Abbotts Moss Nature Reserve

Abbotts Moss Nature Reserve
Abbotts Moss Nature Reserve
	Shemmy Moss
	Abbotts Moss NR within Cheshire
Type	Nature reserve and SSSI
Location	Delamere Forest, Cheshire
OS grid	SJ595688
Coordinates	53°12′55″N2°36′28″W / 53.2154°N 2.6078°W Coordinates: 53°12′55″N2°36′28″W / 53.2154°N 2.6078°W
Area	12 hectares (30 acres) [1]
Elevation	75m [2]
Operated by	Cheshire Wildlife Trust
Open	any reasonable time

Last updated September 16, 2019

Abbotts Moss is a 12-hectare (30-acre) nature reserve near Delamere Forest, northwest of Winsford, Cheshire. It is managed by the Cheshire Wildlife Trust under lease from the Forestry Commission and lies within a larger Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).^[3] The reserve is south of the A556 road near Sandiway and is divided in two by the Whitegate Way, a former railway line now used as a footpath and bridleway.^[2]

A nature reserve may also be known as a natural reserve, wildlife refuge or sanctuary, biosphere reserve (bioreserve), natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area. It is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or other special interest, which is reserved and managed for purposes of conservation and to provide special opportunities for study or research. Nature reserves may be designated by government institutions in some countries, or by private landowners, such as charities, and research institutions. Nature reserves fall into different IUCN categories depending on the level of protection afforded by local laws. Normally it is more strictly protected than a nature park. Various jurisdictions may use other terminology, such as ecological protection area or private protected area in legislation and in reserves' official names.

Delamere Forest or Delamere Forest Park is a large wood near the village of Delamere in Cheshire, England. The woodland, which is managed by the Forestry Commission, 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.

Winsford is a town and civil parish within the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. It lies on the River Weaver south of Northwich and west of Middlewich, and grew around the salt mining industry after the river was canalised in the 18th century, allowing freight to be conveyed northwards to the Port of Runcorn on the River Mersey. The town falls into the Winsford & Northwich Locality, with an estimated population in 2017 of 103,300; the three wards of Winsford make up around 32,610 of this figure.

Notability and key species

The SSSI citation notes that the site is an acidic wetland of particular importance because of two mature Schwingmoors , namely South Moss and Shemmy Moss. A Schwingmoor or quaking bog occurs when plants such as Sphagnum mosses and cotton grass Eriophorum sp. colonise the surface of a waterbody and form a floating mat of vegetation.^[3]

<i>Sphagnum</i> genus of mosses, peat moss

Sphagnum is a genus of approximately 380 accepted species of mosses, commonly known as "peat moss". Accumulations of Sphagnum can store water, since both living and dead plants can hold large quantities of water inside their cells; plants may hold 16 to 26 times as much water as their dry weight, depending on the species. The empty cells help retain water in drier conditions.

Eriophorum is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cyperaceae, the sedge family. They are found throughout the arctic, subarctic and temperate portions of the Northern Hemisphere in acid bog habitats, being particularly abundant in Arctic tundra regions.

A floating mat is a layer of mosses and other, especially stoloniferous, plants that grows out from the shore across the surface of a lake or pond. This type of habitat is protected and is designated in the European Habitats Directive as "LRT No. 7140 Transition and Floating Mat Bogs".

Locally uncommon plants growing here include common cottongrass Eriophorum angustifolium , cranberry Vaccinium oxycoccos , round-leaved sundew Drosera rotundifolia , crowberry Empetrum nigrum , hare’s-tail cottongrass Eriophorum vaginatum , bog rosemary Andromeda polifolia , white beak-sedge Rhynchospora alba and the carnivorous lesser bladderwort Utricularia minor .

Eriophorum angustifolium, commonly known as common cottongrass or common cottonsedge, is a species of flowering plant in the sedge family Cyperaceae. Native to North America, North Asia, and Northern Europe, it grows on peat or acidic soils, in open wetland, heath or moorland. It begins to flower in April or May and, after fertilisation in early summer, the small, unremarkable brown and green flowers develop distinctive white bristle-like seed-heads that resemble tufts of cotton; combined with its ecological suitability to bog, these characteristics give rise to the plant's alternative name, bog cotton.

<i>Vaccinium oxycoccos</i> species of plant

Vaccinium oxycoccos is a species of flowering plant in the heath family. It is known as small cranberry, bog cranberry, swamp cranberry, or, particularly in Britain, just cranberry. It is widespread throughout the cool temperate northern hemisphere, including northern Europe, northern Asia and northern North America.

<i>Drosera rotundifolia</i> species of sundew

Drosera rotundifolia, the round-leaved sundew or common sundew, is a species of sundew, a carnivorous plant often found in bogs, marshes and fens. One of the most widespread sundew species, it has a circumboreal distribution, being found in all of northern Europe, much of Siberia, large parts of northern North America, Korea and Japan but is also found as far south as California, Mississippi and Alabama in the United States of America and on New Guinea.

Dragonflies include the nationally rare white-faced darter Leucorrhinia dubia and the locally uncommon downy emerald Cordulia aenea and black darter Sympetrum danae . Abbotts Moss is one of only two sites in Cheshire where adders Vipera berus are found.^[3] Eurasian woodcock Scolopax rusticola breed, as do common redstart Phoenicurus phoenicurus and tree pipit Anthus trivialis . Over 150 species of spider have been recorded within the reserve.^[1]

Sympetrum danae, the black darter or black meadowhawk is a dragonfly found in northern Europe, Asia, and North America. At about 30 mm (1.2 in) long, it is Britain's smallest resident dragonfly. It is a very active late summer insect typical of heathland and moorland bog pools.

Vipera berus, also known as Marlies, Prags, Bardas or the common European adder or common European viper, is a venomous snake that is extremely widespread and can be found throughout most of Western Europe and as far as East Asia. Known by a host of common names including common adder and common viper, adders have been the subject of much folklore in Britain and other European countries. They are not regarded as especially dangerous; the snake is not aggressive and usually bites only when really provoked, stepped on, or picked up. Bites can be very painful, but are seldom fatal. The specific name, berus, is New Latin and was at one time used to refer to a snake, possibly the grass snake, Natrix natrix.

Related Research Articles

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References

1 2 "Abbots Moss". Cheshire Wildlife Trust. Archived from the original on 15 May 2013. Retrieved 11 July 2012.
1 2 Northwich & Delamere Forest (Map). 1:25000. Explorer Series. Ordnance Survey. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 11 July 2012.
1 2 3 "Abbots Moss: SSSI citation" (PDF). Natural England. 30 September 1994. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 July 2012. Retrieved 11 July 2012.

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[cwt-1] 1 2 "Abbots Moss". Cheshire Wildlife Trust. Archived from the original on 15 May 2013. Retrieved 11 July 2012.

[os-2] 1 2 Northwich & Delamere Forest (Map). 1:25000. Explorer Series. Ordnance Survey. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 11 July 2012.

[sssi-3] 1 2 3 "Abbots Moss: SSSI citation" (PDF). Natural England. 30 September 1994. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 July 2012. Retrieved 11 July 2012.