Foulness SSSI is a 10,702 hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest covering the shoreline between Southend-on-Sea and the Crouch estuary in Essex.

Foulness
Site of Special Scientific Interest
View across the River Roach
LocationEssex
Grid referenceTR030905
InterestBiological
Area10,702 hectares
Notification1993
Location mapMagic Map

Site of Special Scientific Interest

edit

It is a key site in A Nature Conservation Review,[1][2] and is part of the Essex Estuaries Special Area of Conservation.[3] It covers two Ramsar wetland sites of international importance, 'Crouch and Roach Estuaries' and 'Foulness'.[4] An area of 6.4 hectares is Shoeburyness Old Ranges, a Local Nature Reserve[5][6] managed by the Essex Wildlife Trust.[7]

Most of the site is owned and managed by the Ministry of Defence. Natural England describes it as "extensive intertidal sand-silt flats, saltmarsh, beaches, grazing marshes, rough grass and scrubland". The flats are of international importance for nine species of wildfowl and waders, such as dark-bellied brent geese. Rare plants include soft hornwort and spiral tasselwood, and the site is also important for invertebrates, with 71 nationally rare species.[1]

References

edit
  1. ^ a b "Foulness citation" (PDF). Sites of Special Scientific Interest. Natural England. Retrieved 24 February 2016.
  2. ^ "Map of Foulness". Sites of Special Scientific Interest. Natural England. Retrieved 24 February 2016.
  3. ^ "Essex Estuaries". Joint Nature Conservation Committee. Retrieved 24 February 2016.
  4. ^ "Designated and Proposed Ramsar sites in the UK and Overseas Territories & Crown Dependencies". Joint Nature Conservation Committee. Retrieved 24 February 2016.
  5. ^ "Shoeburyness Old Ranges". Local Nature Reserves. Natural England. Retrieved 24 February 2016.
  6. ^ "Map of Shoeburyness Old Ranges". Local Nature Reserves. Natural England. Retrieved 24 February 2016.
  7. ^ "Gunners Park and Shoebury Ranges Nature Reserve". Essex Wildlife Trust. Retrieved 24 February 2016.

51°34′52″N 0°56′13″E / 51.581°N 0.937°E / 51.581; 0.937