Glen Moss

Site of Special Scientific Interest · 55.8941, -4.6119

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Also within

Renfrewshire County

Condition (NatureScot)

Favourable (1) Unfavourable No Change (1)
UnitFeatureConditionArea (ha)Assessed
F1 Dragonfly assemblage Favourable — 2015-03-25
F2 Basin fen Unfavourable No Change — 2015-12-04

Climate exposure

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

Peatland

Peat habitats store centuries of carbon and depend on a stable, waterlogged water table. Warmer, drier summers dry out peat, making it far more vulnerable to wildfire and to carbon release — a pressure that can undo years of restoration work regardless of how well the site is otherwise managed.

Habitats

Valley mire

Geology & landscape

Landscape processes: Peatland / Mire

Description

GLEN MOSS Glen Moss, lying approximately half a kilometre north east of Kilmacolm, is a mixed basin and valley mire with an area of shallow open water surrounded by sedge-dominated plant communities. The site is one of only four basin fens in Renfrewshire and Inverclyde and it supports an outstanding assemblage of dragonflies and damselflies of which there are 9 species breeding on the site including the azure dragonfly Coenagrion puella, the four-spotted chaser Libellula quadrimaculata and the emerald damselfly Lestes sponsa. Bottle sedge Carex rostrata fringes the open water and there are also large stands of mud sedge Carex limosa throughout the valley mire. The Nationally Scarce aquatic plant greater bladderwort Utricularia vulgaris is also present.

Species mentioned

English name
search for this in other sites		 Latin name
search with Google		 IUCN / Red List Type Family
four-spotted chaser Libellula quadrimaculata LC dragonfly libellulidae
greater bladderwort Utricularia vulgaris LC herb lentibulariaceae
bog sedge Carex limosa VU sedge cyperaceae
mire bottle sedge Carex rostrata LC sedge cyperaceae

Plant communities

M2 — Blanket bog, Raised bog, Valley mire

Sphagnum cuspidatum/recurvum bog pool community

Empetrum nigrum subsp.nigrum, Calluna vulgaris, Erica tetralix, Myrica gale, Andromeda polifolia, Vaccinium oxycoccos, Carex canescens, Carex magellanica, Carex rostrata, Eriophorum angustifolium, Eriophorum vaginatum, Rhynchospora alba, Aulacomnium palustre, Polytrichum commune, Polytrichum strictum, Sphagnum cuspidatum, Sphagnum fallax, Sphagnum magellanicum, Sphagnum palustre, Sphagnum papillosum, Sphagnum pulchrum, Sphagnum tenellum, Cephalozia connivens, Cephalozia lunulifolia, Gymnocolea inflata, Mylia anomala, Ordontoschisma sphagni, Cladonia impexa, Cladonia uncialis, Drosera anglica, Drosera intermedia, Drosera rotundifolia, Menyanthes trifoliata, Narthecium ossifragum, Agrostis canina, Deschampsia flexuosa, Molinia caerulea

