Salisbury Plain is a chalk plateau in southern England covering 300 square miles (780 km2). It is part of a system of chalk downlands throughout eastern and southern England formed by the rocks of the Chalk Group and largely lies within the county of Wiltshire, but stretches into Hampshire.
Beacon Hill is near the village of Burghclere and Watership Down, in north Hampshire. The hill's name is derived from the fact that it was one of many Beacon Hills in England and beyond. This hill was once the site of the most famous beacon in Hampshire. It is 261 metres high and has one of England's most well known hill forts on its slopes, visible from the main A34 road which passes close by. From there, outstanding views of the surrounding area and much of Hampshire may be obtained. The site is open to the public and managed by Hampshire County Council. It is an 80.7-hectare (199-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest called Burghclere Beacon and a Nature Conservation Review site, Grade I.
Cephalanthera rubra, known as red helleborine, is an orchid found in Europe, North Africa and southwest Asia. Although reasonably common in parts of its range, this Cephalanthera has always been one of the rarest orchids in Britain.
Hawkley Warren is a woodland on the northeast-facing Wealden Edge, near the village of Hawkley, three miles north of Petersfield in Hampshire. The site is situated in a deep chalk combe.
Newtimber is a small village and civil parish in the Mid Sussex District of West Sussex, England. It is located north-west of Brighton. The parish also includes the hamlet of Saddlescombe. The parish lies almost wholly with the South Downs National Park, with the exception of a small section of the parish north of the B2117 road. The planning authority for Newtimber is therefore the South Downs National Park Authority (SDNPA), the statutory planning authority for the National Park area. The downland scarp, which includes Newtimber Hill, Newtimber Holt, Saddlescombe chalk quarry and Summer Down, is mostly part of the Beeding Hill to Newtimber Hill, designated Site of Special Scientific Interest.
Hartslock, also known as Hartslock Woods, is a 41.8-hectare (103-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in a wooded area on the north bank of the River Thames to the south-east of Goring-on-Thames in the English county of Oxfordshire. An area of 29.4 hectares is a Special Area of Conservation and an area of 10 hectares is a nature reserve owned and managed by the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust (BBOWT). The site is well known for the variety of wild orchids that grow on its sloping grassland, and especially for the monkey orchid that grows in very few other places in England.
Bratton Downs is a 395.8 hectare biological and geological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Wiltshire, England, near the villages of Bratton and Edington, and about 3 miles (5 km) east of the town of Westbury. It was notified in 1971. The designated area consists mainly of chalk grassland, as well as some ancient woodland, and supports a diverse range of native flora and fauna. It overlays notable geological features—principally landforms created by glaciation in the Pleistocene.
Clayton to Offham Escarpment is a 422.5-hectare (1,044-acre) linear biological Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) which runs from Clayton in West Sussex to Lewes in East Sussex. Its ownership and management is divided between over fifteen landowners and farmers. Parts of Ditchling's Downs, e.g. TQ 323 133, and the scarp between Blackcap and Mount Harry, e.g. TQ 378 124, are owned by the National Trust. What remains of Ditchling Tenantry Down common at Ditchling Beacon is leased to the Sussex Wildlife Trust.
Aston Rowant National Nature Reserve is located on the north-west escarpment of the Chiltern Hills, in the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It has an area of 159.1 hectares, and most of it is a 128.5 hectares biological Site of Special Scientific Interest. It is listed as a Grade 1 site in A Nature Conservation Review. The reserve is in several sections, mostly in the parish of Lewknor in Oxfordshire, with smaller sections in the parish of Stokenchurch in Buckinghamshire.
Daneway Banks is a 17-hectare (42-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Gloucestershire, notified in 1954 and renotified in 1983. It lies half a mile west of Sapperton and is part of a group of wildlife sites in the Frome Valley that includes Siccaridge Wood and Sapperton Canal reserves. The site is in the Cotswold Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
Bull Cross, The Frith and Juniper Hill is a 42.33-hectare (104.6-acre) biological and geological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Gloucestershire, notified in 1954. The site is listed in the ‘Stroud District’ Local Plan, adopted November 2005, Appendix 6 as an SSSI and Regionally Important Geological Site (RIGS).
Rodborough Common is a 116.0-hectare (287-acre) biological and geological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Rodborough, Gloucestershire, England, notified in 1954. The site is listed in the ‘Stroud District’ Local Plan, adopted November 2005, Appendix 6 as an SSSI and a Regionally Important Geological Site (RIGS). The Common is also a Special Area of Conservation (SAC) under the EU Habitats Directive
Rough Bank, Miserden is a 9.2-hectare (23-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Gloucestershire, notified in 1986. It was purchased by the wildlife charity Butterfly Conservation in 2012.
Grangelands and Pulpit Hill is a 25.5-hectare (63-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Cadsden in Buckinghamshire. It lies within the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and the planning authorities are Wycombe District Council and Buckinghamshire County Council.
Homefield Wood is a 6.1-hectare (15-acre) Site of Special Scientific Interest in Hambleden in Buckinghamshire. It is owned by the Forestry Commission, and managed by the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust. It is part of the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
Aston Clinton Ragpits is a 2.9-hectare (7.2-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Aston Clinton in Buckinghamshire. It is a former chalk quarry, which is now a nature reserve managed by the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust. It is in the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
Dancersend is an 81.3-hectare (201-acre) Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) south of Aston Clinton in Buckinghamshire. Part of the site is managed by the Forestry Commission and part by the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust (BBOWT). The BBOWT's 47 hectare nature reserve, called Dancersend with Pavis Woods, extends into fields west of the SSSI. It is in the Chilterns Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
Yoesden, often known as Yoesden Bank, is a 13-hectare (32-acre) nature reserve in Bledlow Ridge in Buckinghamshire. It is managed by the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust. It is in the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
Beeding Hill to Newtimber Hill is a 321 ha (790-acre) biological and geological Downland Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) north of Shoreham-by-Sea in West Sussex. It is a Nature Conservation Review site, Grade 2, and it includes Devil's Dyke Geological Conservation Review site.
The flora of the Vosges massif is distributed across three principal altitudinal zones, namely the collinean, montane, and subalpine levels. The collinean zone extends up to approximately 500 meters in altitude. The montane zone is between 500 and 1,000 meters, with the subalpine zone extending beyond that. The latter's highest point is the Grand Ballon, which reaches 1,424 meters. The diverse environmental conditions, including altitude, climate, topography, and soil types, contribute to the formation of heterogeneous vegetation. The north-south orientation of the mountain range results in a marked contrast between the eastern and western slopes. The western slopes receive abundant precipitation from westerly winds, while the eastern slopes and peaks experience drier conditions.
