Skipsea Bail Mere

Site of Special Scientific Interest · 53.9814, -0.2294

Condition (Natural England)

Favourable (5)
UnitFeatureConditionArea (ha)Assessed
TA161552 Favourable 25.81 2022-02-22
TA161558 Favourable 6.18 2022-02-22
TA162553 Favourable 1.44 2022-02-22
TA162554 Favourable 4.15 2022-02-22
TA164552 Favourable 6.26 2022-02-22

Climate exposure

This is about exposure to a nationwide pressure this habitat type carries — not a verdict on this site's own management.

Coastal

Coastal habitats are exposed to sea-level rise and storm erosion. Where hard sea defences sit behind them, there's nowhere landward to retreat to — a squeeze that keeps compressing the habitat no matter how well it's managed.

Geology & landscape

Landscape processes: Coastal, Glacial

Description

Description Skipsea Mere Bail consists of an area of agricultural land lying immediately north west of the village of Skipsea and twelve kilometres south south west of Bridlington. The interest lies in the lake deposits underlying below the fields and can be accessed by auger or borehole. Skipsea Bail Mere is important for the interpretation of the vegetational history of the northern part of the Holderness coastal plain. The organic deposits which have infilled the basin containa pollen and macrofaunal record that extends from the Devensian Late Glacial around 13,000 BP through to historic times. Of particular importance within this pollen record is the presence of Trapa natans water chestnut. The present limit of this species in northern France and its presence in Holderness provides evidence to support a post glacial climatic optimum with summer temperatures at least 2° C higher than at present. Skipsea Bail Mere is an important site for the study of climatic and vegetational change since the end of the last glaciation. As such, it has great potential for future study.

Species mentioned

English name
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Latin name
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IUCN / Red List Type Family
water chestnut Trapa natans Not listed in GB list herb lythraceae