpg|thumb|The machair on [[Berneray, North Uist|Berneray]], [[Outer Hebrides]]]]
[[File:Machair east of Uig Bay - geograph.org.uk - 126686.jpg|thumb|Machair east of [[Uig,_Lewis|Uig]] Bay, Lewis]]
[[File:Berneray_Machair_(hazelisles).jpg|thumb|The machair towards West beach, Isle of Berneray, Outer Hebrides]]

A '''machair''' ({{IPA|gd|ˈmaxɪɾʲ}}; sometimes '''machar''' in English) is a fertile low-lying grassy [[plain]] found on part of the northwestern [[coastline]]s of [[Ireland]] and [[Scotland]], particularly the [[Outer Hebrides]]. The best examples are found on [[North Uist|North]] and [[South Uist]], [[Harris, Scotland|Harris]] and [[Isle of Lewis|Lewis]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.snh.gov.uk/about-scotlands-nature/habitats-and-ecosystems/coasts-and-seas/coastal-habitats/machair/ |title=Machair |publisher=Scottish Natural Heritage |access-date=19 December 2013}}</ref>

==Etymology==
''Machair'' is a Gaelic word meaning "fertile plain", but the word is now also used in scientific literature to describe the dune grasslands unique to western Scotland and northwest Ireland.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PtIFWx7ZskEC&pg=PA42 |title=The Ecology and Conservation of European Dunes |isbn=9788474059922 |first1=Francisco García |last1=Novo |first2=Robert M. M. |last2=Crawford |first3=Mari Cruz Díaz |last3=Barradas |publisher=Universidad de Sevilla |year=1997 |page=42}}</ref> It had been used by naturalists since 1926, but the term was not adopted by scientists until the 1940s.<ref name=snh>{{cite web |url=http://www.snh.gov.uk/docs/B100728.pdf |title=De Tha Machair? Towards a Machair Definition |last=Angus |first=Stewart |publisher=Scottish Natural Heritage |access-date=18 December 2013}}</ref> The word is used in a number of Irish, Scottish and Manx place names to refer to low-lying fertile ground or fields, even in areas where no machair has ever been supported.{{clarify|reason=like “Makertoun” in the borders?|date=April 2023}} <ref name=snh/> In Scotland, some Gaelic speakers use ''machair'' as a general term for the entire dune system, including the dune ridge, while others restrict its use to the extensive flat grasslands inland of the dune ridge.<ref name=snh/> In Ireland, the word has only been used in place names, and the existence of the habitat there has only
recently{{When|date=April 2021}} been confirmed.<ref name=snh/> In Manx Gaelic, 'magher' is a common term for a field.

In 1976, an attempt was made to strictly define ''machair'',<ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.1080/03746607608685306 |title=The Meaning and Definition of Machair |year=1976 |last1=Ritchie |first1=W. |journal=Transactions of the Botanical Society of Edinburgh |volume=42 |issue=4 |pages=431–440}}</ref> although a number of systems still evade classification.<ref name=snh/> This proved difficult when the habitat was listed on Annex I of the [[Habitats Directive]] in 1992, leading to the distinction between "machair grassland" and the "machair system".<ref name=snh/>

==Geography==
[[File:Abhainn Mhuilean Domhnuill - geograph.org.uk - 1364230.jpg|thumb|A stream cutting through the machair highlights a sandy composition]]
Machair differs from the [[Links (golf)|links]] on the east coast of Scotland in having a lower mineral content, whereas the links are high in [[silica]].<ref name=glas>{{cite journal |url=http://www.glasgownaturalhistory.org.uk/machair/ohdear.pdf |title=Oh, dear! What can the Machair be? |first=John A. |last=Love |publisher=Glasgow Natural History Society |access-date=18 December 2013}}</ref> Machair plains are highly [[calcareous]], with [[calcium carbonate]] concentrations ranging from 20% to 80% on the beaches, and decreasing further away from the coast.<ref name=glas/> The [[pH]] of a machair is typically greater than 7, i.e. it is [[Alkalinity|alkaline]].<ref name=snh/>

The inside of a machair is often wet or marshy, and may contain lochs.<ref name=snh/><ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YPQaFxH-AZYC&pg=PA141 |title=A Nature Conservation Review: Volume 1 |first=Derek |last=Ratcliffe |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2012 |page=141|isbn=9780521203296 }}</ref>

===Formation===
The modern theory of machair formation was first put forward by [[William MacGillivray]] in 1830.<ref name=glas/> He worked out that shell fragments are rolled by waves towards the shore, where they are further broken up. The small shell fragments are blown up the beach to form mounds, which are then blown inland.<ref name=glas/>

