Mangersta Sands
Condition (NatureScot)
| Unit | Feature | Condition | Area (ha) | Assessed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| F1 | Coastal Geomorphology of Scotland | Favourable | — | 2009-02-09 |
Climate exposure
This is about exposure to a nationwide pressure this habitat type carries — not a verdict on this site's own management.
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
Geology & landscape
Landscape processes: Coastal, Periglacial
Description
Mangersta Sands Mangersta Sands is located on the west coast of the Isle of Lewis. It is the best example of stripped machair to be found in the Highlands and Islands. The machair has been severely eroded by wind, and over much of its area, a deflation surface of bare sand now coincides with the water table. Such extreme deflation may represent an advanced stage of machair development, but the complex relationships of stripped machair with factors such as land subsidence, high energy coastal conditions and land use practises have not yet been researched fully. Mangersta offers an excellent example for further study of these factors.
Plant communities
SD8 — Machair sand dune, Sand dune
Festuca rubra-Galium verum fixed dune grassland
Show 113 indicator speciesSalix repens, Rosa spinosissima, Carex arenaria, Carex caryophyllea, Carex flacca, Luzula campestris, Plagiomnium rostratum, Plagiomnium undulatum, Ditrichum flexicaule, Brachythecium albicans, Calliergonell cuspidatum, Climacium dendroides, Entodon concinnus, Homalothecium lutescens, Hylocomium splendens, Hypnum cupressiforme, Kindbergia praelonga, Pleurozium schreberi, Pseudoscleropodium purum, Rhytidiadelphus squarrosus, Rhytidiadelphus triquetrus, Thuidium delicatulum, Thuidium tamariscinum, Syntrichia ruraliformis, Lophocolea bidentata, Cladonia rangiformis, Odontites verna, Peltigera canina, Peltigera rufescens, Angelica sylvestris, Daucus carota, Heracleum sphondylium, Achillea millefolium, Bellis perennis, Centaurea nigra, Cirsium arvense, Cirsium vulgare, Crepis capillaris, Hypochaeris radicata, Jacobaea vulgaris, Leucanthemum vulgare, Pilosella officinarum, Scorzoneroides autumnalis, Sonchus oleraceus, Taraxacum officianalis, Myosotis arvensis, Myosotis ramosissima, Campanula rotundifolia, Succisa pratensis, Cerastium arvense, Cerastium diffusum, Cerastium fontanum, Cerastium semidecandrum, Sedum acre, Equisetum arvense, Anthyllis vulneraria, Astragalus danicus, Lotus corniculatus, Medicago lupulina, Ononis repens, Trifolium campestre, Trifolium pratense, Trifolium repens, Vicia cracca, Vicia lathyroides, Gentianella amarella, Eriodium cicutarium, Thymus praecox, Linum catharticum, Dactylorhiza viridis, Neottia ovata, Euphrasia officinalis, Rhinanthus minor, Plantago coronopus, Plantago lanceolata, Plantago major, Plantago maritima, Veronica arvensis, Veronica chamaedrys, Polygala vulgaris, Rumex acetosa, Rumex acetosella, Primula veris, Primula vulgaris, Ranunculus acris, Ranunculus bulbosus, Ranunculus repens, Thalictrum minus, Potentilla anserina, Galium verum, Viola riviniana, Viola tricolor, Agrostis capillaris, Agrostis stolonifera, Aira praecox, Ammophila arenaria, Anthoxanthum odoratum, Arrhenatherum elatius, Avenula pubescens, Cynosurus cristatus, Dactylis glomerata, Elytrigia atherica, Elytrigia juncea, Elytrigia repens, Festuca ovina, Festuca rubra, Holcus lanatus, Koeleria macrantha, Leymus arenarius, Lolium perenne, Poa pratensis, Poa trivialis, Trisetum flavescens