Goss Moor

Goss Moor is a National Nature Reserve in Cornwall, located in the parishes of St. Dennis, St. Columb Major, Roche and St. Enoder. It is the largest continuous mire complex in South-West Britain and consists of mainly Peatland and Lowland Heath. Together with the neighbouring moor to the east, it forms the Goss And Tregoss Moors Site of Special Scientific Interest[1] as well as Breney Common and Goss and Tregoss Moors Special Area of Conservation.[2]

Contents

Scarce or rare species

It is home to a number of scarce and rare species including:

plants 
yellow centaury (Cicendia filiformis), marsh clubmoss.
invertebrates 
small red and variable damselfly.
butterflies 
Silver-studded Blue, Marsh Fritillary, Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary, Grizzled Skipper
moths
narrow-bordered bee hawk and double line.

A 2003 study found 12 different Poor fen sub communities.[3]

Geography

The River Fal rises here and flows into the English Channel at Carrick Roads. The A30 road once ran through the middle of Goss Moor. This has been a major bottleneck in the county and has been subject to a long running campaign for expansion which has been strongly opposed.[4] In late 2004 a decision was finally reached and the dual carriageway running around the moor was opened on 25 June 2007.[5] Much of the existing road is now converted to a cycle lane which opened on 11 May 2008.[6] The Atlantic Coast railway line also crosses Goss Moor.

References

  1. ^ "Goss And Tregoss Moors". Natural England. 1988. http://www.sssi.naturalengland.org.uk/citation/citation_photo/1001443.pdf. Retrieved 27 October 2011. 
  2. ^ "Breney Common and Goss and Tregoss Moors". Joint Nature Conservation Committee. http://jncc.defra.gov.uk/protectedsites/sacselection/sac.asp?EUCode=UK0030098. Retrieved 30 October 2011. 
  3. ^ Southall, E. J.; Dale, M. P.; Kent, M. (September 2003). "Spatial and temporal analysis of vegetation mosaics for conservation: poor fen communities in a Cornish valley mire". Journal of biogeography 30: 1427–1443. doi:10.1046/j.1365-2699.2003.00924.x. ISSN 0305-0270. http://cat.inist.fr/?aModele=afficheN&cpsidt=15551237. Retrieved 2008-08-25. 
  4. ^ "A30 Goss Moor Briefing". Cornwall Friends of the Earth. http://www.foecornwall.org/goss-moor.html. Retrieved May 23, 2007. 
  5. ^ "Moor dualling plans get go-ahead". BBC. 2004-11-29. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/cornwall/4052133.stm. Retrieved May 23, 2007. 
  6. ^ "New Multi Use Trail at Goss Moor". Natural England. 2008-05-06. http://www.naturalengland.org.uk/regions/southwest/press-releases/060508.htm. Retrieved 2008-08-25. 

External links

Summary
Cornwall
Isles of Scilly