===Humans===
Human activity has played an important role in the creation of the machair. Archaeological evidence suggests that some trees were cleared for agriculture as early as 6000 BC, but there was still some woodland on the coast of [[South Uist]] as late as 1549.<ref name=glas/> Seaweed deposited by early farmers provided a protective cover and added nutrients to the soil.<ref name=glas/> The grass is kept short by [[cattle]] and [[sheep]], which also add trample and add texture to the [[Grassland|sward]], forming tussocks that favour a number of bird species.<ref name=glas/>

The [[soil]] is low in a number of key [[nutrient]]s, including trace elements such as [[copper]], [[cobalt]] and [[manganese]], requiring cattle to be fed supplements or taken to summer pastures elsewhere.<ref name=glas/> The sandy soil does not hold nutrients well, making artificial fertilisers ineffective and limiting the crops that can be grown to certain varieties of [[oats]] and [[rye]], and [[Bere (grain)|bere barley]].<ref name=glas/>

==Ecology==
Machairs have received considerable [[ecological]] and [[conservation biology|conservational]] attention, chiefly because of their unique [[ecosystem]]s.

===Sea===
[[Kelp]] in the sea next to the machair softens the impact of waves, reducing erosion, and when it is washed ashore by storms, forms a protective barrier on the beach.<ref name=glas/> As the kelp decays, it provides a home for local sand flies, which in turn provide food for flocks of [[starling]]s and other [[passerine]]s, wintering [[wader]]s, [[gull]]s and others.<ref name=glas/> When covered with sand, kelp will compost to form a fertile bed in which annual coastal flowers and [[Ammophila (plant)|marram grass]] will thrive.<ref name=glas/>

[[File:Machair.jpg|thumb|right|Wildflowers on a machair]]

===Flora===
[[File:Hebridean Spotted Orchid.jpg|thumb|upright|Hebridean spotted orchid]]
They can house [[rare species|rare]] [[carpet flower]]s, including [[Orchidaceae|orchids]] such as [[Spiranthes|Irish lady's tresses]] and the [[Dactylorhiza maculata subsp. fuchsii|Hebridean spotted orchid]] and other plants such as the [[yellow rattle]].

===Fauna===
Bird species including the [[corn crake]], [[twite]], [[dunlin]], [[common redshank]] and [[ringed plover]], as well as rare insects such as the [[northern colletes]] bee, the great yellow bumblebee (''[[Bombus distinguendus]]'') and the moss carder bee (''[[Bombus muscorum]]''), are found there.

===Threats===
Arable and fallow machair is threatened by changes in land management, where the original system of [[croft (land)|crofts]] is under threat from a reduction in the number of crofters and the use of "modern" techniques.<ref name=efn>{{cite web |url=http://www.efncp.org/hnv-showcases/scottish-hebrides/machair/facts/ |title=Machair - unknown jewel |publisher=European Forum on Nature Conservation and Pastoralism |access-date=19 December 2013}}</ref> Changes in the [[Common Agricultural Policy]], which decoupled production from [[subsidy|subsidies]], reduced the amount of grazing taking place in many crofting areas, and led to some areas being undergrazed or abandoned.<ref name=efn/><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.crofting.org/uploads/crofter_journal/crofter96.pdf |title=To him who hath shall be given… |date=September 2012 |work=The Crofter |access-date=20 December 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.crofting.org/uploads/consultations/Food_Policy_Discussion.pdf |title=SCF Contribution to the Scottish Government Food Policy Discussion "Choosing the Right Ingredients" |publisher=Scottish Crofting Federation |access-date=20 December 2013}}</ref> A lack of native seed increases the need for fertiliser and herbicides.<ref name=efn/>

[[Rising sea levels]], a consequence of [[global warming]], also pose a threat to low-lying coastal areas, leading to increased [[erosion]].<ref name=glas/><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/environment/machair-under-threat-from-rise-in-level-of-seas.21083043 |first=Emily |last=Beament |work=The Herald |date=14 May 2013 |title=Machair under threat from rise in level of seas |access-date=19 December 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://wild-scotland.org.uk/species/102/machair-habitat-/ |title=Machair |publisher=Wild Scotland |access-date=19 December 2013}}</ref> In January 1993, the storm which ran [[MV Braer|MV ''Braer'']] aground off [[Shetland]] eroded {{convert|3|m|ft|abbr=off}} of machair along the entire length of Uist and Barra.<ref name=glas/> On [[List of European windstorms#Severe European windstorms between 2000 and 2009|11/12 January
2005]], a storm blew consistently in excess of [[Beaufort scale|hurricane force 12]], destroying hectares of machair.<ref name=glas/>
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==References==
{{reflist}}

{{coastal geography}}
{{Commons category|Machair}}

[[Category:Beaches of Ireland]]
[[Category:Beaches of Scotland]]
[[Category:Coastal and oceanic landforms]]
[[Category:Coastal geography]]
[[Category:Ecology of the British Isles]]
[[Category:Grasslands]]