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Special Areas of Conservation

Mull Oakwoods

Designated Special Area of Conservation (SAC)
Country Scotland
Unitary Authority Highlands and Islands
Centroid* NM730298
Latitude 56.4056
Longitude -5.68
SAC EU Code UK0030219
Status Designated Special Area of Conservation (SAC)
Area (ha) 1405.46
* 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 Mull Oakwoods SAC

General site character

  • Inland water bodies (Standing water, Running water) (1%)
  • Bogs, Marshes, Water fringed vegetation, Fens (1%)
  • Heath, Scrub, Maquis and Garrigue, Phygrana (40%)
  • Humid grassland, Mesophile grassland (19%)
  • Broad-leaved deciduous woodland (39%)

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

  • 91A0 Old sessile oak woods with Ilex and Blechnum in the British Isles

    This complex of woodlands on the island of Mull is the largest remaining example of native woodland in the Hebrides. The Ardura-River Lussa section of the site features open oak-birch Quercus-Betula woodland with ash-hazel Fraxinus excelsior-Corylus avellana on base-rich soils, and alder Alnus glutinosa along stream courses. The stands of open oak woodland at Loch Ba have been less intensively exploited in the past than other deciduous woods on Mull, resulting in older standards and fewer multiple-stemmed trees. Birch woodland characteristically dominates the upper slopes. The site, which lies at the southern limit of the Mid-west Atlantic bryophyte zone, supports a rich assemblage of oceanic lichens, bryophytes, flowering plants and ferns.

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

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