Biodiversity in Wrexham - Wrexham County Borough Council

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Uplands There are two upland areas in Wrexham County Borough, they are both located on the Western edge. The Berwyn Mountains which are over 450 m above sea level rising to 784 m at its highest point, and the Ruabon and Esclusham Mountain between 350 and 450m. Both of these areas comprise intricate mosaics of habitats primarily blanket bog and upland heathland interspersed with other habitats such as bracken, flushes and acid grassland. Both Ruabon Mountain and the Berwyn Mountains are designated as SSSIs and SACs, both supporting the habitats of upland heathland and blanket bog. There are also small fragmented areas of heathland and modified bogs on hill slopes below these two moorland areas. These remnant moorland habitats are designated as Wildlife Sites and include sites such as Bryn Llyn-Gloyw and Llechrydau in the Ceiriog Valley. The uplands support a vast array of rare and threatened species, particularly birds such as hen harrier, merlin and black grouse. Hen harrier The uplands support a vast array of rare and threatened species Ian Spence Views towards the Berwyn Mountains from Ruabon Mountain 16
Blanket Bog Blanket bog occurs on deeper peat and is usually dominated by heather and hare'stail cotton-grass and characteristic bog mosses (Sphagna). It is exclusively rainfed, forming peat in cool oceanic climates with low temperatures and high and regular rainfall. Peat depth is very variable, with an average of 0.5 - 3m being fairly typical but depths in excess of 5m are not unusual. Blanket bog peat accumulates in response to the very slow rate at which plant material decomposes under cold, waterlogged conditions. It can cloak whole landscapes, even developing on slopes of up to 30°. Some bog systems have been accumulating peat for over 10,000 years, forming an important archeological record. Esclusham Mountain Heather Heathland Ruabon Mountain Upland Heathland Upland heathland usually can be found at the upper edge of enclosed agricultural land (generally at around 250-400m). A range of dwarf shrubs such as heather, bilberry, crowberry, bell heather and western gorse typically dominate. It is characterised by the presence of dwarf shrubs over a quarter of the area. Wet heath is most commonly found on the wetter north and west facing slopes and is dominated by mixtures of cross-leaved heath, deer grass, heather and purple moor-grass, over an understorey of mosses often including carpets of bog mosses (Sphagna). High quality heaths are generally structurally diverse, containing stands of vegetation with heather at different stages of growth. 17
Page 1 and 2: Club-tailed dragonfly Biodiversity
Page 3 and 4: Biodiversity in Wrexham Slow worm C
Page 5 and 6: R Key Brownfield or Previously Deve
Page 7 and 8: Wrexham Biodiversity Action Plan Wr
Page 9 and 10: Wetlands and Fresh Water Wetlands a
Page 11 and 12: In towns, urban rivers and streams
Page 13 and 14: Bettisfield Moss Other protected si
Page 15 and 16: Common frog Ponds are by definition
Page 17: Great Crested Newt The largest of t
Page 21 and 22: Black grouse CCW Heavy grazing by s
Page 23 and 24: Wet Woodland Wet deciduous woodland
Page 25 and 26: Lowland Mixed Deciduous Woodland Mo
Page 27 and 28: Hazel Dormouse The hazel dormouse i
Page 29 and 30: Agriculturally improved grasslands,
Page 31 and 32: Species Barn Owl Widely distributed
Page 33 and 34: Urban and Brownfield Habitats Garde
Page 35 and 36: Species Hedgehog Hedgehogs are well
Page 37 and 38: Large white butterfly Many species
Page 39 and 40: Traditional Orchards Traditional or
Page 41 and 42: Brown Hare Brown hares are most oft
Page 43 and 44: Further Information on Biodiversity

Biodiversity in Wrexham - Wrexham County Borough Council

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