Skip to Content

Special Areas of Conservation

Shortheath Common

Designated Special Area of Conservation (SAC)
Country England
Unitary Authority Hampshire and Isle of Wight
Centroid* SU774367
Latitude 51.12361111
Longitude -0.893888889
SAC EU Code UK0030275
Status Designated Special Area of Conservation (SAC)
Area (ha) 58.53
* 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 Shortheath Common SAC

General site character

  • Inland water bodies (Standing water, Running water) (2%)
  • Bogs, Marshes, Water fringed vegetation, Fens (27.5%)
  • Heath, Scrub, Maquis and Garrigue, Phygrana (52%)
  • Dry grassland, Steppes (5.5%)
  • Broad-leaved deciduous woodland (13%)

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

  • 7140 Transition mires and quaking bogs

    A valley mire forms the focal point of this site in the western Weald which also embraces a wide range of heathland habitats and woodland. The northern strip of the mire is the most mesotrophic and has much grey willow Salix cinerea but also a rich ground-flora with abundant sedges Carex curta and C. rostrata, soft rush Juncus effusus, marsh cinquefoil Potentilla palustris and the bog-moss Sphagnum recurvum. An oligotrophic area to the south is dominated by S. recurvum with cross-leaved heath Erica tetralix, common cottongrass Eriophorum angustifolium, purple moor-grass Molinia caerulea and round-leaved sundew Drosera rotundifolia. It is notable for its high cover of cranberry Vaccinium oxycoccos. Other bog-mosses such as Sphagnum capillifolium and S. papillosum are also present, and the whole forms a floating raft over much of the mire.

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

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.