Murcott Meadows

Also within

Oxfordshire County

Condition (Natural England)

Habitats

Mixed scrub, Montane scrub

Geology & landscape

Landscape processes: Fluvial

Birds & fish recorded

Birds

Description

Description Murcott Meadows are a series of unimproved neutral meadows which are traditionally managed for hay. They are representative of a grassland habitat once widespread in southern England, but now rare and declining rapidly due to agricultural improvement. This site is a remnant of a grassland type which was formerly common on the Otmoor Plain. The meadows have a ridge and furrow topography which indicates ploughing at some time in their history; however, the presence of at least twenty species of plant normally associated with ancient meadows suggests a long history of traditional management without reseeding or the application of inorganic fertilisers. A small block of woodland and scrub is presenton the site and is of special interest for a rare species of butterfly. A pond on the woodland edge provides an additional habitat and contains a diverse flora. Lying north east of Oxford, Murcott Meadows are situated on the low lying Otmoor Plain. The site is underlain by Oxford Clay and has seasonally waterlogged soils. Most of the meadows lie on clayey soils of the Denchworth Series, with finer, loamier soils of the Shabbington series occurring on the extreme western edge. The high water table ensures that the furrows are water filled for much of the year and winter flooding is not unusual. The meadows fall into two distinct grassland types as defined in the National Vegetation Classification. The north eastern field is representative of the meadow foxtail great burnet Alopecurus pratensis Sanguisorba officinalis flood plain community, while the remaining meadows conform to the crested dog's tail / common knapweed Cynosurus cristatus Centaurea nigra community. There is a further distinction between the flora of the ridge and furrows, with the sward influenced by the relative water levels. The drier ridges of the north eastern field are dominated by great burnet in association with meadow foxtail, pepper saxifrage Silaum silaus, dropwort Filipendula vulgaris and yellow rattle Rhinanthus minor. Other species normally indicative of unimproved grassland include meadow thistle Cirsium dissectum, devil's bit scabious Succisa pratensis, glaucous sedge Carex flacca, carnation sedge C. panicea, dyer's greenweed Genista tinctoria and sneezewort Achillea ptarmica. Several of these species grow in dense patches within the general community. The wetter ridges are dominated by meadow foxtail along with Timothy grass Phleum pratense, creeping bent Agrostis stolonifera and creeping buttercup Ranunculus repens. The furrows have a flora which reflects the high water table, with tufted hairgrass Deschampsia cespitosa the dominant species. Locally abundant in the furrows are jointed rush Juncus articulatus, tubular water dropwort Oenanthe fistulosa, sometimes in association with false fox sedge Carex otrubae and lesser spearwort Ranunculus flammula. The remaining meadows have their ridge flora locally dominated by common knapweed with Yorkshire fog Holcus lanatus, crested dog's tail, meadow barley Hordeum secalinum and sweet vernal grass Anthoxanthum odoratum. Locally abundant on the ridges are several species characteristic of traditional grassland including pepper saxifrage, yellow rattle, quaking grass Briza media and saw wort Serratula tinctoria. Meadow vetchling Lathyrus pratensis and tufted vetch Vicia cracca are both prominent and one field contains a population of green winged orchid Anacamptis morio. The furrows are almost exclusively dominated by tufted hair grass, with local patches of lesser spearwort, false fox sedge and oval sedge Carex ovina. A small area of scrub and woodland bisects the south western fields. The open woodland consists of pedunculate oak standards with a hawthorn understorey. This wood grades into patches of blackthorn and an old crack willow Salix fragilis bed. All the meadows and wood are enclosed by mature hedges which contain hawthorn, midland hawthorn Crataegus laevigata, blackthorn, English elm and oak. A small pond, located on the northern edge of the wood, contains broadleaved pondweed Potamogeton natans, water plantain Alisma plantago-aquatica, together with toad rush Juncus bufonius on the muddy shores. Other species recorded from the pond and willow bed include fool's watercress Apium nodiflorum, floating sweet grass Glyceria fluitans and the uncommon water whorl grass Catabrosa aquatica. The invertebrate fauna includes a wide range of aquatic and terrestrial species. The wood and thicker hedgerows support a population of the black hairstreak butterfly, a nationally uncommon species with a distribution restricted to the Oxford clay. The dragonflies recorded from the pond include four spotted chaser Libellula quadrimaculata and emperor dragonfly Anax imperator. Other insects recorded include emperor moth Saturnia pavonia, a species uncommon in Oxfordshire and the nationally notable yellow legged clearwing moth Synanthedon vespiformis. The willow bed and woodland support several species of breeding bird including willow warbler and reed warbler. The meadows are used as a feeding ground by snipe and other waders which regularly use Otmoor as a wintering ground.

Species mentioned

Plant communities