Water of Ken Woods

Also within

The Stewartry of Kirkcudbright County

Condition (NatureScot)

Description

Water of Ken Woods Water of Ken Woods SSSI is composed of five discreet areas of woodland in the Water of Ken valley all lying within 5km of each other, approximately 1-2km south or west of St John’s Town of Dalry. The woodland is predominantly broadleaved, closed canopy dominated by oak with smaller areas of wych elm, ash and hazel, beech, sycamore and some larch. Historical maps suggest that the woodlands are in excess of 150 years old, and possibly much older. The very rich (in excess of 300 species or sub-species) lichen flora of this site is indicative of a long period of continuity of woodland habitat. The woodlands are important for sustaining lichen communities which grow on or in bark (corticolous) and on dead or debarked wood (lignicolous). These communities are the best in south Scotland. The lungwort Lobaria pulmonaria community is one of the most luxuriant known in lowland Scotland. The importance of the woods is shown both by the number of northern species present which are rare outside northwest Scotland (Lopadium pezizoideum, Fuscopannaria sampaiana, Menegazzia tenebrata, Lobaria amplissima) and by the number of species with a markedly southern distribution (Enterographa crassa, Opegrapha viridis, Usnea rubicunda). Their importance is further demonstrated by the fact that 25 out of the total of 30 species indicative of long-established woodland have been recorded from the site. In addition, a number of species are present which are far from common in the British Isles as a whole: Bactrospora corticola, Lecanographa amylacea, Lecanactis dilleniana, Melaspilea granitophila. The site is also of importance for beetles Coleoptera, rare in Scotland, including a weevil Trachodes hispidus, which is a deciduous woodland indicator species. T. hispidus prefers to feed on small, dead branches, which underlines the importance of retaining dead wood on site. The site additionally has some vascular plant interest, with a good stand of the uncommon forest-relic grass, wood fescue Festuca altissima, and other local woodland species such as woodruff Galium odoratum, sanicle Sanicula europaea and moschatel Adoxa moschatellina.

Species mentioned