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West Oxfordshire Parishes

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Cherwell

South Oxfordshire

Vale of White Horse

West Oxfordshire

Districts - Landscape Types

Brize Norton

This map highlights the landscape types within the parish you selected, and its associated local character areas. You can click on any area of the map for a description of its landscape character and biodiversity. Please note that local character areas can cover large areas of the countryside, and may include several parishes, so the description may not be specific to this parish. If there are any wildlife habitats within the parish their descriptions can be found by scrolling to the bottom of this page.

Brize Norton.jpg Image Map

The following wildlife habitats fall within this parish. They are listed according to their associated landscape type or local character area.

If you want more information about any of the sites of special scientific interest (SSSIs) listed below, take a look at English Nature's Nature on the Map website. It may also be possible to find out a bit more about the unnamed wildlife habitats in the parish by contacting the Thames Valley Environmental Records Centre (owls@oxfordshire.gov.uk) and quoting the site code next to the habitat description.

The majority of these wildlife habitats are on private land and access to them is not possible without permission of the landowner, unless there is a statutory right of way. However, many wildlife habitats in the county are open to the public. More information on these can be obtained from the Oxfordshire Nature Conservation Forum.

Wildlife Habitats

Lowland Village Farmlands

Site Code: 30D08

Area: 3.2 ha

This site is a small area of woodland. Although it has not been classified as ancient it has features associated with such woodland. There is a historic woodland bank and ditch near the northern edge and the composition of the wood with native trees and shrubs is typical of old woodland. This type of woodland is a national priority for nature conservation.

The canopy is oak and ash with some aspen. Some of the ash is very old multi-stemmed coppice*. The shrub layer has much hazel coppice. The ground flora has an abundance of bluebells and dog’s mercury as well as patches of the rare Solomon’s-seal. Other wildflowers that can be seen include wood anemone, primrose, pignut and, in the damper areas, ragged robin and bugle.

*Coppicing involves cutting small trees and shrubs down to the ground on a regular basis producing a harvest of thin branches. This traditional method of management is particularly important to maintaining the rich variety of species in woodlands