Afonydd Cleddau/ Cleddau Rivers

General site character

• Inland water bodies (Standing water, Running water) (26%)
  
• Bogs, Marshes, Water fringed vegetation, Fens (17%)
  
• Heath, Scrub, Maquis and Garrigue, Phygrana (17%)
  
• Dry grassland, Steppes (2%)
  
• Improved grassland (9%)
  
• Other arable land (0.3%)
  
• Broad-leaved deciduous woodland (26%)
  
• Coniferous woodland (2%)
  
• Mixed woodland (0.2%)
  
• Other land (including Towns, Villages, Roads, Waste places, Mines, Industrial sites) (0.5%)
  

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

• 3260 Water courses of plain to montane levels with the Ranunculion fluitantis and Callitricho-Batrachion vegetation
• 7110 Active raised bogs  * Priority feature
• 91E0 Alluvial forests with Alnus glutinosa and Fraxinus excelsior (Alno-Padion, Alnion incanae, Salicion albae)  * Priority feature

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

• 1096 Brook lamprey Lampetra planeri

  The Cleddau rivers are a predominantly lowland catchment in the Pembrokeshire peninsula. The substrates consist mainly of sand, gravel and well-aerated silt, providing an excellent mosaic of lamprey spawning and nursery habitat. This is reflected in electrofishing surveys carried out by the Environment Agency, which indicate the presence of ammocoetes throughout the catchment.

• 1099 River lamprey Lampetra fluviatilis

  The Cleddau Rivers in south-west Wales arise at fairly low altitude, and this moderate to low-gradient catchment with a mixture of gravels and silts provides large areas of good lamprey habitat. Electrofishing data indicates that ammocoetes are widespread throughout the SAC, and adult river lampreys Lampetra fluviatilis are evident during the spawning season.

• 1163 Bullhead Cottus gobio

  The Cleddau differs from the Teifi system, also in south-west Wales, in its gentler gradients and more meso-eutrophic nature. The generally finer substrates present and more widespread shading means that bullhead Cottus gobio in the Cleddau Rivers are more likely to depend on macrophytes and woody debris for cover, and represent a lowland type population. Electrofishing data indicates that bullhead are very widespread throughout the catchment.

• 1355 Otter Lutra lutra

  The Eastern and Western Cleddau Rivers flow through a largely lowland landscape, eventually joining and flowing into Milford Haven, which is part of the Pembrokeshire Marine cSAC. These slow-flowing rivers have a diversity of bank-side habitats, and good water quality ensures good stocks of otter Lutra lutra prey species. The otter population on these rivers has shown excellent signs of recovery during the last 10–20 years.

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

• 1095 Sea lamprey Petromyzon marinus