Roudsea Wood and Mosses

General site character

• Inland water bodies (Standing water, Running water) (0.1%)
  
• Bogs, Marshes, Water fringed vegetation, Fens (67.7%)
  
• Heath, Scrub, Maquis and Garrigue, Phygrana (1.6%)
  
• Broad-leaved deciduous woodland (24.5%)
  
• Coniferous woodland (4.6%)
  
• Mixed woodland (1.2%)
  
• Other land (including Towns, Villages, Roads, Waste places, Mines, Industrial sites) (0.3%)
  

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

• 7110 Active raised bogs  * Priority feature

  Roudsea consists of a complex of raised bogs on the northern shore of Morecambe Bay in north-west England. Although the majority of the complex has undergone extensive drainage in the past, with domestic peat-cutting around the margins, drainage was abandoned many years ago and much of the area has recovered to a considerable degree. Less than 20% of the site is classified as 7120 degraded raised bog. Within the site there are transitions between acid bog and limestone woodland, with a number of scarce plant species including the rare large yellow-sedge Carex flava.

• 7120 Degraded raised bogs still capable of natural regeneration

  This is a complex of raised bogs on the northern shore of Morecambe Bay in north-west England. Although the majority of the complex has undergone extensive drainage in the past, with domestic peat-cutting around the margins, drainage was abandoned many years ago and peat-formation has resumed over much of its area. Less than 20% of the site is classified as degraded raised bog. Within the site there are transitions between acid bog and limestone woodland, with a number of scarce plant species including the rare yellow sedge Carex flava.

• 9180 Tilio-Acerion forests of slopes, screes and ravines  * Priority feature

  Woodland at Roudsea, with others within the nearby Morecambe Bay Pavements, represents Tilio-Acerion forests on Carboniferous limestone in north-west England. Although close to the northern limit of lime distribution, the ash Fraxinus excelsior-dominated woodland around Morecambe Bay contains many patches of small-leaved lime Tilia cordata, which survive sometimes with elm Ulmus spp., often along outcrop edges. There is a rich assemblage of rare species, including fingered sedge Carex digitata. A notable feature of this wood is the sudden vegetation change across the boundaries between the limestone, where the Tilio-Acerion occurs, and acid peats or Silurian slates.

• 91J0 Taxus baccata woods of the British Isles  * Priority feature

  The yew Taxus baccata woods of Roudsea Wood have strong similarities with the yew stands at the nearby Morecambe Bay Pavements. They are both on the northern Carboniferous Limestone, and as in the Wye Valley yew occurs both as dense groves and as scattered trees in the understorey of ash or ash-elm Fraxinus-Ulmus woodland.

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