Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
The southern cliffs of Gower continue the Carboniferous Limestone and its delights.
William Condry,
The Natural History of Wales
C
LIFFS ARE ONE
of the most natural habitats on earth and contribute more to the variety of wildlife
in an area than their surface coverage would indicate. Despite some areas being heavily quarried in the
past, the south Gower coast is one of the classic British botanical localities, having many species that are
nationally rare - and these are sometimes abundant. As with other areas of high plant diversity this rich-
ness results from a combination of geology, climate and history. Limestone cliffs typically support large
numbersofscarce plants and,asdescribed earlier,theGowerclimate ischaracterised bymildwinters, cool
summers and a prolonged growing season. It is also one of the strengths of the southern coast that so much
ofitconsistsofabroadbeltofsemi-natural vegetation, unlikeagreatdealofBritain wherecoastal habitats
have been ploughed and reseeded right up to the cliff edge. The south-facing cliffs, which at their highest
are some 70 metres above sea level, rather than being vertical for the whole of their length, contain many
areas that slope gently from the cliff top to the sea (Fig. 39). The slope is often quite gradual, with the cliff
tops being cut by the slades and lying some way inland, but there are some remarkable features along the
coastline such as the Knave, a conical rock that dominates the inlet to the west of Paviland (Fig. 40).
At the base of the main cliffs, which are for the most relict features, lie the present-day undercliffs. As
described in Chapter 3, many of these are made of soft rock, formed by wave action on concreted material
that has accumulated from the weathering Carboniferous Limestone above and blown sand from the sea.
These areas of soft rock are rich in invertebrates, and their insect communities, like the botany, are of na-
tional importance.
