Gentleshaw Common

Last updated
Gentleshaw Common
Site of Special Scientific Interest
Gentleshaw Common.jpg
Staffordshire UK location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Location within Staffordshire
Location Staffordshire
Grid reference SK050111
Coordinates 52°41′53″N1°55′34″W / 52.698°N 1.926°W / 52.698; -1.926
InterestBiological
Area212.5 acres (0.86 km2; 0.33 sq mi)
Notification 1981 (1981)
Natural England website

Gentleshaw Common is an area of common land situated in Gentleshaw on the northern side of Burntwood in Staffordshire, England. The area is a Site of Special Scientific Interest as it is an area of globally rare lowland heathland. The common plays host to a series of fun public events throughout the year, including scrub bashing and countryside walks.

Contents

Geography

The 212.5 acres (86.0 ha) site occupies the west flanks of a low hill on the southern slope of the Cannock Chase upland plateau. [1] It lies south west of the village of Gentleshaw and overlooks the town of Burntwood to the south. It is located in the parish of Longdon in the district of Lichfield in the south of the county of Staffordshire. The land slopes down from 206mAOD in the northeast to 150mAOD on the southern border.

The common is underlain with superficial deposits of gravelly boulder clay, which in turn is underlain by Triassic Keuper Sandstone. The geology of the area has provided the site with weathered and impoverished acidic soils which has contributed to the unique flora able to grow on the site.

Redmoor Brook rises in the south west flowing eastwards and eventually joining the River Trent.

Flora

The lowland heathland vegetation present at Gentleshaw Common has been classified as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and a Site of Biological Importance (SBI) as it is one of the largest surviving areas of this reduced habitat in Staffordshire. The floristic character of the site has elements of both oceanic, western and northern heaths, as well as a well-developed transition from dry to humid and wet heath.

Most of the site contains free draining soils which support a species-poor dry heath acidic grassland which has been extensively invaded by bracken. The main flora present on the site are heather, wavy hair grass, bilberry, mat grass, cowberry and other grasses. Similar flora is found in the English Midlands, however what makes Gentleshaw Common unique is a combination of low altitude and a sunny southern aspect which enables a floristic overlap with heaths typical of the warmer western lowlands of Britain. This floristic overlap is demonstrated by the abundance of bell heather and western gorse.

In the southern part of the site soil drainage is impeded which has caused a significant area of mixed humid heath and acidic grassland to thrive. The main flora present in this part of the site are purple moor-grass, cross-leaved heath, degenerate heather, heath rush, compact rush, green-ribbed sedge and crowberry.

A shallow valley draining into Redmoor Brook in the southeast area of the site has peat soils, which support rare wet heathland species. Species present include; bog mosses, common cotton grass, star sedge, round-leaved sundew, cranberry and bog asphodel.

Fauna

The fauna present on Gentleshaw Common is not as rich as its flora, however meadow pipit, common lizard and green hairstreak have been recorded.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thurstaston Common</span>

Thurstaston Common is an area of almost 250 acres (100 ha) of parklands, wood and heath between Frankby and Thurstaston, on the Wirral Peninsula in North West England. The common is jointly owned by the National Trust and the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral. Royden Country Park is nearby and offers additional facilities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scotstown Moor</span>

Scotstown Moor is in the north of Aberdeen, Scotland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hothfield Common</span> Nature reserve in Kent, England

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cors Caron</span> Raised bog in Ceredigion, Wales

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.

Lowland heath is a Biodiversity Action Plan habitat as it is a type of ancient wild landscape. Natural England's Environmental Stewardship scheme describes lowland heath as containing dry heath, wet heath and valley mire communities, usually below 250 metres (820 ft) in altitude, on acidic soils and shallow peat, typically comprising heathers, gorses, fine grasses, wild flowers and lichens in a complex mosaic. Heathers and other dwarf shrubs usually account for at least 25% of the ground cover. By contrast, upland heath, which is above 300 metres (980 ft) in altitude, is called moorland, Dartmoor being an example.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Woolmer Forest</span> Forest in Hampshire and West Sussex, England

