Site of Special Scientific Interest | |
Location | Cumbria |
---|---|
Grid reference | NY200195 |
Coordinates | 54°33′52″N3°14′20″W / 54.564377°N 3.2387551°W |
Area | 15,008.7 acres (61 km2; 23 sq mi) |
Notification | 1989 |
Buttermere Fells is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) [1] [2] within Lake District National Park in Cumbria, England. The protected area includes many of the hills and mountains between the Buttermere lake valley near the village of Buttermere and the River Derwent valley near the village of Braithwaite. This protected area includes the mountains of Grasmoor, Crag Hill, Causey Pike and Hindscarth. The protected area includes much of the North Western Fells. This protected area contains exceptional examples of montane dwarf shrub heath communities.
The northern section of this protected area includes part of Whinlatter Forest.
Part of Buttermere Fells SSSI was previously notified as Keskdale and Birkrigg Oaks SSSI.
Buttermere Fells SSSI has extensive acid-loving heaths. Plants in these heaths include bilberry, crowberry, lingonberry, dwarf juniper, cross-leaved heath and bearberry. Moss species in these heaths include Hylocomium splendens, Pleurozium schreberi and Plagiothecium undulatum . The club-moss species Diphasiastrum alpinum and Huperzia selago are also found here. [1]
Blanket bog is infrequent in this protected area, but on High Scawdel there is blanket bog with pools where the plants bogbean and round-leaved sundew have been recorded. Mosses in these blanket bog habitats include Sphagnum papillosum , Sphagnum capillifolium and Sphagnum cuspidatum . [1]
On high ridges, plant species include dwarf willow and the moss species Racomitrium lanuginosum, that is now confined to two patches. Plant species on cliffs include alpine catchfly and alpine cinquefoil. [1]
Woodlands where sessile oak dominates are found near Keskadale and Birkrigg. They are relics of previously extensive high level woodland. In these woodlands, the moss species Hedwigia integrifolia and the lichen species Alectoria chalybeiformis and Usuea frugilescens have been recorded. [1]
Bird species recorded in this protected area include peregrine, merlin, raven, dotterel and twite. [1]
Much of the rocks within Buttermere Fells SSSI are Skiddaw Slates and in this region, these rocks have a strong tendency to form cliffs. Weathering of Skiddaw Slates produces acidic soils, hence supporting extensive acid-loving heaths. [1]
Most of the land within Buttermere Fells SSSI is owned by the National Trust. The section of Whinlatter forest within Buttermere Fells SSSI (Hobcarton End) is on land owned by the Forestry Commission. Management plans for Whinlatter forest include restoration of habitat in felled areas at Hobcarton End. [3] [4]
Delamere Forest is a large wood in the village of Delamere in Cheshire, England. The woodland, which is managed by Forestry England, covers an area of 972 hectares making it the largest area of woodland in the county. It contains a mixture of deciduous and evergreen trees.
Hothfield Common is a 56.5-hectare (140-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest north-east of Ashford in Kent. It is also a Local Nature Reserve, and is part of the 86-hectare (210-acre) Hothfield Heathlands nature reserve owned by Ashford Borough Council and managed by Kent Wildlife Trust.
Cors Caron is a raised bog in Ceredigion, Wales. Cors is the Welsh word for "bog". Cors Caron covers an area of approximately 349 hectares. Cors Caron represents the most intact surviving example of a raised bog landscape in the United Kingdom. About 44 different species groups inhabit the area including various land and aquatic plants, fish, insects, crustaceans, lichen, fungi, terrestrial mammals and birds.
Waldridge Fell is a Site of Special Scientific Interest located immediately south-west of Chester-le-Street in the northern part of County Durham, England. It is one of the largest areas of lowland heath in County Durham and contains the only lowland valley-mire in the county. The fell is home to a number of plants and insects that are scarce to rare elsewhere in the county.
Lune Forest is a Site of Special Scientific Interest covering an extensive area of moorland in the Teesdale district of west Durham, England. In the north, where it adjoins the Upper Teesdale and Appleby Fells SSSIs, it extends from Mickle Fell eastward almost as far as Harter Fell, above the hamlet of Thringarth. Its southern limit is marked by the River Balder, upstream from Balderhead Reservoir, where it shares a boundary with Cotherstone Moor SSSI to the south. Grains o' th' Beck Meadows and Close House Mine SSSIs are entirely surrounded by Lune Forest, but do not form part of it.
