Rostrevor Wood

General site character

• Broad-leaved deciduous woodland (96%)
  
• Other land (including Towns, Villages, Roads, Waste places, Mines, Industrial sites) (4%)
  

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

  Rostrevor Wood occurs on the lower slopes of the Mourne Mountains in the south-east of Northern Ireland. As a result, it has a drier climate than most of the other examples of old sessile oak woods in Northern Ireland. The wood has a diverse structure with a tall and mature canopy dominated by oak Quercus spp., and a well-developed understorey of hazel Corylus avellana with occasional holly Ilex aquifolium and rowan Sorbus aucuparia. Bramble Rubus fruticosus agg., with bilberry Vaccinium myrtillus, honeysuckle Lonicera periclymenum and ferns make up the field layer, and the dense ground flora is dominated by extensive carpets of great wood-rush Luzula sylvatica with scattered wood-sorrel Oxalis acetosella. The wood supports a number of plant species that are scarce in Northern Ireland, such as toothwort Lathraea squamaria, bird’s-nest orchid Neottia nidus-avis and wood fescue Festuca altissima.

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