            |
|
Foxhills Road (North Lincolnshire Council)
Foxhills was joined to Atkinsons Warren prior to the
development of Phoenix Parkway. The site contains a range of habitats
including acid grassland, woodland, scrub and coppice regrowth. The acid
grassland has a diverse ground flora including centaury, viper's bugloss,
and yellow tormentil. The broadleaved woodland consists mainly of oak,
sycamore, birch, alder and ash. The woodland contains dog's mercury suggesting
the woodland has been in existence for several centuries. There is informal
public access throughout the site.
Lakeside (North Lincolnshire Council)
Lakeside is situated on the south-eastern outskirts
of Scunthorpe opposite the Corus Steel Works. Along its northern boundary
runs the busy A18 dual carriageway, while along the eastern and southern
boundaries runs the Bottesford Beck, with open arable farmland on the
opposite bank of the beck.
The Lake is mostly open water with little or no emergent vegetation excepting
at the southern end of the lake, where there are a series of long thin
islands covered in scrub and a small reed bed, ideal for nesting birds.
Lakeside has open access bringing a high degree of disturbance to sections
of the site from jet skiing, fishing, bathing and walking dogs. There
are safe havens in the southern part of the site where many species typical
of this habitat are able to breed in relative safety.
Of botanical interest; common centaury, lady's bedstraw, vipers bugloss,
field scabious and harebell can be found on the acid grassland. The site
has a rich and varied flora and fauna, including mammals such as rabbit,
grey squirrel, and red fox; butterflies such as gatekeeper, skippers,
comma, small heath, ringlet, and small copper; dragonflies such as, migrant
hawker, emperor dragonfly and blue tailed damselfly. A bird survey in
2003 revealed mute swans, song and mistle thrush, linnet, bullfinch, &
the lesser whitethroat.
Conesby Quarry (North Lincolnshire Council) SE
895145
Conesby quarry is a former opencast ironstone quarry
that was worked for the local steel industry. The site is situated just
to the north of Scunthorpe, North Lincolnshire off the B1430. Most of
the site comprises the former opencast ironstone workings which are currently
being filled in with industrial waste and restored back to its original
state of sandy heath. In 2003, a wild flower seed mix was sown onto restored
sections of the quarry with targets to restore 17 hectares per annum over
the life of the project. Grazing will be introduced over time and public
access provisions included, once the site is safe.
Silica Park
Silica Park, the former sand workings, consists of
a variety of habitats including wetland, areas of shrub and acid grassland.
Wrawby Moor 17.7 Ha (Under Private Ownership)
Wrawby Moor is a SSSI (Site of Special Scientific Interest)
with a mosaic of habitats including heath, woodland and species-rich marsh.
The birch woodland varies from dense even-aged stands; particularly in
the north-eastern part of the site;to more open woodland containing additional
species such as oak, sycamore, elder and hawthorn. The ground flora is
generally dominated by either bracken, creeping soft-grass, and in damp
hollows by brown bent. Herbaceous species include heath bedstraw, ground
ivy, and three-nerved sandwort. Brambles and raspberry are widespread,
and there are clumps of Dryopteris ferns.
The heath communities can be found in a large open area within the woodland,
where there is a mosaic of wavy hair-grass, bell heather, cross-leaved
heath and heather.
The woodland is crossed by a number of small drainage ditches and there
are two flighting ponds. The southernmost of these has a fringing marsh
dominated by rushes, and also contains greater bird's-foot trefoil, marsh
pennywort, water mint, water horsetail, common spike rush, carnation sedge,
oval sedge, gipsywort, common spotted orchid and pink water-speedwell.
Visits strictly by appointment only.
Risby Warren: SE 921135 (Privately Owned) 150.8
Ha
A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), Risby
Warren is the largest surviving area of once extensive Coversands
heathland
developed on the Lincolnshire limestone esc
arpment. The windblown sands,
locally up to 10m thick on Risby, were deposited extensively in north
west Lincolnshire during the late Devensian cold period (about 8000 BC).
Few examples of these deposits now remain and Risby Warren is exceptional
in demonstrating their surface morphology and dune forms. The mosaic of
plant communities includes not only one of the finest inland dune systems
in Britain, but also heathland, contrasting acidic and calcareous grassland,
broadleaved scrub, and areas of coniferous plantation. The characteristic
vegetation is largely maintained by rabbit grazing.
Plants associated with the dunes include sand-sedge, buck's-horn plantain
and common cudweed. The dunes grade into a complex association of lichen,
bryophyte and ling. The heathlands with acidic grassland communities supporting
common bent, sheep's fescue, heath bedstraw and early forget-me-not.
At a lower level on the north-facing valley slope a very shallow soil
is developed over the limestone bedrock. Here tor-grass is dominant, with
associated species including carline thistle, purging flax, purple milk-vetch
and common centuary. The juxtaposition of acidic-loving plants and those
associated with basic, limestone soils is a feature of the Coversands.
Bracken dominates the vegetation on the deeper more loamy soils of the
south-facing slope and the valley floor, in association with red fescue
and Yorkshire fog. Biting stonecrop, carline thistle, viper's bugloss
and ploughman's spikenard are found here in areas disturbed by rabbits
and on the trackways. In the lower-lying part of the site small damp depressions
support hard rush, blunt flowered rush, lesser pond-sedge, brown sedge
and creeping willow. Tree cover on the site includes several coniferous
shelter-belt plantations, as well as scattered birch and gorse scrub.
Due to subsidence issues, access to this site is currently restricted.
Manton & Twigmoor : SE940044 (Privately Owned)
A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) comprising
of three separate sections - heathland, grassland and wetland on Coversand
deposits overlie a west-facing scarp of Oolitic limestone. Once extensive
in the area, these habitats are now limited due to agricultural forestry
and industrial development.
The southern section is an area of grassy heath on undulating sand dunes,
which shows several stages of colonisation and succession to scattered
birch woodland. The heath vegetation is dominated by bell heather, wavy
hair-grass, wood sage, sheep's sorrel and heath bedstraw, early forget-me-not,
spring whitlow-grass, viper's bugloss, and a notable population of shepherd's
cress are also present. There are also numerous bryphytes and lichens
such as Ptilidium ciliare, Cladonia species and Peltigera species. Bracken
and rosebay willow-herb could become invasive in this part of the area.
The northern section, known as Twigmoor Warren, consists of a mosaic of
acid grassland and dry heath, where bell heather, heather, wavy hair-grass,
heath bedstraw, sweet vernal-grass, tormentil and wood sage are abundant.
Here and in the central area, ironpan impedence of ground water gives
rise to wetland habitats, including wet heath and valley mire. The wet
heath is dominated by a community including cross-leaved heath, purple-moor
grass and rushes, together with bog mosses. The valley mire, which in
some areas surrounds small ponds, consists of such species as common cotton-grass,
boss mosses, wavy hair-grass, marsh pennywort, white sedge, marsh cinquefoil
and lesser spearwort. Of particular note is the occurrence of cranberry,
at its only locality in North Lincolnshire, and bog myrtle.
The woodland is dominated by silver birch and occupies extensive areas
in each section. Locally there are areas of wet woodland where canopy
species include alder and grey willow, with a diverse ground flora compiling
yellow loosestrife, bittersweet, tufted hair-grass, gipsywort, remote
sedge and purple-moor grass.
|
|
  
|
|
