Broome Heath Pit
Also within
Condition (Natural England)
| Unit | Feature | Condition | Area (ha) | Assessed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TM347917 | — | Unfavourable No Change | 1.24 | 2023-03-06 |
Habitats
Geology & landscape
Geological Feature: River Terrace
Landscape processes: Fluvial, Glacial, Periglacial
Description
Description This pit contains the only remaining exposures in the broome Terrace. This is an old river terrace which has a surface about three metres above the flood plain of the modern River Waveney. The pit exposes silt lenses within a sand and gravel sequence indicating a depositional environment of a braided river channel with a backwater areas. Other features within the section include perecontemporaneous ice wedge casts and cryoturbation, indicating subglacial depositional conditions. The silt lenses have yielded plant remains of a tundra environment as well as molars of Mammuthus primigenius. Associated with the “artic” flora are themophilious taxa which are likely to have been reworked from older Hoxnian Interglacial deposits. This association indicates that the broome Terrace was deposited during the Wolstonian glacial stage. The dating of these deposits and their relationships to the higher and older Homersfield Terrace Anglian age makes this an important site for interpreting the stratigraphy of this area and thus of southern England in general.
Plant communities
A9 — Fast flowing river and stream, Marginal and inundation, Pond ditch and canal, Sluggish river and stream
Potamogeton natans community
Show 20 indicator speciesSchoenoplectus lacustris, Juncus bulbosus, Sparganium angustifolium, Sparganium erectum, Sparganium minimum, Alisma plantago-aquatica, Lobelia dortmanna, Equisetum fluviatile, Myriophyllum alterniflorum, Elodea canadensis, Lemna minor, Lemna trisulca, Nymphaea alba, Callitriche platycarpa, Callitriche stagnalis, Littorella uniflora, Potamogeton natans, Ranunculus trichophyllus, Glyceria fluitans, Chara subspinosa
A14 — Fast flowing river and stream
Myriophyllum alterniflorum community
Show 15 indicator speciesIsolepis fluitans, Juncus bulbosus, Fontinalis antipyretica, Lobelia dortmanna, Equisetum fluviatile, Myriophyllum alterniflorum, Lemna minor, Callitriche stagnalis, Littorella uniflora, Potamogeton filiformis, Potamogeton gramineus, Potamogeton natans, Ranunculus peltatus, Chara spp., Nitella hyalina
A17 — Chalk river and stream, Fast flowing river and stream
Ranunculus penicillatus ssp. pseudofluitans community
Show 11 indicator speciesBerula erecta, Nasturtium officinale, Elodea canadensis, Lemna minor, Callitriche stagnalis, Veronica beccabunga, Polygonum amphibium, Polygonum hydropiper, Potamogeton crispus, Potamogeton pectinatus, Ranunculus penicillatus ssp. pseudofluitans
A18 — Fast flowing river and stream
Ranunculus fluitans community
Show 12 indicator speciesFontinalis antipyretica, Fontinalis squamosa var. curnowii, Myriophyllum alterniflorum, Myriophyllum spicatum, Elodea canadensis, Mentha aquatica, Lemna gibba, Lemna minor, Potamogeton perfoliatus, Ranunculus fluitans, Glyceria fluitans, Phalaris arundinacea