Site of Special Scientific Interest | |
Location | Oxfordshire |
---|---|
Grid reference | SP 392 165 [1] |
Interest | Biological |
Area | 27.45 hectares (67.8 acres) [1] |
Notification | 1989 [1] |
Location map | Magic Map |
Stonesfield Common, Bottoms and Banks is a 27.45-hectare (67.8-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) south of Stonesfield in Oxfordshire. [1] [2] [3]
This site is composed of steeply sloping valleys and banks. Most of it is unimproved Oolithic limestone grassland and scrub, but there is also an area of semi-natural beech-wych elm ancient woodland. This area forms one of the largest remnants of such grassland type in the UK. [3] The five units of Stonesfield Common, Bottoms and Banks SSSI are Church Street, Baggs Bottom, The Common, Stockey Bottom, and the River Evenlode. [4] The site is managed by the Thames Solent area team. [5] The grass in Stonesfield Common is mainly upright brome, and herbs include field scabious, greater knapweed, lady's bedstraw and pyramidal orchid. [3] The main habitats present in the SSSI are broadleaved, mixed and yew woodland lowland, and calcareous grassland. [1] Soils in this site are typically calcareous with stoneless, clayey soils. [3] Fauna in the area includes the small blue butterfly Cupido minimus, colonies of the marbled white Melanargia galathea butterflies, and invertebrate territories such as those of the white-legged damselfly Platycnemis pennipes. [3]