Range Farm Fields () is a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of Gl ...

, near to

Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west, east of Monmouth and east ...

City, notified in 1996.Natural England SSSI information on the citation
/ref> Stroud District Local Plan, adopted November 2005, Appendix 6 ‘Sites of Nature Conservation Interest’

Location

The site lies in the

Cotswold The Cotswolds (, ) is a region in central-southwest England, along a range of rolling hills that rise from the meadows of the upper Thames to an escarpment above the Severn Valley and Evesham Vale. The area is defined by the bedrock of Juras ...

Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and is in the Cotswold Hills Environmentally Sensitive Area (ESA). The geology is from the

Jurassic The Jurassic ( ) is a Geological period, geologic period and System (stratigraphy), stratigraphic system that spanned from the end of the Triassic Period million years ago (Mya) to the beginning of the Cretaceous Period, approximately Mya. The J ...

time period which means it includes Lias Clay, silt,

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

and old landslip. The fields face north-west and are on a slope. There are four separate pastures with hedgerows. There is a relatively small area of bracken and woodland and it includes flushes and scrub areas.

Habitat and flora

The site is a large ''flower-rich'' unimproved grassland area. Use and management has reduced the amount of this type of habitat nationally. The site is exceptional because of its size and the variations in the neutral grassland (acid to calcareous). Three grassland types are thus present – acidic, neutral and calcareous. The unimproved grassland includes crested dog's-tail and common knapweed. There is heath-grass,

meadow vetchling ''Lathyrus pratensis'' or meadow vetchling, yellow pea, meadow pea and meadow pea-vine, is a perennial legume that grows to 1.2 m in height. The hermaphrodite flowers are pollinated by bees. As a perennial, this plant reproduces itself over man ...

, lady's bedstraw. A large number of Cotswold sites was surveyed and Range Farm Fields was found to be the most diverse and to contain the three grassland types. Herbs include oxeye daisy,

devil's-bit scabious ''Succisa pratensis'', also known as devil's-bit or devil's-bit scabious, is a flowering plant in the honeysuckle family Caprifoliaceae. It differs from other similar species in that it has four-lobed flowers, whereas small scabious and field s ...

, yellow rattle and

dyer's greenweed ''Genista tinctoria'', the dyer's greenweed or dyer's broom, is a species of flowering plant in the family Fabaceae. Its other common names include dyer's whin, waxen woad and waxen wood. The Latin specific epithet ''tinctoria'' means "used as a ...

. One particular field has a large amount of great burnet. The latter is more common in flood meadows.

Corky-fruited water-dropwort ''Oenanthe pimpinelloides'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Apiaceae known by the common name corky-fruited water-dropwort. It is a plant of damp or dry grassland and more ruderal tall herb communities. Description Corky-fruited w ...

is also recorded. Springs present encourage the species which flourish in such areas and these include

sharp-flowered rush ''Juncus acutiflorus'', also called sharp-flowered rush, is a rush or a grassy plant of the genus ''Juncus''. As the name suggests, the plant has notable sharp-looking flowers, flowering between July and September. Description The plant has lea ...

, marsh marigold,

ragged robin ''Silene flos-cuculi'' (syn. ''Lychnis flos-cuculi''), commonly called ragged-robin, is a perennial herbaceous plant in the family Caryophyllaceae. This species is native to Europe and Asia, where it is found along roads and in wet meadows and p ...

, common spotted orchid and

bird's-foot trefoil ''Lotus corniculatus'' is a flowering plant in the pea family Fabaceae, native to grasslands in temperate Eurasia and North Africa. Common names include common bird's-foot trefoil, eggs and bacon, birdsfoot deervetch, and just bird's-foot trefo ...

. The site has significant wildlife value because of its many features such as mixed hedgerows, scrub and woodland as well as the grassland. Hedgerows are mainly

hawthorn Hawthorn or Hawthorns may refer to: Plants * '' Crataegus'' (hawthorn), a large genus of shrubs and trees in the family Rosaceae * ''Rhaphiolepis'' (hawthorn), a genus of about 15 species of evergreen shrubs and small trees in the family Rosace ...

, bramble and field rose. The woodland is mainly

ash Ash or ashes are the solid remnants of fires. Specifically, ''ash'' refers to all non-aqueous, non- gaseous residues that remain after something burns. In analytical chemistry, to analyse the mineral and metal content of chemical samples, ash ...

and

oak An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...

with a

hazel The hazel (''Corylus'') is a genus of deciduous trees and large shrubs native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere. The genus is usually placed in the birch family Betulaceae,Germplasmgobills Information Network''Corylus''Rushforth, K. (1999). ...

understorey.

References

SSSI Source

Natural England SSSI information on the citation

Natural England SSSI information on the Range Farm Fields unit

External links

Natural England
(SSSI information) {{SSSIs Gloucs biological Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Gloucestershire Sites of Special Scientific Interest notified in 1996 Cotswolds