Black Down and Sampford Commons

Black Down and Sampford Commons
Site of Special Scientific Interest
	Location within Somerset
Location	Somerset and Devon
Grid reference	ST118161
Coordinates	50°56′15″N 3°15′24″W / 50.93757°N 3.25663°W
Interest	Biological
Area	155.2 hectares (1.552 km2; 0.599 sq mi)
Notification	1952
	Natural England website

Black Down and Sampford Commons^[1] (grid reference ST118161) is a 155.2-hectare (384-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Devon and Somerset, notified in 1952.^[2]

The Little Breach reserve, which forms part of the SSSI is an area of heathy grassland on Greensand, with some blackthorn and birch, noted for its butterflies and moths.^[3]

Blackdown and Sampford Commons have the finest and most extensive surviving examples of the heathland, carr woodland and marshy grassland habitats that have developed on the acidic soils overlying the Greensand and Keuper Marls of the Blackdown Hills. The heathland supports a typical invertebrate fauna, including a wide variety of butterfly species, and with spiders notably abundant. The site is regionally important for birds which favour heathland habitats.^[2]

References

^ Black Down Common is so spelt by the Ordnance Survey, but the SSSI citation spells it Blackdown Common.
^ ^a ^b "Blackdown and Sampford Commons" (PDF). English Nature. Retrieved 12 August 2006.
^ "Little Breach, Blackdown Hills". Butterfly conservation. Archived from the original on 27 September 2006. Retrieved 12 August 2006.

[1] Black Down Common is so spelt by the Ordnance Survey, but the SSSI citation spells it Blackdown Common.

[engnat-2] "Blackdown and Sampford Commons" (PDF). English Nature. Retrieved 12 August 2006.

[3] "Little Breach, Blackdown Hills". Butterfly conservation. Archived from the original on 27 September 2006. Retrieved 12 August 2006.

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v t e Biological Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Somerset
Summarised data for all sites (biological and geological)
Aller and Beer Woods Aller Hill Asham Wood Axbridge Hill and Fry's Hill Babcary Meadows Barle Valley Barrington Hill Meadows Berrow Dunes Black Down and Sampford Commons Brean Down Bridgwater Bay Briggins Moor Catcott, Edington and Chilton Moors Chancellor's Farm Cheddar Complex Cheddar Reservoir Cheddar Wood Cleeve Hill Cogley Wood Crook Peak to Shute Shelve Hill Curry and Hay Moors Deadman Draycott Sleights Dunster Park and Heathlands East Polden Grasslands Ebbor Gorge Edford Woods and Meadows Exmoor Coastal Heaths Fivehead Woods and Meadow Freshmoor Friar's Oven Ge-mare Farm Fields Great Breach and Copley Woods Grove Farm Hardington Moor Hestercombe House Holme Moor & Clean Moor King's Sedgemoor Kingdown and Middledown Kingweston Meadows Lang's Farm Langford Heathfield Langmead and Weston Level Long Lye Long Lye Meadow Longleat Woods Millwater Moorlinch Nettlecombe Park North Brewham Meadows North Curry Meadow North Exmoor North Moor Old Iron Works, Mells Perch Porlock Ridge and Saltmarsh Postlebury Wood Priddy Pools Prior's Park & Adcombe Wood Quantock Hills Quants Ringdown River Barle Rodney Stoke Roebuck Meadows Ruttersleigh Severn Estuary Shapwick Heath Sharpham Moor Plot South Exmoor Southey and Gotleigh Moors Southlake Moor Sparkford Wood St. Dunstan's Well Catchment Stowell Meadow Street Heath Tealham and Tadham Moors Thurlbear Wood and Quarrylands Twinhills Woods and Meadows Vallis Vale Walton and Ivythorn Hills West Moor West Sedgemoor Westhay Heath Westhay Moor Wet Moor Whitevine Meadows Windsor Hill Marsh Wookey Hole Woolhayes Farm
Neighbouring areas Avon Devon Dorset Wiltshire