|Biosphere Reserve Information|
NORTH NORFOLK COAST
Situated north of Norwich at the Norfolk coast, this biosphere reserve includes a wide range of habitats, from intertidal sands and muds, through shingle ridges, to saltwater and freshwater marshes. The saltmarshes are of great value for breeding and wintering wildfowl and includes a large breeding colony of common seals. Other habitats comprise mires, river valleys, heathlands, chalk and cliff-top grasslands, woodlands and farmland.
Many tourists frequent the area, notably for beach activities and birdwatching. There arises some pressure on specific sites due to these activities. Other activities within the biosphere reserve are the cultivation of mainly cereals and sugar beet, grazing and harvesting mussels, cockles, shrimps, crabs, and bait as well as some commercial shore-netting. Educational visits of school children and students take place and there are a number of interpretive and field centers in the area. Research covers a full range of biological sciences (and especially ornithology), and also relates to the geomorphology of coastal processes.
Proposals made in the periodic review for extending this reserve to meet the Seville criteria are being considered.
|Major ecosystem type||Coastal marshes and dune systems (salt and freshwater)|
|Major habitats & land cover types||Marshes; sand dunes etc.|
|Location||52°56' to 52°57'N; 00°43' to 01°00'E|
|Transition area(s) when given|
|Altitude (metres above sea level)||0 to +20|
Ecology of marshes and dune systems
Research on coastal processes etc.
|Biodiversity||Coastal/marine, dune systems, ecology, wetlands.|
Site Manager, English Nature Norfolk
Hill Farm Offices, Main Road - Holkham
NR23 1AB Wells-Next-The-Sea - Norfolk
|Telephone||(44.1328) 71 18 66|
|Fax||(44.1328) 71 18 93|
Administrative Contact, Land Management & Advisory Services
Natural England, Northminster House
PE1 1UA Peterborough
|Last updated: 3/13/2007|