Almondbank

Site of Special Scientific Interest · 56.4194, -3.4863

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Also within

Perth and Kinross County

Condition (NatureScot)

Favourable (1)
UnitFeatureConditionArea (ha)Assessed
F1 Quaternary of Scotland Favourable — 2012-12-04

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.

Habitats

Fast flowing river and stream

Geology & landscape

Landscape processes: Coastal, Glacial

Description

ALMONDBANK Almondbank SSSI lies on the northern outskirts of Perth, on the north bank of the River Almond. The site is of value for interpreting the sequence of events which took place in this part of Britain towards the end of the “Ice Age” 10,000 years ago. The site consists of a key section used as part of the evidence for the so-called "Perth Re-advance” which was formerly believed to have interrupted the final wastage of the last ice sheet to cover Scotland. The exposure shows a basal red-brown till overlain by laminated marine silts and clays and succeeded by an outwash deposit with kettle holes in its surface nearby. The marine sediments are believed to have accumulated by repeated discharge of material, in a marine delta advancing down the Tay Valley and extending westwards into the lower Almond Valley, which was still occupied by stagnant ice. The ice-front position near Almondbank, where the outwash grades into ice-contact fluvio-glacial deposits, probably represents only a temporary halt in the progressive wastage of the last ice sheet westwards from the east coast. This site is of considerable interest in historical and sedimentological contexts and for the light it throws on the decay of the last ice sheet.

Plant communities

A9 — Fast flowing river and stream, Marginal and inundation, Pond ditch and canal, Sluggish river and stream

Potamogeton natans community

Schoenoplectus 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

Isolepis 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

Berula 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

Fontinalis 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