Berner's Heath
Site of Special Scientific Interest
LocationSuffolk
Grid referenceTL 797 763[1]
InterestBiological
Area236.9 hectares[1]
Notification1983[1]
Location mapMagic Map

Berner's Heath is a 236.9-hectare (585-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest north-east of Icklingham in Suffolk.[1][2] It is a Nature Conservation Review site,[3] a Special Area of Conservation,[4][5] and a Special Protection Area[6][7]

War time use

The site was used as a high altitude bombing range from 1936 until after World War II.[8][9][10]

Plant and wildlife

The heath is the largest remaining area of heather dominated heath in the Brecks. It contains blocks of heather of different ages as a result of rotational heather burning conducted as a management strategy.[11] Heather dominates the heath, achieving almost 100% coverage with blocks divided by rides.[12] This allows a variety of different ground cover species to develop in different areas of the heath. In the areas of younger heather this includes species such as sheep’s sorrel Rumex acetosella and mosses such as Polytrichum juniperinum, although in areas where heather is slightly older and growing quickly ground cover is restricted.[11] Older, established blocks of heather have greater biodiversity and include lichens as well as flowering plant species isuch as heath bedstraw Galium saxatile, lady’s bedstraw Galium verum, common speedwell Veronica officinalis and sheep’s fescue Festuca ovina. These areas also support a wide range of insect populations.[11]

At the edges of the site, especially in the south, acidic grasslands gradually merge with the heather with a range of grass and lichen species present, dominated by sheep's fescue grass. There are some areas of chalk soils as well as an area of self-set Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) along the southern edge of the site.[11]

Access

It is open access land and can usually be accessed between November and February to allow for ground nesting bird species to be undisturbed during the nesting season.[13]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Designated Sites View: Berner's Heath". Sites of Special Scientific Interest. Natural England. Retrieved 22 May 2017.
  2. ↑ "Map of Berner's Heath". Sites of Special Scientific Interest. Natural England. Retrieved 22 May 2017.
  3. ↑ Ratcliffe, Derek, ed. (1977). A Nature Conservation Review. Vol. 2. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. pp. 134–135. ISBN 0521 21403 3.
  4. ↑ "Breckland". Special Areas of Conservation. Joint Nature Conservation Committee. Retrieved 4 May 2017.
  5. ↑ "Designated Sites View: Breckland". Special Area of Conservation. Natural England. Retrieved 10 May 2017.
  6. ↑ "Designated Sites View: Breckland". Special Protection Area. Natural England. Retrieved 10 May 2017.
  7. ↑ "Special Protection Areas under the EC Birds Directive. Breckland" (PDF). Joint Nature Conservation Committee. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 March 2016. Retrieved 4 May 2017.
  8. ↑ Berner's Heath bombing range, Suffolk Archived 2015-09-19 at the Wayback Machine, Airfield Information Exchange, 2008-11-20. Retrieved 2013-01-27.
  9. ↑ Panoramic view of former bombing range Archived 2012-11-15 at the Wayback Machine, Bury Free Press, 2012-11-11. Retrieved 2013-01-27.
  10. ↑ RANGES (Code B, 62): Berners Heath Bombing Range: extension of live bombing facilities, AIR 2/4507, National Archives. Retrieved 2013-01-27.
  11. 1 2 3 4 "Berner's Heath citation" (PDF). Sites of Special Scientific Interest. Natural England. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 May 2015. Retrieved 22 May 2017.
  12. ↑ Breckland, Natural England. Retrieved 2013-01-27.
  13. ↑ The King's Forest Rides, Suffolk County Council. Retrieved 2013-01-27.
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