CITATION CRATHIE WOOD SITE OF SPECIAL SCIENTIFIC INTEREST Aberdeenshire Site code: 452

NATIONAL GRID REFERENCE : NO270950

OS 1: 50 000 SHEET NO : Landranger Series 44 1: 25 000 SHEET NO : Explorer Series 387

AREA : 193.3 hectares

NOTIFIED NATURAL FEATURES

Biological : Woodland : Native pinewood : Upland woodland : Juniper scrub : Upland : Rocky slopes : Invertebrates : Invertebrate assemblage

DESCRIPTION

Crathie Wood is situated on the slopes of Creag a Chlamhain by the village of Crathie, about 8 km west of Ballater. The site largely comprises pine-birch woodland, along with birch woodland, juniper scrub and dwarf-shrub heath.

Woodland

The wood is the finest example of upland birch-pine woodland in Deeside and one of the finest in Scotland. It has an unusual variety of canopy species, locally including aspen tremula, with mixed age classes and a shrub layer rich in juniper Juniperus communis. Its unusually diverse field layer is locally affected by lime-rich drainage from the calcareous rocks above, with species such as dog’s mercury Mercuralis perennis and wood false-brome Brachypodium sylvaticum. The bird’s- nest orchid Neottia nidus-avis has also been recorded.

Rocky slopes

The calcareous rocks support a number of rare species of plant usually found at higher altitudes including alpine cinquefoil Potentilla crantzii and the mosses Schistidium atrofuscum and Stegonia latifolia. Other lime-loving plants such as alpine bistort Persicaria vivipara and rock-rose Helianthemum nummularium also occur.

Invertebrate assemblage

The invertebrate fauna includes a number of scarce species such as the bug Zygimus nigriceps, the ciniflonella, the northern brown argus butterfly Aricia artaxerxes and the mountain whorl snail Vertigo alpestris.

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NOTIFICATION HISTORY

First notified under the 1949 Act: 1971. Re-notified under the 1981 Act: 7 June 1984. Notification reviewed under the 2004 Act: 21 June 2011.

REMARKS

Measured area corrected from (194.9 ha).

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