Site of Special Scientific Interest | |
Location | West Sussex |
---|---|
Grid reference | TQ 212 301[1] |
Interest | Biological |
Area | 85.4 hectares (211 acres)[1] |
Notification | 1987[1] |
Location map | Magic Map |
St Leonard's Forest SSSI is an 85.4-hectare (211-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest east of Horsham in West Sussex.[1][2] The SSSI is in two separate areas, with the western part being in the 289-hectare (710-acre) Forestry Commission managed St Leonard's Forest.[3]
Much of the forest is deciduous woodland, which is dominated by pedunculate oak, silver birch, common birch and beech. The humid microclimate of a narrow valley has allowed mosses and liverworts to survive which indicate continuous woodland cover for the past 5,000 years. Butterflies include the rare purple emperor.[4]
There is public access to the western part of the site.