Mound Alderwoods

General site character

• Tidal rivers, Estuaries, Mud flats, Sand flats, Lagoons (including saltwork basins) (6%)
  
• Salt marshes, Salt pastures, Salt steppes (2%)
  
• Coastal sand dunes, Sand beaches, Machair (1%)
  
• Inland water bodies (Standing water, Running water) (4%)
  
• Bogs, Marshes, Water fringed vegetation, Fens (4%)
  
• Heath, Scrub, Maquis and Garrigue, Phygrana (5%)
  
• Alpine and sub-Alpine grassland (3%)
  
• Broad-leaved deciduous woodland (65%)
  
• Coniferous woodland (9%)
  
• Inland rocks, Screes, Sands, Permanent Snow and ice (1%)
  

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

• 91E0 Alluvial forests with Alnus glutinosa and Fraxinus excelsior (Alno-Padion, Alnion incanae, Salicion albae)  * Priority feature

  Mound Alderwoods in north-east Scotland is the most northerly site selected and is the largest estuarine alder Alnus glutinosa wood in Britain. It provides examples of successional stages from estuarine mud to dense woodland and is representative of the more stable form of the habitat. A few dry ridges have an open growth of Scots pine Pinus sylvestris with a dry ground flora beneath. The alderwoods have both dry and waterlogged areas. In the former, characteristic plants include remote sedge Carex remota, Yorkshire fog Holcus lanatus and tufted hair-grass Deschampsia cespitosa. The swamp areas are generally richer and include species such as fen ragwort Senecio paludosus, marsh pennywort Hydrocotyle vulgaris, marsh bedstraw Galium palustre and meadowsweet Filipendula ulmaria.

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

• Not Applicable

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