North Exmoor SSSI

North Exmoor
Site of Special Scientific Interest
	Location within Somerset
Location	Somerset & Devon
Grid reference	SS800430
Coordinates	51°10′25″N 3°43′05″W / 51.17361°N 3.71794°W
Interest	Biological
Area	12,005.3 hectares (120.053 km2; 46.353 sq mi)
Notification	1954
	Natural England website

North Exmoor (grid reference SS800430) is a 12,005.3-hectare (29,666-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Devon and Somerset, notified in 1954.

This site is within Exmoor National Park and includes the Dunkery Beacon and the Holnicote and Horner Water Nature Conservation Review sites, and the Chains Geological Conservation Review site. The site is nationally important for its south-western lowland heath communities and for transitions from ancient semi-natural woodland through upland heath to blanket mire. The site is also of importance for its breeding bird communities, its large population of the nationally rare heath fritillary butterfly (Mellicta athalia), an exceptional woodland lichen flora and its palynological interest of deep peat on the Chains. The ancient woodland is mostly to be found around Horner and Hawkcombe Woods near Porlock where it is open to the moorland and is grazed by domestic stock and red deer (Cervus elaphus) of which there is a large population.^[1]

The site has been divided into units, and these are assessed periodically by Natural England,^[2] which superseded English Nature in 2006 and is the designated authority for monitoring SSSIs.

References

^ "North Exmoor" (PDF). English Nature. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 October 2006. Retrieved 19 August 2006.
^ "North Exmoor SSSI". Natural England.

[1] "North Exmoor" (PDF). English Nature. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 October 2006. Retrieved 19 August 2006.

[2] "North Exmoor SSSI". Natural England.

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[2]

v t e Biological Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Somerset
Summarised data for all sites (biological and geological)
Aller and Beer Woods Aller Hill Asham Wood Axbridge Hill and Fry's Hill Babcary Meadows Barle Valley Barrington Hill Meadows Berrow Dunes Black Down and Sampford Commons Brean Down Bridgwater Bay Briggins Moor Catcott, Edington and Chilton Moors Chancellor's Farm Cheddar Complex Cheddar Reservoir Cheddar Wood Cleeve Hill Cogley Wood Crook Peak to Shute Shelve Hill Curry and Hay Moors Deadman Draycott Sleights Dunster Park and Heathlands East Polden Grasslands Ebbor Gorge Edford Woods and Meadows Exmoor Coastal Heaths Fivehead Woods and Meadow Freshmoor Friar's Oven Ge-mare Farm Fields Great Breach and Copley Woods Grove Farm Hardington Moor Hestercombe House Holme Moor & Clean Moor King's Sedgemoor Kingdown and Middledown Kingweston Meadows Lang's Farm Langford Heathfield Langmead and Weston Level Long Lye Long Lye Meadow Longleat Woods Millwater Moorlinch Nettlecombe Park North Brewham Meadows North Curry Meadow North Exmoor North Moor Old Iron Works, Mells Perch Porlock Ridge and Saltmarsh Postlebury Wood Priddy Pools Prior's Park & Adcombe Wood Quantock Hills Quants Ringdown River Barle Rodney Stoke Roebuck Meadows Ruttersleigh Severn Estuary Shapwick Heath Sharpham Moor Plot South Exmoor Southey and Gotleigh Moors Southlake Moor Sparkford Wood St. Dunstan's Well Catchment Stowell Meadow Street Heath Tealham and Tadham Moors Thurlbear Wood and Quarrylands Twinhills Woods and Meadows Vallis Vale Walton and Ivythorn Hills West Moor West Sedgemoor Westhay Heath Westhay Moor Wet Moor Whitevine Meadows Windsor Hill Marsh Wookey Hole Woolhayes Farm
Neighbouring areas Avon Devon Dorset Wiltshire