Thursley, Hankley and Frensham Commons is a biological
Site of Special Scientific Interest
A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain, or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland, is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle ...
west of
Godalming
Godalming ( ) is a market town and civil parish in southwest Surrey, England, around southwest of central London. It is in the Borough of Waverley, at the confluence of the Rivers Wey and Ock. The civil parish covers and includes the settl ...
in
Surrey
Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...
. Thursley and Hankley Commons are ''
Nature Conservation Review
''A Nature Conservation Review'' is a two-volume work by Derek Ratcliffe, published by Cambridge University Press in 1977. It set out to identify the most important places for nature conservation in Great Britain. It is often known by the initi ...
Surrey Wildlife Trust
Surrey Wildlife Trust (SWT) was founded in 1959 as Surrey Naturalists' Trust and it is one of forty-six The Wildlife Trusts, wildlife trusts covering Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Great Britain, Northern Ireland, Isle of Man and Alderney. ...
.
Thursley Common
Thursley Common is a National nature reserve (United Kingdom), national nature reserve in Surrey, England, and has also been designated as a Ramsar Convention, Ramsar wetland. It is also part of a Site of Special Scientific Interest called Thur ...
Ramsar site
A Ramsar site is a wetland site designated to be of international importance under the Ramsar Convention,8 ha (O)
*** Permanent 8 ha (P)
*** Seasonal Intermittent < 8 ha(Ts)
**
Special Protection Area
A special protection area (SPA) is a designation under the European Union Directive on the Conservation of Wild Birds. Under the Directive, Member States of the European Union (EU) have a duty to safeguard the habitats of migratory birds and cer ...
and part of the Thursley, Ash, Pirbright & Chobham
Special Area of Conservation
A special area of conservation (SAC) is defined in the European Union's Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC), also known as the ''Directive on the Conservation of Natural Habitats and of Wild Fauna and Flora''. They are to protect the 220 habitats and ap ...
. Part of the land area designated as Thursley, Hankley and Frensham Commons SSSI is owned by the
Ministry of Defence
A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and Mi ...
( Hankley Common).
This site is of national importance for its invertebrates, birds and reptiles, and is mainly heathland but the valley
mire
A peatland is a type of wetland whose soils consist of Soil organic matter, organic matter from decaying plants, forming layers of peat. Peatlands arise because of incomplete decomposition of organic matter, usually litter from vegetation, du ...
on Thursley Common is one of the best in the country.
Orthoptera
Orthoptera () is an order of insects that comprises the grasshoppers, locusts, and crickets, including closely related insects, such as the bush crickets or katydids and wētā. The order is subdivided into two suborders: Caelifera – gras ...
include the nationally rare
large marsh grasshopper
The large marsh grasshopper (''Stethophyma grossum'') is a species of grasshopper belonging to the family Acrididae.
Taxonomy
The large marsh grasshopper was first described in the 10th edition of Systema Naturae, 10th edition of ''Systema Natur ...
. The site is one of the richest in southern England for birds and of outstanding importance for reptiles, such as the nationally rare
sand lizard #REDIRECT Sand lizard
{{redirect category shell, {{R from alternative capitalisation{{R from move ...
.
See also
*
Thursley Common
Thursley Common is a National nature reserve (United Kingdom), national nature reserve in Surrey, England, and has also been designated as a Ramsar Convention, Ramsar wetland. It is also part of a Site of Special Scientific Interest called Thur ...