Dixton Wood (grid reference SO979313) is a 13.14-hectare (32.5-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Gloucestershire, notified in 2000.[1][2] Dixton Wood is recognised as a Special Area of Conservation (SAC) under the EU Habitats Directive.[3][4]
Location
The wood lies in the Cotswold Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty near Winchcombe and north of Cheltenham. It is a steep east facing woodland, which is surrounded by permanent grassland. It is in the foothills of the scarp and may be considered as a similar landscape feature as that of the nearby Bredon Hill which is a national nature reserve (NNR).[1]
Protected Species interest
The site is notified for its population of Violet Click Beetle (Limoniscus violaceus), and for a deadwood (saproxylic) beetle assemblage. The Violet Click Beetle is protected under Schedule 5 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act, 1981 (as amended) and listed on Annex IIa of the EC Directive 92/43/EEC on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild
fauna and flora. Its presence indicates the great importance of the wood, and indicates habitat of a high quality for this special invertebrate group (deadwood beetle fauna).[1]
The beetle is currently only known elsewhere in Britain on Bredon Hill NNR and in Windsor Forest. There are also some fifteen sites in central Europe.[1]
Woodland structure
There is a well-developed high forest structure and the management of the wood has yielded a number of large, low ash pollards and a range of deadwood. The moist clay soils, the eastern aspect and the ground and scrub maintain a humid microclimate. This is likely to enhance the decay process, which has resulted in a continuity of forest conditions.[1]
Reports in by Natural England in November 2010 are detailed in the ageing of the trees, and planting needs to maintain the favourability of the site.[5]
