Caeau Llety-cybi

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Dyfed County

Geology & landscape

Mining / Industrial: Quarry

Description

Description Four herb-rich pastures on an east, south-east facing slope at an altitude of about 168m (550 feet). The vegetation here is a good example of that found in the acidic type of unimproved calcareous loam pastures, a group of grasslands which has been extensively improved for agriculture. The Llety-cybi fields have not been ploughed in recent decades, if at all, and recent management has been grazing by cattle and sheep. Sweet vernal grass Anthoxanthum odoratum, common bent Agrostis tenuis, crested dog's tail Cynosurus cristatus and knapweed Centaurea nigra form the basis of the sward, and common bird's-foot-trefoil Lotus corniculatus, cat's ear Hypochaeris radicata, heath-grass Danthonia decumbens, tormentil Potentilla erecta, burnet saxifrage Pimpinella saxifraga and pignut Conopodium majus are especially abundant. Uncommon species include greater butterfly-orchid Platanthera chlorantha, ivy-leaved bellflower Wahlenbergia hederacea and a dwarf native form of tall fescue Schedonorus arundinaceus. The four pastures vary somewhat in composition of vegetation, dependent partly on soil type and steepness of slope and are separated by mixed hedges of varying ages. The north-eastern pasture is bordered by a small disused quarry. Modern agriculture has taken full advantage of the easily worked, free draining soils to be found under this type of neutral grassland, and only small fragments are known to exist in Wales. Remarks: Owned by the West Wales Naturalists' Trust and managed as a nature reserve.

Species mentioned