Site of Special Scientific Interest | |
Acaster South Ings, north gateway | |
Location | North Yorkshire |
---|---|
Grid reference | SE594437 |
Interest | Biological |
Area | 38.3 ha (95 acres) |
Notification | 1988 |
Location map | Magic Map (Defra) |
Acaster South Ings is a Site of Special Scientific Interest, or SSSI, near York, England. It consists of two alluvial flood-meadows, and was designated in 1988 because it supports diverse fauna and flora, some of which is rare in the Vale of York area. One of the rarities is the tansy beetle, which feeds on the leaves of the tansy plant.
Acaster South Ings is a 38.3 hectares (95 acres) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), [1] consisting of "two large alluvial flood-meadows." [2] The meadows are adjacent to the River Ouse and approximately 4 miles (6.4 km) south of York. Such wet grasslands are considered rare in the United Kingdom due to contemporary "drainage and agricultural improvement." [1] [3] The site is accessed on foot via a public footpath along the Ouse riverbank, from Acaster Malbis via Acaster Marine. [4]
The SSSI was first notified in 1988, and is classified under a wildlife enhancement scheme, due to the presence of grasslands containing rare plant and insect life. [5] It is one of nine wildlife SSSIs in the Greater York area, the other designated sites being Strensall Common, Heslington Tilmire, Askham Bog, Fulford Ings, Naburn Marsh, Church Ings, Derwent Ings and River Derwent. [6] It is one of four riverside hay meadow SSSIs listed by the Yorkshire Dales Rivers Trust, alongside Clifton Ings and Rawlcliffe Meadows, Fulford Ings and Naburn Marsh. [7]
There are grasses such as great burnet, cock's-foot, creeping bent, meadow foxtail, Yorkshire fog and crested dog's tail. [1]
Flowering plants covering the flood meadow include meadow vetchling, ox eye daisy, common sorrel, red clover, creeping thistle, meadowsweet, ribwort plantain and meadow buttercup. There are "distinct stands throughout the grassland" of common bistort, and some areas which contain common meadow rue, and pepper saxifrage. [1]
The site is protected, by earth dykes, from potential flooding from the adjacent River Ouse. These dykes provide plant habitat which is drier than the flood meadows. Some plants which prefer this drier habitat are meadow cranesbill, field mouse ear and clustered bellflower. Along the riverside are trees and shrubs such as osier and hawthorn, and plants taller than those in the meadows, including tansy, butterbur, common mugwort, reed canary grass and great willowherb. [1]
There are two beetles which are protected here. The rare tansy beetle [8] feeds on the leaves of the tansy plant, and Aphthona nigriceps (a flea beetle) lives on meadow cranesbill. [1] [nb 1] Other insects here are scarab beetle Hoplia philanthus , red soldier beetle, pollen beetle and plant bug Leptoterna flavilabris . The curlew, a wading bird, breeds here. This is "one of few suitable breeding areas for waders" in the Vale of York, so dog walkers are advised to keep dogs on leads during the spring breeding season. [1] [nb 2]
"Active management" is required, to conserve the above flora and fauna. [9] Farming practices for the protection of the above species are: "continuation of traditional management for haycropping followed by aftermath grazing in late summer to early autumn." [1] To prevent tall growth and to avoid build-up of decayed vegetation, the fields are cut or mowed in early July after the curlews have bred and the protected plants have set seed. Grazing animals are removed in autumn. There is "regular and careful maintenance of surface drainage including ditches and drains." [9] The condition of the site is described by Natural England as "unfavourable - recovering." [10] The unfavourable condition was specified as "unfavourable development" in Hansard in 2004. [11]
In 2018 the company Renewables First assessed the area for potential effects of the proposed Naburn Weir Hydroelectric Project. The assessment document concluded that the development was "not expected to have an adverse impact on the nearby SSSIs." [12]
Ouse Washes is a linear 2,513.6-hectare (6,211-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest stretching from near St Ives in Cambridgeshire to Downham Market in Norfolk. It is also a Ramsar internationally important wetland site, a Special Protection Area for birds, a Special Area of Conservation and a Nature Conservation Review site, Grade I. An area of 186 hectares between March and Ely is managed by the Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire and another area near Chatteris is managed by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds. The Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust manages another area near Welney.
The River Ouse is a river in North Yorkshire, England. Hydrologically, the river is a continuation of the River Ure, and the combined length of the River Ure and River Ouse makes it, at 129 miles (208 km), the sixth-longest river of the United Kingdom and the longest to flow entirely in one county. The length of the Ouse alone is about 52 miles (84 km) but the total length of the river is disputed.
Acaster Malbis is a village and civil parish in the unitary authority of the City of York, England. It is located on the River Ouse, almost 5 miles (8 km) south of York. Nearby are the villages of Copmanthorpe 2 miles (3.2 km) to the north-west, Bishopthorpe 2 miles to the north and Appleton Roebuck 3.5 miles (6 km) to the south-west. The parish covers an area of about 2,000 acres (810 ha).
Bishopthorpe is a village and civil parish three miles south of York in the City of York unitary authority area and ceremonial county of North Yorkshire, England. Bishopthorpe is close to the River Ouse, and has a population of 3,174, increasing to 3,237 at the 2011 Census. The area of Main Street and the Palace were made a conservation area in 1989 along with other open areas of the village.
