- Deadman SSSI, Somerset
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Deadman Site of Special Scientific Interest 
Shown within SomersetArea of Search Somerset Grid reference ST234156 Coordinates 50°56′05″N 3°05′29″W / 50.93474°N 3.09147°WCoordinates: 50°56′05″N 3°05′29″W / 50.93474°N 3.09147°W Interest Biological Area 28.8 hectares (0.288 km2; 0.111 sq mi) Notification 1987 Natural England website Deadman (grid reference ST234156) is a 28.8 hectare (71.2 acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest on the edge of the Blackdown Hills, near Buckland St Mary 5 miles (8.0 km) south of Taunton in Somerset, notified in 1987.
Deadman is one of the best remaining examples of a mixed valley mire in Somerset. It contains a rich mosaic of wet heath, bog pools and Birch/Willow carr grading into acid marshy grassland. These communities support several species of plant which are rare in the county. Ground water issues from numerous springs within the Greensand producing a locally raised water table and shallow peaty surface horizon. It is at these points that bog communities develop characterised by the floating leaves of Bog Pondweed (Potamogeton polygonifolia), Bog bean (Menyanthes trifoliata) and Marsh St John's-wort (Hypericum elodes). In places this wet heath has undergone a transition to Birch Betula sp. and Willow Salix sp. carr. This provides an important habitat for breeding Nightingale and Grasshopper Warbler.[1]
References
- ^ "Deadman". English Nature. http://www.english-nature.org.uk/citation/citation_photo/1003153.pdf. Retrieved 2006-08-12.
Categories:- Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Somerset
- Geography of Somerset
- Sites of Special Scientific Interest notified in 1987
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