Fenn's, Whixall, Bettisfield, Wem and Cadney Mosses

General site character

• Inland water bodies (Standing water, Running water) (0.2%)
  
• Bogs, Marshes, Water fringed vegetation, Fens (71.5%)
  
• Heath, Scrub, Maquis and Garrigue, Phygrana (0.1%)
  
• Dry grassland, Steppes (1.4%)
  
• Humid grassland, Mesophile grassland (12.9%)
  
• Improved grassland (2.4%)
  
• Broad-leaved deciduous woodland (0.4%)
  
• Coniferous woodland (10.5%)
  
• Other land (including Towns, Villages, Roads, Waste places, Mines, Industrial sites) (0.6%)
  

Annex I habitats that are a primary reason for selection of this site

• 7110 Active raised bogs  * Priority feature

  This is a large lowland raised bog that straddles the English/Welsh border. It is amongst the largest and most southerly raised bogs in the UK. Although much of the site has been subject to peat extraction, areas of partially-cut and uncut mire still remain. In areas formerly subject to commercial peat-cutting, recent conservation management has led to the regeneration of bog-forming vegetation. Mire vegetation includes Sphagnum papillosum, Sphagnum magellanicum, Sphagnum pulchrum, all three British species of sundew Drosera spp., cranberry Vaccinium oxycoccos, bog asphodel Narthecium ossifragum, royal fern Osmunda regalis, white beak-sedge Rhynchospora alba and bog-rosemary Andromeda polifolia, together with the nationally scarce moss Dicranum affine. Over 1,700 invertebrate species have been recorded here, including 29 nationally rare Red Data Book species.

Annex I habitats present as a qualifying feature, but not a primary reason for selection of this site

• 7120 Degraded raised bogs still capable of natural regeneration

Annex II species that are a primary reason for selection of this site

• Not Applicable

Annex II species present as a qualifying feature, but not a primary reason for site selection

• Not Applicable