The Derwent is a river in Yorkshire in the north of England. It flows from Fylingdales Moor in the North York Moors National Park, east then southwards as far as its confluence with the River Hertford then westwards through the Vale of Pickering, south through Kirkham Gorge and the Vale of York, joining the River Ouse at Barmby on the Marsh. The confluence is unusual in that the Derwent converges on the Ouse at a shallow angle in an upstream direction.
The tansy beetle is a species of leaf beetle. The common name derives from its main foodplant, Tansy, but it can also use other wetland plants such as Gypsywort and Water Mint. It measures 7.7–10.5 mm in length and has a characteristic bright metallic green colouration, with pitted elytra and a coppery tinge. In addition to the nominotypical subspecies, which repeats the specific name, C. graminis graminis, there are five further distinct subspecies of Tansy beetle, which, collectively, have a Palearctic distribution, although in the majority of countries where it is found the species is declining. In the United Kingdom it is designated as 'Nationally Rare'. The stronghold population here is located along the banks of the river Ouse in York, North Yorkshire. Other, small, fenland populations exist at Woodwalton Fen and at Welney Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust (WWT) reserve.
Naburn is a small village and civil parish in the unitary authority of the City of York in the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire, England. It lies on the eastern side of the River Ouse about 4 miles (6.4 km) south of York. According to the 2001 census the parish had a population of 470, increasing to 516 at the 2011 census.
Houghton Meadows is a 4.7-hectare (12-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) between Houghton and St Ives in Cambridgeshire. The SSSI covers three meadows south of Thicket Road; they are part of the 8-hectare (20-acre) Houghton Meadows nature reserve, which is owned and managed by the Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire, and which also includes Browns Meadow to the south.
Derwent Ings is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) divided between North Yorkshire and the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. Derwent Ings is of international significance and has been designated a Wetland of International Importance under the Ramsar Convention and as a Special Protection Area under the terms of the European Community Directive. Part of the site is owned by the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust and is managed in conjunction with English Nature. It lies adjacent to the River Derwent between Sutton upon Derwent and Menthorpe. The site, which was designated a SSSI in 1975, consists of a series of neutral alluvial flood meadows, fen and swamp communities and freshwater habitats. It is one of the most important examples of agriculturally unimproved species-rich alluvial flood meadow habitat remaining in the UK.
Range Farm Fields is a 12.8-hectare (32-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Gloucestershire, near to Gloucester City, notified in 1996.
Severn Ham, Tewkesbury is a 70.82-hectare (175.0-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Gloucestershire near Tewkesbury, notified in 1974.
Upham Meadow and Summer Leasow is a 104.0-hectare (257-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest on the border between Gloucestershire and Herefordshire & Worcestershire, at Twyning and near Bredon, notified in 1991.
Quarry Moor is a Site of Special Scientific Interest, or SSSI, at the south edge of Ripon, North Yorkshire, England, and adjacent to the A61 road. It contains an outcrop of Magnesian Limestone, exposed by former quarrying. 255 million years ago this limestone was the peripheral sediment of a tropical sea. The land was donated in 1945 to the people of Ripon by the town's mayor, Alderman Thomas Fowler Spence, a varnish manufacturer. The land was notified as an SSSI in 1986 because its calcareous grassland supported a large diversity of plant species. The site features a Schedule 8 protected plant, thistle broomrape. The land is protected as a nature reserve, and it is also managed as a recreational area. Therefore, its calcareous grass area is fenced off for protection and study, but it also contains a car park, information signs, a children's play area, accessible paths, benches, and dog waste bins.
Farnham Mires is a Site of Special Scientific Interest, or SSSI, to the east of the village of Farnham, North Yorkshire, England. It consists of a spring-fed marshy fen or mire with reeds and sedge, and drier calcareous grassland containing a diverse range of flora. It has a history of poaching and fox hunting, but since the late 19th century, the attention of botanists has been drawn to its large variety of flowering plants. It has received some consideration on this account since 1944, and from 1954 it was designated SSSI status. This site has no facilities, and is not open to the public.
Bishop Monkton Ings is a Site of Special Scientific Interest, or SSSI, situated east of Bishop Monkton village in North Yorkshire, England. It consists mostly of marshy, calcareous grassland, with some broadleaved woodland, and some fen alongside the two watercourses which run through the site. This varied wetland forms a habitat for a variety of plants, including the semi-parasitic marsh lousewort (Pedicularis palustris).
Mar Field Fen is a Site of Special Scientific Interest, or SSSI, north of Masham, North Yorkshire, England, in a rural area known as Marfield. It is situated on land containing woodland carr, fen, spring-fed marshy grassland and drier calcareous grassland, between the River Ure to the east and Marfield Wetland nature reserve to the west. As "one of the best examples of fen habitat in the Vale of York," it is a protected habitat for a variety of plants, including the common butterwort, a carnivorous plant. There is no public access to this site.
Ripon Parks is a Site of Special Scientific Interest, or SSSI, situated north of Ripon, to the west of the River Ure and to the east of the village of North Stainley, in North Yorkshire, England. It was once part of the land held since the Middle Ages as a deer park by the archbishops of York and the canons of Ripon. The site was designated as an SSSI in 1983, because its varied habitats are valued for their breeding birds, amphibians and varied flora. The woods here are "of note" for the parasitic flowers of common toothwort and yellow star-of-Bethlehem. A small part of the site is accessible via public footpaths; there are no public facilities or dedicated car parks. The site incorporates the High Batts Nature Reserve, which is privately run for training, recording and educational purposes, and accessible to members only, except for its annual open day. Ripon Parks is now owned by the Ministry of Defence, and parts of the site are used as military training areas.
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