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supports a good range of characteristic species, including sheeps fescue Festuca ovina, upright brome, crested harir-grass Koeleria macrantha, meadow oat-grass Helictotrichon pratensis, dwarf thistle, Cirsium acaule, horseshoe vetch Hippocrepis comosa, salad burnet Sanguisorbia minor and common thyme Thymus polytrichus. It appears to be maintained by relatively heavy rabbit grazing, and this is reflected in the relatively high frequency of common ragwort Senecio jacobea and the presence of the Red Data Book Near Threatened species hounds-tongue Cynoglossum officinale. Scrub is present around the edges of the grassland, which includes hawthorn, wild privet Ligustrum vulgare, buckthorn Rhamnus catharticus and elder. 3.4.3 SW2 is species-poor improved grassland (NVC MG7) dominated by a very small number of common grasses and herbs, such as soft brome Bromus hordaceous, perennial rye-grass, white clover and dandelion. South Eastern Quadrant 3.4.4 SE1 is a developing broadleaved plantation that forms a southern extension of the Fargo Pantation. It has a canopy dominated by sycamore Acer pseudoplatanus, although beech Fagus sylvatica and ash Fraxinus excelsior are also present. Except on the edges there is little in the way of a shrub layer, although elder is locally abundant in the centre (and appears likely to pre-date the plantation). The field layer is species-poor with very few characteristic woodland species, and is patchily dominated by, for example, rough-meadow grass Poa trivialis and nettle Urtica dioica. 3.4.5 SE2 is an area of developing grassland on an ex-arable field. The sward is patchy, with frequent bare patches which support a range of common arable weed species. Sheep’s fescue and upright brome are the most common grass species, with sanfoin, ribwort plantain Plantago lanceolata and white clover. With time this grassland may develop into CG2 or CG3 grassland, although many of the characteristic species are not currently present. North Eastern Quadrant 3.4.6 NE1 is a plantation, of which the southern part has a canopy dominated by sycamore and ash. The shrub layer is variable in density with hazel Corylus avellana the most abundant species. The field layer is moderately species-rich and supports a number of woodland species such as wood speedwell Veronica montana and dog violet Viola riviniana. Although it is likely that this area was originally a plantation, it has now developed a relatively semi-natural structure and can be considered a relatively species-poor example of the NVC community W8 Fraxinus excelsior-Acer campestre-Mercurailis perennis ash-field maple-dog’s mercury woodland. September 2008 7 Phase II Botanical Surveys 11108605R_Botanical_DW_09-08 Chris Blandford Associates
3.4.7 The northern part of NE1 is broadly similar in species composition, although (rather sickly looking) pine Pinus sp. forms an abundant component of the canopy here. 3.4.8 NE2 is an area of relatively species-poor grassland that has developed on an area previously occupied by part of the Fargo Plantation. North Western Quadrant 3.4.9 NW1 includes a number of different habitats and communities. The south western part is unimproved calcareous grassland very similar to that within SE1 on the southern side of the A344. The tumulus in the north eastern part supports species-poor grassland dominated by false oat-grass, and scrub is present in the north western corner and along the southern edge. 3.4.10 NW2 is an arable field in which the arable weed flora is generally sparse and species-poor, although this is more abundant and species-rich on the margins and in corners. Here a range of common arable weed species are present, of which field speedwell, field forget-me-not Myosotis arvensis, cut-leaved crane’s-bill Geranium dissectum and field pansy are conspicuous. Of note is the presence of a small number of plants of the Red Data Book Near Threatened species dwarf spurge Euphorbia exigua. The community is best referred to the NVC community OV15 Anagallis arvensis-Veronica persica scarlet pimpernel-field speedwell community. 3.5 Site Y Road Verges 3.5.1 Grassy road verges (C) are present on either side of both the A344/A360/B3086. These are relatively similar in structure and species composition throughout. They are mostly speciespoor and dominated by false oat-grass. However, some areas, particularly where false oat-grass is less abundant, are more species-rich, including a number of species characteristic of unimproved calcareous grasslands, such as upright brome, common knapweed and burnet saxifrage Pimpinella saxifraga. These grasslands can be referred to the NVC community MG1 Arrhernatherum elatius false oat-grass grassland. Small plantations of beech are present on the northern side of the A344, either side of the Airman’s Corner junction. North Western and South Western Quadrants 3.5.2 NW and SW are arable fields. At the time of survey the crop in NW was at a relatively early stage of development so the arable weed flora was distributed more or less throughout the September 2008 8 Phase II Botanical Surveys 11108605R_Botanical_DW_09-08 Chris Blandford Associates
Page 1 and 2: English Heritage Stonehenge Environ
Page 4 and 5: September 2008 11108605R_Botanical_
Page 11 and 12: 2.0 METHODOLOGY 2.1 Field Survey 2.
Page 13 and 14: Value Examples of Evaluation Criter
Page 15: Grassland 3.3.2 W3 is a species-poo
Page 19 and 20: North Eastern Quadrant 3.6.3 NE1 is
Page 21 and 22: Area Importance (see Table 1) Comme
Page 23 and 24: APPENDIX A BOTANICAL SURVEY RESULTS
Page 25 and 26: Area S N Habitat Amenity grass and
Page 27 and 28: APPENDIX B BOTANICAL SURVEY RESULTS
Page 29: Area E3 W3 E4 E1 W1 W2 E2 Unimprove
Page 35 and 36: APPENDIX D BOTANICAL SURVEY RESULTS
Page 37: Area C SW SE NE NW Field margin Ara
Page 43: South East Office The Old Crown Hig

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