Herman Law and Muchra Cleuchs
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Condition (NatureScot)
| Unit | Feature | Condition | Area (ha) | Assessed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| F1 | Upland birch woodland | Unfavourable Recovering | — | 2009-12-07 |
Climate exposure
This is about exposure to a nationwide pressure this habitat type carries — not a verdict on this site's own management.
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
Geology & landscape
Geological Period: Ordovician, Silurian
Landscape processes: Fluvial, Peatland / Mire
Description
HERMAN LAW AND MUCHRA CLEUCHS Herman Law and Muchra Cleuchs Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) is a composite site in three parts: Herman Law Cleuch and two areas of Muchra Cleuch. The site is located 500m from the Selkirk to Moffat road (A708) at Muchra, 3 km south-west of St Mary’s Loch. The site has been notified for its important relic woodland habitat. The site is among the most diverse and base-rich examples of the series of incised, small hill cleuchs which typify the eastern Southern Uplands on Silurian and Ordovician rocks. While examples of lower altitude mixed upland basic woodland occur in cleuchs on larger upland sites, there is no parallel example of medium altitude basic birch-rowan-willow woodland with such a diverse herb, fern and bryophyte community complex known in the Borders. The woodland is a mixture of mature birch, ash, rowan, alder and hazel, with a good ground flora with typical ancient woodland species, including several higher plants (globe flower, stone bramble, brittle bladder fern, green spleenwort, Wilson’s filmy fern) and bryophytes Metzgeria conjugata, Sphagnum quinquefarium, Bazzania tricrenata, Campylopus atrovirens, which are regionally rare and restricted over south-east Scotland.
Species mentioned
Show the 4 species mentioned in the description, with red-list status| English name search for this in other sites |
Latin name search with Google |
IUCN / Red List | Type | Family |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| lesser whipwort | Bazzania tricrenata | LC | liverwort | jungermanniales |
| rock veilwort | Metzgeria conjugata | LC | liverwort | metzgeriales |
| bristly swan neck moss | Campylopus atrovirens | LC | moss | dicranales |
| five ranked bog moss | Sphagnum quinquefarium | LC | moss | sphagnales |