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Special Areas of Conservation

Hatfield Moor

Designated Special Area of Conservation (SAC)
Country England
Unitary Authority South Yorkshire
Centroid* SE699057
Latitude 53.54361111
Longitude -0.943888889
SAC EU Code UK0030166
Status Designated Special Area of Conservation (SAC)
Area (ha) 1359.45
* This is the approximate central point of the SAC. In the case of large, linear or composite sites, this may not represent the location where a feature occurs within the SAC.
Location of Hatfield Moor SAC

General site character

  • Inland water bodies (Standing water, Running water) (7%)
  • Bogs, Marshes, Water fringed vegetation, Fens (12%)
  • Heath, Scrub, Maquis and Garrigue, Phygrana (9%)
  • Other arable land (5%)
  • Broad-leaved deciduous woodland (6%)
  • Coniferous woodland (2%)
  • Other land (including Towns, Villages, Roads, Waste places, Mines, Industrial sites) (59%)

Download the Standard Data Form for this site (PDF <100kb)

Note When undertaking an appropriate assessment of impacts at a site, all features of European importance (both primary and non-primary) need to be considered.

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

  • 7120 Degraded raised bogs still capable of natural regeneration

    Like Thorne Moors, Hatfield Moors is a remnant of the once-extensive bog and fen peatlands within the Humberhead Levels, and is still the second-largest area of extant lowland raised bog peat in England. Moraines of sand occur beneath the peat, the largest of which forms Lindholme Island, in the centre of the bog. Little, if any, original bog surface has survived the massive extraction of peat over the last few decades. Peat-cutting has now ceased, and the bog is being restored over its remaining minimum average depth of 0.5 m of peat.

    Refugia of vegetation have survived as rather dry heathland and as birch Betula woodland. Plants include the dwarf shrubs Calluna vulgaris, Erica tetralix, Eriophorum angustifolium, E. vaginatum, Vaccinium oxycoccos, bog-rosemary Andromeda polifolia, bog-myrtle Myrica gale, and the bog-mosses Sphagnum cuspidatum, S. recurvum, S. papillosum, S. subnitens and S. tenellum. The bog is also notable for its invertebrate fauna, which includes the mire pill beetle Curimopsis nigrita.

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

Many designated sites are on private land: the listing of a site in these pages does not imply any right of public access.