Natural England is gathering evidence to support the potential notification of key areas of semi-natural habitat and associated features in the West Penwith Moors area of west Cornwall as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).
The moorland – known locally as roughland – was sampled for invertebrates in order to provide substantive information to underpin Natural England’s biodiversity evidence base for the area. Key semi-natural habitats occurring in the survey area include lowland heathland and associated acid grassland, mires and flushes, scrub and bracken. For the purposes of survey work the area has been divided into 57 separate numbered survey areas, some of which are contiguous, with individual survey areas ranging in size from about 3 to 157ha. Some survey areas are currently under positive management while others are unmanaged.