Elmlea Meadows
| Site of Special Scientific Interest | |
| File:Snake's head fritillary, North Meadow National Nature Reserve, Cricklade - geograph.org.uk - 417022.jpg Example - snake's head fritillary (Fritillaria meleagris) | |
| Lua error in Module:Location_map at line 411: Malformed coordinates value. | |
| Location | Gloucestershire |
|---|---|
| Grid reference | SU079948 |
| Coordinates | Lua error in Module:Coordinates at line 489: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value). |
| Interest | Biological |
| Area | 6.9 hectare |
| Notification | 1989 |
| Natural England website | |
Elmlea Meadows (grid reference SU079948) is a 6.9-hectare (17-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Gloucestershire, England, notified in 1989.[1][2] The site is listed in the 'Cotswold District' Local Plan 2001-2011 (on line) as a Key Wildlife Site (KWS).[3]
Location
[edit | edit source]The site lies to the north-west of Cricklade near the county boundary, and consists of three meadows which have been managed for hay followed by grazing. The meadows overlie the alluvium and gravels of the Thames floodplain.[1]
Species
[edit | edit source]The grassland included meadow foxtail and great burnet and supports a rich flora. This is a nationally important meadow area, and supports the nationally rare fritillary (Fritillaria meleagris) and the rare downy-fruited sedge (Carex tomentose). The population of fritillary is the largest reported in Gloucestershire.[1] To the north of Cricklade, in the county of Wiltshire, is North Meadow which is both an SSSI and a national nature reserve (NNR) which supports some 80% of the British population of fritillary.
The small area of scrub on the site is dominated by grey willow and crack willow and supports a large number of typical wetland species. It is the only known site for tufted-sedge (Carex elata) in Gloucestershire.[1]
References
[edit | edit source]- ^ a b c d Natural England SSSI information on the citation[dead link]
- ^ Cotswold District Local Plan, Appendix 1, Sites of Special Scientific Interest Archived March 26, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Cotswold District Local Plan, Appendix 2, Key Wildlife Sites Archived October 13, 2013, at the Wayback Machine
SSSI Source
[edit | edit source]- Natural England SSSI information on the citation[dead link]
- Natural England SSSI information on the Elmlea Meadows units[dead link]
External links
[edit | edit source]- Natural England (SSSI information)
