Site of Special Scientific Interest | |
Location | Pembrokeshire |
---|---|
Grid reference | SN1549931781 |
Coordinates | 51°57′14″N4°41′10″W / 51.954°N 4.686°W Coordinates: 51°57′14″N4°41′10″W / 51.954°N 4.686°W |
Interest | Biological |
Area | 149.5 hectares (1.5 km2; 0.58 sq mi) |
Notification | 2000 |
Gweunydd Blaencleddau is a large wetland complex in a shallow south-west valley around the headwaters of the Eastern Cleddau river. It is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and a Special Area of Conservation (SAC) situated in Pembrokeshire, South Wales.
Gweunydd Blaencleddau is situated at the head of the Eastern Cleddau river, 1.67 miles (2.69 km) south-west of Crymych and covers an area of 149.6 hectares (370 acres) of shallow south-west trending valley between 190 m and 275 m above sea-level. The site was designated an SSSI in 2000 for its biological qualities. It is a mixture of wet heath and damp grassland and has significant populations of the marsh fritillary (Euphydryas aurinia) and the southern damselfly (Coenagrion mercuriale). [1] [2]
A Special Area of Conservation has also been established around this north-eastern tributary of the Eastern Cleddau river. [3] The site is designated for habitats including calcium-rich springwater-fed fens - Alkaline fens; the southern damselfly (Coenagrion mercuriale); marsh fritillary butterfly Euphydryas (Eurodryas, Hypodryas) aurinia; purple moor-grass meadows - molinia meadows on calcareous, peaty or clayey-silt-laden soils (Molinion caeruleae); wet heathland with cross-leaved heath Rhostiroedd gwlyb - Northern Atlantic wet heaths with Erica tetralix; very wet mires often identified by an unstable 'quaking' surface - transition mires and quaking bogs; and blanket bogs. [4]
The marsh fritillary is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae. Commonly distributed in the Palearctic region, the marsh fritillary's common name derives from one of its several habitats, marshland. The prolonged larval stage lasts for approximately seven to eight months and includes a period of hibernation over the winter. The larvae are dependent on the host food plant Succisa pratensis not only for feeding but also for hibernation, because silken webs are formed on the host plant as the gregarious larvae enter hibernation. Females lay eggs in batches on the host plant and are, like other batch-layers, selective about the location of oviposition because offspring survivorship levels for batch-layers are more tied to location selection than they are for single-egg layers.
Goss Moor is a national nature reserve in Cornwall, England, 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) south-west of Bodmin in the parishes of St Dennis, St Columb Major, Roche and St Enoder. It is the largest continuous mire complex in south-west Britain and consists of mainly peatland and lowland heath. Together with the neighbouring moor to the east, it forms the Goss And Tregoss Moors Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), as well as the Breney Common and Goss and Tregoss Moors Special Area of Conservation (SAC).
The River Cleddau consists of the Eastern and Western Cleddau rivers in Pembrokeshire, west Wales. They unite to form the Daugleddau estuary and the important harbour of Milford Haven.
The South Pennine Moors are areas of moorland in the South Pennines in northern England. The designation is applied to two different but overlapping areas, a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) covering a number of areas in West Yorkshire, North Yorkshire, Lancashire and Greater Manchester, and a much larger Special Area of Conservation (SAC) covering parts of Derbyshire, South Yorkshire and West Yorkshire, and small areas of Cheshire, Staffordshire, Greater Manchester, Lancashire and North Yorkshire.
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.
Orton Moss is a Site of Special Scientific Interest located west of the city of Carlisle in northwest England.
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.
Cefn Blaenau is a 23-hectare Site of Special Scientific Interest in a small upland valley in Carmarthen and Dinefwr, Wales. It was designated an SSSI in 1989, primarily for its flush and spring vegetation as well as the diverse mosaic of unimproved pasture, ‘ffridd’ land, marshy grassland, wet heath, acid grassland, broadleaved woodland, streams, and small rock outcrops. These habitats, which are well represented at this site, have been greatly reduced in north Carmarthenshire due to land improvement, agricultural intensification, and afforestation. Only about 140 hectares of flush and spring vegetation remain in the county.
Mynydd Llangyndeyrn is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Carmarthen & Dinefwr, Wales, and a hill reaching 263 metres, which is a Marilyn.
Carn Ingli is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in the Preseli Hills, Pembrokeshire, Wales. It was designated a SSSI in January 1954 in an attempt to protect its fragile biological elements. The site has an area of 428.4 hectares and is managed by Natural Resources Wales.
Corsydd Llangloffan is a Site of Special Scientific Interest in Pembrokeshire, South Wales. It has been designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest since February 1992 in an attempt to protect its fragile biological elements. The site has an area of 56.7 hectares and is managed by Natural Resources Wales.
Dowrog Common is a Site of Special Scientific Interest in Pembrokeshire, South Wales. It has been designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest since January 1954 in an attempt to protect its fragile biological elements. The site has an area of 0.18 hectares and is managed by The Wildlife Trust of South & West Wales.
Marloes Mere is a Site of Special Scientific Interest in Pembrokeshire, South Wales. It has been designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest since November 1985 in an attempt to protect its fragile biological elements. The site has an area of 17.17 hectares and is managed by Natural Resources Wales.
Wallis Moor is a Site of Special Scientific Interest 12 km to the north of Haverfordwest near the village of Ambleston in Pembrokeshire, South Wales. It has been designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest since March 1998 in an attempt to protect its fragile biological elements. The site has an area of 63.22 hectares and is managed by Natural Resources Wales.
Waun Fawr, Puncheston is a Site of Special Scientific Interest in Pembrokeshire, South Wales. It has been designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest since March 1995 in an attempt to protect its fragile biological elements. The site has an area of 8.26 hectares and is managed by Natural Resources Wales.
Rhosydd Llanpumsaint is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Carmarthenshire, Wales.
Gweunydd Glan-y-glasnant is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Carmarthenshire, Wales, designated in 1993 for its botanical features.
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.
Cow Myers is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) located in the Nidderdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), near Ripon, North Yorkshire, England. The site was designated in 1984 for its fen and alder carr habitat, which supports a diversity of wetland plant life. Of particular interest are the bird's eye primrose which is scarce in Yorkshire, and early marsh orchid. There is no public access to this site, no vehicular access, and no public facilities.