Halkyn Mountain/ Mynydd Helygain

General site character

• Inland water bodies (Standing water, Running water) (0.2%)
  
• Bogs, Marshes, Water fringed vegetation, Fens (0.2%)
  
• Heath, Scrub, Maquis and Garrigue, Phygrana (42%)
  
• Dry grassland, Steppes (28.1%)
  
• Humid grassland, Mesophile grassland (3.9%)
  
• Improved grassland (21.7%)
  
• Broad-leaved deciduous woodland (1.2%)
  
• Inland rocks, Screes, Sands, Permanent Snow and ice (0.1%)
  
• Other land (including Towns, Villages, Roads, Waste places, Mines, Industrial sites) (2.6%)
  

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

• 6130 Calaminarian grasslands of the Violetalia calaminariae

  Halkyn Mountain has the most extensive recorded area of the metalliferous NVC type OV37 Festuca ovina – Minuartia verna grassland community in Wales. Stands of this vegetation type are associated with a number of old lead and zinc ore mines, which date back to Roman times and were intensively worked during the 19^th century. They include relatively open, lichen-rich swards, as well as more closed examples with abundant wild thyme Thymus polytrichus. The stands are scattered over an extensive undulating plateau of Carboniferous limestone, most of which is unenclosed common land. They are associated with more extensive areas of open and closed calcareous and acidic grassland and dwarf shrub heath vegetation vegetation, some of which is upland in character.

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

• 4030 European dry heaths
• 6210 Semi-natural dry grasslands and scrubland facies on calcareous substrates (Festuco-Brometalia) (* important orchid sites)
• 6410 Molinia meadows on calcareous, peaty or clayey-silt-laden soils (Molinion caeruleae)

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

• 1166 Great crested newt Triturus cristatus

  Halkyn Mountain is a large area of mostly common land in north-east Wales. The landscape is much modified by human activities, with abandoned metalliferous mining and rock quarries a prominent feature of the site. The large great crested newt Triturus cristatus population breeds in abandoned quarry workings and various other waterbodies across the site. The terrestrial habitat is very varied, with calcareous grassland, heathland and scrub prominent throughout. The site is grazed mostly by sheep.

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

• Not Applicable