Geology and habitats of Herefordshire
The underlying geology of
Herefordshire is predominantly Devonian ‘Old Red Sandstone’.
In the southern part of the county near Ross, Upper Old Red
Sandstone and Carboniferous limestones and shales occur.
In the Malverns, a very old, pre-Cambrian area occurs, comprising
metamorphic rock with igneous intrusions. Beds of Silurian
limestone occur beyond the Malverns, which dip downwards
towards the west, re-emerging at the Woolhope Dome. On the
Welsh border, Silurian and Ordovician deposits occur.
On the surface, drift deposits resulting from the glacial history of the area are complex. Ice advances took place at different times and older drifts were superseded by subsequent glacial episodes. Deposits occur as sand and gravel, till or boulder clay. Newer drift covers a vast area of western Herefordshire, while older drifts, formed from the same type of material are less continuous. Re-working has occurred by the flow of melt-water and rivers, forming terraces associated with the River Wye and its tributaries and washing sands and gravels onto the floodplain.
(See also Herefordshire and Worcestershire Earth Heritage Trust for more geological information)
Rivers and valleys
Herefordshire’s rivers and associated
floodplains are of enormous conservation importance and are
among the characteristic landscape features of the county.
The rivers are home to twaite and allis shad, otter and crayfish
and a wide range of birds and invertebrates. The river valleys
are a patchwork of habitats, including wet grassland, hay
meadows, improved agricultural grassland, wet woodland, ponds
and in a few places remnants of reedbed and grazing marsh.
Herefordshire supports the greatest length of river designated for its conservation value of any county in England; the River Wye, with part of the Lugg, is a candidate Special Area for Conservation (SAC).
(HNT reserves: Lugg Meadow, Hampton Meadow, Coughton Marsh, Parish Field, Clifford Common, see also Wye Valley AONB)
Open Water
There are only a few large
areas of open water within Herefordshire, including the former
gravel pits at Bodenham and several small natural lakes around
Kington. These sites are particularly important for birds,
including widgeon, teal, tufted duck, common tern, sand martin,
water rail, grey wagtail, kingfisher, dipper, redshank and
common sandpiper. Several species of bat are known to feed
over open water including Daubenton’s, pipistrelle
and the noctule.
(HNT reserves: Titley Pool)
Uplands and commons
Upland areas in the
Malvern Hills, Black Mountains and north-west Herefordshire
support a mosaic of upland grassland and heathland habitats
interspersed with wet flushes. Commons occur throughout the
county in both upland and lowland situations.
» Click here for more information about the Community Commons Project
(Black Mountains, Malvern Hills)
Woodland
Herefordshire is the most
wooded county in the West Midlands. The majority of this
woodland is ancient semi-natural, generally the most biologically
rich, supporting characteristic plant and animal communities
which are not found elsewhere. These woods are by definition
irreplaceable and cannot be re-created once damaged or destroyed.
Herefordshire's ancient woods are recognised as some of the
most important in England.
The geology and topography in the county gives rise to a great variety of woodland types, from the oak/ash woods of the upland areas in the north and west of the county to the rich woodland of the limestone hills of the Woolhope Dome, Doward and Wye Gorge with their unusual associations of tree and scrub species such as field maple, wych elm, lime, spindle, wayfaring tree, wild service tree, sessile oak and yew.
(HNT reserves: Clay Vallet Wood, Nupend Wood, Lea and Pagets Wood, Miners Rest, Woodside, White Rocks, Leeping Stocks, Merrivale Wood, Brilley Green Dingle, Coughton Marsh)
Orchards
Herefordshire is famous for
its orchards, although many have been lost over the last
50 years. Established traditional orchards may have a long
history of continuity on the same site. They will often contain
a number of trees of considerable age (e.g. perry pears 100-150
years old). Because of the replanting that has gone on over
many years, in-filling gaps and replacing blocks of trees,
there will be a great mixture of trees of different varieties
and ages throughout the orchard.
The diverse age structure of traditional orchards and the standing and fallen dead and decaying wood and heart rot, hollows, holes and sap runs formed in older and dead trees, provides a mosaic of valuable habitats for wildlife.
(HNT reserves: Lower House Farm, Common Hill)
Parkland
Parklands are the products
of historic land management systems. Most important sites
support veteran and mature trees, open-grown or high forest
trees (often pollards) at various densities, in a matrix
of grazed grassland, trees of various ages and woodland floras.
These sites are frequently of national historic, cultural
and landscape importance. Many Herefordshire parklands are
of national importance and are even amongst those in the
UK which are outstanding at a European level. Moccas Park
is amongst the finest examples of parkland habitat in the
country.
(Moccas Park National Nature Reserve)
Ancient grasslands
There are various sorts
of grassland which are defined by their underlying geology
and soil types. Unimproved grasslands of all kinds are one
of our most threatened habitats
- Neutral grasslands are
the most widespread grassland type in the county. They
support a specialist group of scarce and declining plant
species. The best hay meadow and species-rich pasture
can contain over 100 plant species in a few hectares.
Characteristic species include, dyer’s greenweed,
green-winged orchid, pepper, cowslip, adder’s tongue
fern, and meadow saffron. Anthills are a feature of this
sort of ancient grassland at some sites. Snake’s
head fritillary and narrow-leaved water-dropwort both
occur on the Lugg Meadow.
(HNT reserves: Lugg Meadow, Hampton Meadow, The Sturts and Waterloo)
- Calcareous grasslands support a very rich flora including many nationally rare and scarce species. These grasslands also provide feeding or breeding habitat for a number of scarce or declining birds including the skylark. Plant species characteristic of the Silurian limestone of the Malverns and the Woolhope Dome include upright brome, ploughman’s spikenard, rock-rose, dyer’s greenweed, salad burnet, pyramidal orchid and wild thyme.
(HNT reserves: Common Hill, Nupend Wood, Woodside)
- Acid grassland is by its nature a relatively species poor community. It is characterised by a range of plant species such as heath bedstraw, sheep’s fescue, common bent, sheep’s sorrel, wavy-hair grass and tormentil. Many of the invertebrates that occur in acid grassland are specialist species which do not occur in other types of grassland.
(Black Mountains, Malvern Hills)
Natural Areas
There are five Natural Area zones within Herefordshire. The Natural Area boundaries are based on the distribution of wildlife and natural features, and on the land use pattern and human history of each area. Each Natural Area has its own conservation objectives.
» Click here for further details about Natural Area