Woolmer Forest is a 1,298.5-hectare (3,209-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest south of Bordon in Hampshire and West Sussex. It is also a Special Area of Conservation and part of the Wealden Heaths Phase II Special Protection Area. Two areas are Nature Conservation Review sites, Grade I.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Highgate Common</span> Protected area in Staffordshire, UK

Highgate Common is a Staffordshire Wildlife Trust reserve containing a mix of heathland and woodland. It is about 116 hectares or 286 acres in size. The common is a popular leisure destination and a Site of Special Scientific Interest, located in Southern Staffordshire, England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Waldridge Fell</span>

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pow Hill Bog</span> Protected natural area in County Durham, England

Pow Hill Bog is a Site of Special Scientific Interest in the Wear Valley district of County Durham, England. It lies alongside Derwent Reservoir, approximately 2 km north-west of the village of Edmundbyers and adjacent to the Edmundbyers Common portion of the Muggleswick, Stanhope and Edmundbyers Commons and Blanchland Moor SSSI.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flora of Ireland</span>

Ireland is in the Atlantic European Province of the Circumboreal Region, a floristic region within the Holarctic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Decoy Pit, Pools and Woods</span>

Decoy Pit, Pools and Woods is a 17.7-hectare (44-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest south of Aldermaston in Berkshire. An area of 8 hectares is a nature reserve called Decoy Heath, which is managed by the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rosenannon Downs</span> Nature reserve in mid Cornwall, England

Rosenannon Downs is a nature reserve in mid Cornwall, England, UK, being designated Rosenannon Bog and Downs Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), noted for its biological characteristics. The site supports a wide variety of flora and fauna and includes Bronze Age barrows. Conservation work is carried out on the site by the owners, the Cornwall Wildlife Trust.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cleddon Bog</span>

Cleddon Bog is a bog in the vice-county of Monmouthshire which has been notified as a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest. It lies within the Wye Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It was declared a Local Nature Reserve in May 1970.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Poor's Allotment</span>

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).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wigpool</span>

Wigpool is a 7.5-hectare (19-acre) nature reserve in Gloucestershire in the Forest of Dean, England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mitcheldean Meend Marsh</span>

Mitcheldean Meend Marsh is a 0.7-hectare (1.7-acre) nature reserve in Gloucestershire in the Forest of Dean. The site is listed in the 'Forest of Dean Local Plan Review' as a Key Wildlife Site (KWS).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chyenhal Moor</span> Site of Special Interest in Cornwall

Chyenhal Moor is a poorly drained shallow valley, 2 miles (3.2 km) to the south-west of Penzance, Cornwall. Due to several rare plants in a diverse range of habitats, it was notified as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in 1951.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bewick and Beanley Moors</span>

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flora of the Massif central</span> Flora in the different areas of the Massif Central, France.

The floraof the Massif Central is rich and diverse. This diversity can be explained by the Massif's large surface area, its position at the intersection of different climatic zones, and its geological variety. The plants that can be found in the very wet western part are not the same as those found in the drier eastern part, and the difference is even greater with the species that can be found in the southern part, which are subject to marked Mediterranean influences. This spatial component is not the only one involved, since exposure, altitude, and the nature of the substrate are also determining factors. For example, there is the classic contrast between south-facing and north-facing slopes, and the differences in vegetation between acidic soils (granite) and basic soils. Although the altitude of the Massif Central is low compared to other mountain ranges such as the Alps or the Pyrenees, there is a clear range of vegetation, from Mediterranean vegetation to sub-alpine grassland. Generally speaking, in most of the Massif Central, there are four distinct levels of vegetation:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wetley Moor Common</span> Heathland in Staffordshire, England.

Wetley Moor Common is a Staffordshire Wildlife Trust reserve consisting of ancient common land. It has been designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest due to its unimproved lowland heath habitat, which represents approximately 10% of the heathland in Staffordshire. Wetley Moor Common is 118 hectares or 292 acres in size.

References

  1. Lichfield District Council: Gentleshaw Common, archived from the original on 1 April 2015, retrieved 16 April 2012