Usk Bat Sites/ Safleoedd Ystlumod Wysg

General site character

• Inland water bodies (Standing water, Running water) (0.4%)
  
• Bogs, Marshes, Water fringed vegetation, Fens (40.2%)
  
• Heath, Scrub, Maquis and Garrigue, Phygrana (32.2%)
  
• Dry grassland, Steppes (3.8%)
  
• Humid grassland, Mesophile grassland (3%)
  
• Alpine and sub-Alpine grassland (3.9%)
  
• Improved grassland (5.3%)
  
• Broad-leaved deciduous woodland (3.4%)
  
• Inland rocks, Screes, Sands, Permanent Snow and ice (3%)
  
• Other land (including Towns, Villages, Roads, Waste places, Mines, Industrial sites) (4.8%)
  

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

• Not Applicable

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

• 4030 European dry heaths
• 7120 Degraded raised bogs still capable of natural regeneration
• 7130 Blanket bogs (* if active bog)  * Priority feature
• 8210 Calcareous rocky slopes with chasmophytic vegetation
• 8310 Caves not open to the public
• 9180 Tilio-Acerion forests of slopes, screes and ravines  * Priority feature

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

• 1303 Lesser horseshoe bat Rhinolophus hipposideros

  The Usk Valley area in south-east Wales contains one of the largest maternity roosts for lesser horseshoe bat Rhinolophus hipposideros as well as a number of important hibernacula in caves in the area. The area contains up to 5% of the UK population, though counts in hibernation sites suggest this may be an underestimate.

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

• Not Applicable