Parley Common is a

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 ...

(SSSI) on the edge of

Ferndown Ferndown is a town and civil parish in Dorset in southern England, immediately to the north of Bournemouth and Poole. The parish, which until 1972 was called ''Hampreston'', includes the communities of Ameysford, Hampreston, Longham, Stapehill ...

in Dorset, England. The majority land owner is the Canford Estate, but among the other owners are the

Diocese of Salisbury The Diocese of Salisbury is a Church of England diocese in the south of England, within the ecclesiastical Province of Canterbury. The diocese covers the historic county of Dorset (which excludes the deaneries of Bournemouth and Christchurch, ...

, Dorset Council and a few private individuals. Most of the site is managed by the Amphibian and Reptile Conservation Trust (ARC); The Council's Countryside Service manages the land owned by Dorset Council. The site was notified as an SSSI in 1983. The area of the site is , and comprises a significant amount of

heath A heath () is a shrubland habitat found mainly on free-draining infertile, acidic soils and is characterised by open, low-growing woody vegetation. Moorland is generally related to high-ground heaths with—especially in Great Britain—a coole ...

; the northern and western parts are primarily of the dry heath ''

Calluna vulgaris ''Calluna vulgaris'', common heather, ling, or simply heather, is the sole species in the genus ''Calluna'' in the flowering plant family Ericaceae. It is a low-growing evergreen shrub growing to tall, or rarely to and taller, and is found wide ...

'' and ''

Erica cinerea ''Erica cinerea'', the bell heather, is a species of flowering plant in the heath family Ericaceae, native to western and central Europe. Description It is a low, spreading shrub growing to tall, with fine needle-like leaves long arranged in ...

'', while the low-lying parts of the south-east are mostly the damp or humid heath ''

Erica tetralix ''Erica tetralix'', the cross-leaved heath, is a species of flowering plant in the family Ericaceae, native to western Europe. Description It is a perennial subshrub with glandular leaves in whorls of four (whence the name). Appearing in summe ...

'' and ''

Molinia caerulea ''Molinia caerulea'', known by the common name purple moor-grass, is a species of grass that is native to Europe, west Asia, and north Africa. It grows in locations from the lowlands up to in the Alps. Like most grasses, it grows best in acid s ...

''. Rare heathland species include the

sand lizard #REDIRECT Sand lizard {{redirect category shell, {{R from alternative capitalisation{{R from move ...

(''Lacerta agilis''),

smooth snake The smooth snake (''Coronella austriaca'')Street D (1979). ''The Reptiles of Northern and Central Europe''. London: B.T. Batsford Ltd. 268 pp. . is a species of non-venomous snake in the family Colubridae. The species is found in northern and cen ...

(''Coronella austriaca''), heath grasshopper (''Chorthippus vagansand'') and the

Dartford warbler The Dartford warbler (''Curruca undata'') is a typical warbler from the warmer parts of western Europe and northwestern Africa. It is a small warbler with a long thin tail and a thin pointed bill. The adult male has grey-brown upperparts and is d ...

(''Sylvia undata''). Parley Common has an abundance of spider fauna—at least 147 species—which includes the very rare ''

Ero aphana ''Ero aphana'' is a species of pirate spider in the family Pirate spider, Mimetidae. It is a hunting spider and feeds on other spiders. Distribution This spider has a palearctic distribution and is found in Western Europe, most commonly in Belgi ...

'', '' Bassaniodes robustus'' (syn. ''Xysticus robustus'')—otherwise found in only a few places in the

New Forest The New Forest is one of the largest remaining tracts of unenclosed pasture land, heathland and forest in Southern England, covering southwest Hampshire and southeast Wiltshire. It was proclaimed a royal forest by William the Conqueror, featu ...

—and '' Gnaphosa lugubris''. The site holds claim to a number of firsts: the smooth snake was first recorded in Britain in Parley Common in 1853; the

Mazarine blue ''Cyaniris semiargus'', the Mazarine blue, is a Palearctic butterfly in the family Lycaenidae. Subspecies Subspecies include: * ''Cyaniris semiargus semiargus'' (Europe, Caucasus, Siberia, Russian Far East) * ''Cyaniris semiargus altaiana'' (, ...

(''Cyaniris semiargus'')—now extinct in Britain—was first discovered here in the late nineteenth century; the moth ''

Pachythelia villosella ''Pachythelia villosella'' is a moth of the Psychidae family. It is found in Europe. The wingspan is 13–15 mm for males. Head, thorax, and abdomen pale brownish-ochreous. Forewings and hindwings thinly haired, dark brown or grey brown; v ...

'' and the ringed carpet moth (''

Cleora cinctaria ''Cleora cinctaria'', the ringed carpet, is a moth of the family Geometridae. The species was first described by Michael Denis and Ignaz Schiffermüller in 1775. It is found from Europe to southern Siberia, Turkey, the Caucasus, central Asia and ...

'') were also first discovered here. The site is one of many areas in the South East Dorset in which grazing by cattle has been reintroduced, as part of efforts to control the growth of scrub.

Arson Arson is the act of willfully and deliberately setting fire to or charring property. Although the act of arson typically involves buildings, the term can also refer to the intentional burning of other things, such as motor vehicles, watercr ...

and illegal vehicle use have caused damage to the site, although community involvement is thought to have lessened the number of incidents.

References

External links

Dorset Heathlands
list published by the

Joint Nature Conservation Committee The Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC) is the public body that advises the Government of the United Kingdom and devolved administrations on UK-wide and international nature conservation. Originally established under the Environmental Pro ...

(JNCC).
Dorset Nature Reserves
of the ARC.
Nature on the Map
by

Natural England Natural England is a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom sponsored by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. It is responsible for ensuring that England's natural environment, including its land, flora and fauna, ...

. * {{small, (631 KB) by

Poole Borough Council Poole Borough Council was the unitary authority responsible for local government in the Borough of Poole, Dorset, England. It was created on 1 April 1997 following a review by the Local Government Commission for England (1992), becoming administ ...

. Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Dorset Sites of Special Scientific Interest notified in 1983 Heathland Sites of Special Scientific Interest Heaths of Dorset

See also

References

External links