Cothill Fen

Last updated
Cothill Fen
Site of Special Scientific Interest
Reeds at Parsonage Moor Nature Reserve - geograph.org.uk - 1269551.jpg
Location Oxfordshire
Grid reference SP 462 001 [1]
InterestBiological
Geological
Area43.4 hectares (107 acres) [1]
Notification 1993 [1]
Location map Magic Map

Cothill Fen is a 43.3-hectare (107-acre) biological and geological Site of Special Scientific Interest north-west of Abingdon-on-Thames in Oxfordshire. [1] [2] It is a Special Area of Conservation [3] and parts of it are a Geological Conservation Review site, [4] a Nature Conservation Review site, Grade 1, [5] and a National Nature Reserve. [6] It also includes two areas which are nature reserves managed by the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust, Lashford Lane Fen [7] and Parsonage Moor. [8]

This site has nationally rare calcareous fen and moss-rich mire habitats and a rich invertebrate fauna, including 25 species in the Red Data Book of Invertebrates. More than 330 vascular plants have been recorded. It is a nationally important site geologically because the sampling the peat gives a picture of the vegetation over the early Holocene, between 10,000 and 6,500 years ago. [9] [10]

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Designated Sites View: Cothill Fen". Sites of Special Scientific Interest. Natural England. Retrieved 31 March 2020.
  2. "Map of Cothill Fen". Sites of Special Scientific Interest. Natural England. Retrieved 31 March 2020.
  3. "Designated Sites View: Cothill Fen". Special Areas of Conservation. Natural England. Retrieved 26 February 2020.
  4. "Cothill Fen (Quaternary of South Central England)". Geological Conservation Review. Joint Nature Conservation Committee. Archived from the original on August 8, 2019. Retrieved 26 February 2020.
  5. Ratcliffe, Derek, ed. (1977). A Nature Conservation Review. Vol. 2. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. p. 208. ISBN   0521-21403-3.
  6. "Designated Sites View: Cothill". National Nature Reserves. Natural England. Retrieved 26 February 2020.
  7. "Lashford Lane Fen". Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust. Retrieved 18 February 2016.
  8. "Parsonage Moor". Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust. Retrieved 18 February 2016.
  9. "Cothill Fen citation" (PDF). Sites of Special Scientific Interest. Natural England. Retrieved 1 April 2020.
  10. Day, S. P. (November 1991). "Post‐glacial vegetational history of the Oxford region". New Phytologist. 119 (3): 445–470. doi: 10.1111/j.1469-8137.1991.tb00045.x .[ permanent dead link ]

51°41′53″N1°19′59″W / 51.698°N 1.333°W / 51.698; -1.333