Appleby Fells is a Site of Special Scientific Interest in the Eden district of Cumbria, England, near Appleby-in-Westmorland. The area is approximately a triangle with a right angle in the North East at Cow Green Reservoir. It extends westwards to near Knock and southwards to near Helbeck. The area overlaps the North Pennines AONB. The fells rise steeply above the Eden Valley, the scarp slope being deeply dissected by streams. Natural England states that "the great importance of the area lies in its rich variety of habitats and associated plant and animal species" and that "geologically there are important exposures of the Great Whin Sill quartz dolerite". According to data from Natural England the condition of 93% of the SSSI is designated "Unfavourable Recovering" and less than 5% is "Favourable".
Upper Wye Gorge is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), noted for its biological and geological characteristics, around Symonds Yat in the Wye Valley on the Wales–England border. The site is listed in the "Forest of Dean Local Plan Review" as a Key Wildlife Site (KWS).
Kingsley Common is a 41-hectare (100-acre) protected area in Kingsley, Hampshire, England. The site holds many rare species of animals and birds. Some species of plants and animals may also be subject to special protection under Part I of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, or under the Habitats Regulations 1994.
Poor's Allotment is a 28.57-hectare (70.6-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Gloucestershire, notified in 1954. The site is listed in the 'Forest of Dean Local Plan Review' as a Key Wildlife Site (KWS).
Allendale Moors is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Northumberland, England. The upland moorland ridge site is listed for its heath, flush and upland grassland which provide a habitat for a nationally important assemblage of moorland breeding birds.
Bewick and Beanley Moors is the name given to a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in north Northumberland, in the north-east of England. The moors are asserted to be of national importance by Natural England for the extent, quality and diversity of upland types including heaths, fens, wet grassland, flushes, mires and blanket bogs, together creating an extensive mosaic habitat supporting an exceptional community of amphibians. The moors are important, too, for their relict juniper woodland and scrub.
Invereshie and Inshriach is a national nature reserve on the western flank of the Cairngorms in the Highland council area of Scotland. The reserve covers habitats at a range of different altitudes, ranging from Caledonian Forest beside the River Feshie in the west, via bog and open moorland, to an arctic-alpine environment on the Cairngorm plateau. The Munro summit of Sgòr Gaoith (1118 m) lies on the eastern boundary of the reserve. The forested areas of the reserve form part of an expanse of Caledonian pinewood that stretches from Glen Feshie to Abernethy, and which as a whole forms the largest single area of this habitat remaining in Scotland. The reserve is owned and managed jointly by NatureScot and Forestry and Land Scotland (FLS): NatureScot own the Invereshie portion of the reserve and FLS the Inshriach area.
Moine Mhòr encompasses a large area of raised bog in the Kilmartin Glen area of Argyll and Bute, Scotland. As well as raised bog there are areas of saltmarsh, brackish grassland, alder carr, fen and woodland, and the variety of habitats at Moine Mhòr provide important habitats for a variety of animal and plant species. The area was declared a national nature reserve (NNR) in 1987, and is now owned and managed by NatureScot. According to NatureScot lowland raised bogs like Moine Mhòr are some of the rarest and most threatened natural wildlife habitats in Europe, due to removal of peat, afforestation and reclamation of farmland.
Salta Moss is a raised blanket mire which is a Site of Special Scientific Interest ('SSSI') located in the hamlet of Salta, in Cumbria, United Kingdom. It was determined to be of biological interest under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. The site, measuring 45.6 hectares, was officially designated in August 1982.
Whitelee Moor is nature reserve of the Northumberland Wildlife Trust, in Northumberland, England, near Carter Bar. A large part of the moor is blanket bog.
Turners Puddle Heath is a Site of Special Scientific Interest north of Wool, near Bovington in Dorset, England. This protected area is located between the River Piddle and the River Frome. This protected area is within the Dorset Heathlands Ramsar site.
Lampert Mosses is a Site of Special Scientific Interest within Northumberland National Park, Northumberland, England. It is located 8km north of the town of Haltwistle. The western boundary of this protected area largely follows the valley of the River Irthing. The protected area contains exceptional blanket bog over deep peat.
Whitfield Moor, Plenmeller and Asholme Commons is a Site of Special Scientific Interest in the North Pennines in Northumberland, England. This protected area is located south of Haltwistle and includes part of the Bellister Castle estate and parts of the Williamston estate and Whitfield estate.
Butterburn Flow is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Cumbria, England. It is located north of Greenhead. Some of the borders of this protected area follow the River Irthing. This protected area contains important blanket bog habitat that occurs over deep peat.
Duddon Valley Woodlands is a Site of Special Scientific Interest within the Lake District National Park in Cumbria, England. This protected area comprises eight large patches of woodland along the valley of the River Duddon. The northernmost part of this protected area is near Seathwaite and southern most at Duddon Bridge. This protected area has an exceptional diversity of moss species and also has a population of the common dormouse.