M12 — Upland spring flush, Valley mire

Carex saxatilis mire

Salix herbacea, Carex atrofusca, Carex bigelowii, Carex canescens, Carex demissa, Carex dioica, Carex echinata, Carex nigra, Carex panicea, Carex pulicaris, Carex saxatilis, Carex vaginata, Eriophorum angustifolium, Juncus articulatus, Juncus castaneus, Juncus triglumis, Luzula multiflora, Luzula spicata, Huperzia selago, Selaginella selaginoides, Bryum pseudotriquetrum, Cinclidium stygium, Mnium hornum, Philonotis fontana, Rhizomnium pseudopunctatum, Dicranum scoparium, Fissidens adianthoides, Fissidens osmundoides, Racomitrium lanuginosum, Hylocomium splendens, Palustriella commutatum, Pseudocalliergon trifarium, Rhytidiadelphus loreus, Rhytidiadelphus squarrosus, Rhytidiadelphus triquetrus, Scorpidium revolvens, Scorpidium scorpioides, Straminergon stramineum, Warnstorfia exannulata, Polytrichastrum alpinum, Polytrichum commune, Blindia acuta, Sphagnum auriculatum, Sphagnum capillifolium, Sphagnum fallax, Sphagnum girgensohnii, Sphagnum subnitens, Sphagnum warnstorfii, Anthelia julacea, Barbilophozia lycopodioides, Jungermannia obovata, Marsupella emarginata, Scapania irrigua, Scapania uliginosa, Scapania undulata, Aneura pinguis, Pellia endiviifolia, Riccardia multifida, Cladonia arbuscula, Caltha palustris, Scorzoneroides autumnalis, Taraxacum officianalis, Cerastium fontanum, Equisetum palustre, Pinguicula vulgaris, Tofieldia pusilla, Narthecium ossifragum, Epilobium anagallidifolium, Euphrasia officinalis, Armeria maritima, Polygonum viviparum, Rumex acetosa, Ranunculus acris, Thalictrum alpinum, Alchemilla alpina, Alchemilla filicaulis, Alchemilla glabra, Geum rivale, Potentilla erecta, Saxifraga aizoides, Saxifraga oppositifolia, Saxifraga stellaris, Viola palustris, Agrostis canina, Agrostis capillaris, Alopecurus alpinus, Deschampsia cespitosa, Festuca ovina, Festuca rubra, Festuca vivipara, Nardus stricta

M20 — Blanket bog, Raised bog, Valley mire

Eriophorum vaginatum blanket and raised mire

Empetrum nigrum subsp.nigrum, Calluna vulgaris, Vaccinium myrtillus, Carex bigelowii, Eriophorum angustifolium, Eriophorum vaginatum, Trichophorum cespitosum, Juncus squarrosus, Orthodontium lineare, Pohlia nutans, Campylopus flexuosus, Dicranum scoparium, Drepanocladus fluitans, Hypnum jutlandicum, Plagiothecium undulatum, Pleurozium schreberi, Polytrichum commune, Sphagnum capillifolium, Sphagnum fuscum, Sphagnum papillosum, Barbilophozia floerkei, Calypogeia muelleriana, Calypogeia trichomanis, Cephalozia bicuspidata, Cephaloziella hampeana, Diplophyllum albicans, Gymnocolea inflata, Kurzia pauciflora, Lophozia ventricosa, Mylia taylorii, Ptilidium ciliare, Cetraria islandica, Cladonia arbuscula, Cladonia chlorophaea, Cladonia coccifera, Cladonia floerkeana, Cladonia impexa, Cladonia squamosa, Cladonia uncialis, Cornicularia aculeata, Rubus chamaemorus, Deschampsia flexuosa, Festuca ovina

M29 — Upland spring flush, Valley mire

Hypericum elodes-Potamogeton polygonifolius soakway

Salix cinerea, Erica tetralix, Carex demissa, Carex echinata, Carex hostiana, Carex nigra, Carex panicea, Eriophorum angustifolium, Isolepis fluitans, Rhynchospora alba, Eleocharis multicaulis, Eleocharis palustris, Juncus acutiflorus, Juncus articulatus, Juncus bufonius, Juncus bulbosus, Juncus effusus, Sparganium angustifolium, Aulacomnium palustre, Calliergonell cuspidatum, Scorpidium revolvens, Warnstorfia exannulata, Polytrichum commune, Sphagnum auriculatum, Sphagnum cuspidatum, Sphagnum palustre, Sphagnum papillosum, Aneura pinguis, Baldellia ranunculoides, Apium inundatum, Hydrocotyle vulgaris, Cirsium dissectum, Myosotis secunda, Succisa pratensis, Drosera intermedia, Drosera rotundifolia, Equisetum fluviatile, Equisetum palustre, Lotus pedunculatus, Hypericum elodes, Scutellaria minor, Utricularia minor, Menyanthes trifoliata, Narthecium ossifragum, Pedicularis palustris, Potamogeton polygonifolius, Anagallis tenella, Ranunculus flammula, Comarum palustre, Potentilla erecta, Galium constrictum, Galium palustre, Viola palustris, Agrostis canina, Agrostis stolonifera, Glyceria fluitans, Holcus lanatus, Molinia caerulea, Nardus stricta, Pilularia globulifera