- Goss and Tregoss Moors
- Breney Common
- Carbis Moor
- Redmoor
- Tregonetha & Belowda Downs
- Retire Common
- Criggan Moor
- Quoit Farm
- Chark Moor
Goss and Tregoss Moors (701.9 hectares)
Once a flood plain mine, the large expanses of Goss and Tregoss moors were subject to numerous disturbances, from peat extraction, through tin streaming, and in more recent times gravel extraction. This has resulted in a varied and dynamic patchwork of wet and comparatively dry habitats including wet and dry heath, fen, acid grassland, bog, transition mire, swamp, open water and wet willow woodland.
Breney Common (113 hectares)
Breney Common lies in a shallow basin of alluvial deposits, with peaty soil sitting on top of granite. Former tin streaming has resulting in hummocks and hollows supporting a richly diverse range of vegetation communities.
Carbis Moor (3 hectares)
The small site at Carbis Moor occupies some low-lying water logged ground that, given the presence of field boundaries and hedge banks, was once grazed. There is some evidence of tin streaming. Though small, the site has an important colony of marsh fritillary, and is in an important location between the larger sites of Goss Moor and Criggan Moor.
Redmoor (89.1 hectares)
Marsh fritillaries were recorded at Redmoor in 2001, and the site has a rich dragonfly fauna. There are extensive areas of acidic marshy grassland, and evidence of historic tin streaming activity.
Tregonetha and Belowda Downs (105.15 hectares)
Tregonetha and Belowda Downs form 2 extensive areas of heathland and wetland mosaic. Belowda Downs lies on the watershed between the Rivers Fal, Camel and Menalhyl catchments and is dominated by dry heath communities. Tregonetha Downs are located at the headwaters of the River Menalhyl and comprise extensive area of heathland, purple moor-grass pasture, mire communities and wet woodland. Potential marsh fritillary breeding habitat is found on parts of Tregonetha Downs. Both sites have a long history of underground and surface mining.
Retire Common (61.8 hectares)
There are historic records for marsh fritillaries at Retire Common, which is a fairly inaccessible site. Wet and dry heath, as well as fen meadow, bog and wet woodland, make up the vegetation types. There is a particularly rich epiphytic bryophyte flora.
Criggan Moor (150 hectares)
Criggan Moor forms a large mosaic of wetland and heathland communities. The site lies at the headwaters of the River Par and has a long history of surface tin mining and china clay extraction. The historic mining has resulted in an extensive patchwork of heathland, woodland, purple moor-grass and mire communities. The site supports a number of marsh fritillary colonies.
Quoit Farm (8.3 hectares)
Quoit Farm is divided up by a well defined pattern of hedgebanks dividing the sites in four fields. Three of the fields are characterised by extensive areas of mire and wet heath vegetation, dominated by purple moor-grass. The fourth field is semi-improved neutral grassland. A small conifer plantation is also present. The site supports potential breeding habitat for marsh fritillaries though there are no records for the species from this site.
Chark Moor (12 hectares)
Chark Moor lies in close proximity to Red Moor. Much of the site is dominated by woodland communities and only about 3ha remains open. These open areas are characterised by wet heath and purple moor-grass communities. Small by high quality areas of marsh fritillary breeding habitat is present though there are no current or historic records for the species on the site.
