Blanket bog

Lowland fens

Limestone pavements

Coastal sand dunes

Ancient woodland

Ancient woodland is areas of woodland that have been continuously wooded since at least 1600. Ancient woodland includes—

(i) Ancient Semi-Natural Woodlands

(ii) Plantations on Ancient Woodland Sites

(iii) Ancient Wood Pasture and Parkland

(iii) Infilled Ancient Wood Pasture and Parkland

Ancient trees and veteran trees

Ancient and veteran trees can be found as individual trees or collections of trees in any setting.

Ancient trees have passed beyond maturity into an ancient life stage or are old in comparison with other trees of the same species which exhibit one or more of the following—

(i) demonstrably great age relative to others of the same species

(ii) changes to their crown and trunk development indicative of the ancient life stage

Veteran trees are mature trees that share physical and other characteristics in common with ancient trees, due to their life or environment, but are neither developmentally nor chronologically ancient. All ancient trees are veteran trees, but not all veteran trees are ancient. Veteran and ancient trees which have died are still recognised as such because they retain significant biodiversity value for many decades.

Veteran trees exhibit one or more of the following—

(i) significant decay features such as deadwood, hollowing or signs of advanced decay in the trunk or major limbs

(ii) a large girth, depending on and relative to species, site and management history

(iii) a high value for nature, especially in hosting rare or specialist fungi, lichens and deadwood invertebrates

Spartina saltmarsh swards

Spartina (cord-grass) saltmarsh swards colonise a wide range of substrates, from very soft muds to shingle, in areas sheltered from strong wave action. It occurs on the seaward fringes of saltmarshes and creek-sides and may colonise old pans in the upper saltmarsh

Mediterranean saltmarsh scrub

Mediterranean and thermo-Atlantic halophilous (salt-tolerant) scrub develops in the uppermost levels of saltmarshes, often where there is a transition from saltmarsh to dunes, or in some cases where dunes overlie shingle. The form that most closely resembles the scrub vegetation of the Mediterranean is restricted to south and south-east England and is formed predominantly of bushes of shrubby sea-blite Suaeda vera and sea purslane Atriplex portulacoides