Wangford Warren and Carr

Wangford Warren and Carr
Site of Special Scientific Interest

Wangford Warren
Wangford Warren within Suffolk
Area of Search Suffolk
Grid reference TL758833
Coordinates 52°25′37″N 0°34′59″E / 52.427°N 0.583°E / 52.427; 0.583Coordinates: 52°25′37″N 0°34′59″E / 52.427°N 0.583°E / 52.427; 0.583
Interest Biological
Area 54.06 hectares (0.54 km2; 0.21 sq mi)
Notification 1954
Natural England website

Wangford Warren and Carr is a Site of Special Scientific Interest located between Brandon and Lakenheath in the English county of Suffolk. The site is located in the parish of Wangford within the Breckland area and includes the "best preserved system of active sand dunes in Breckland".[1] This habitat is described by the Joint Nature Conservation Committee as Inland dunes with open Corynephorus and Agrostis grasslands and is the only site of this kind in the United Kingdom.[2]

The SSSI is 54.06 hectares (133.6 acres) in size and was designated in 1954.[1] The site is within the Breckland Special Area of Conservation,[2] parts are within the Breckland Farmland SSSI and it adjoins the RAF Lakenheath and Breckland Forest SSSI units.

The site includes a range of habitats, including bare sand, Breckland heath and grasslands, fen, damp grassland and carr.[1] Colonising species such as the rare grey hair-grass Corynephorus canescens, which is found at only three inland sites in England, and the moss Polytrichum piliferum are found in areas at Wangford Warren. At least nine different lichen species are found on the heath as well as a number of grass and heather species and plants such as gorse and hawthorn.[1] The fen and carr areas include species such as purple moor grass Molinia cerulean, willow, alder and silver birch.[1] The site is an example of colonisation processes, showing the sequence from bare sand to heathland.[2]

Suffolk Wildlife Trust manages a 15-hectare (37-acre) area of the site as a nature reserve. This area is alongside the A1065 road. It has no visitor facilities and access is not allowed between March and August each year.[3]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Wangford Warren and Carr, SSSI citation, Natural England. Retrieved 2013-03-03.
  2. 1 2 3 Breckland, Joint Nature Conservation Committee. Retrieved 2014-03-03.
  3. ↑ Wangford Warren, Suffolk Wildlife Trust. Retrieved 2014-03-03.
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