Biodiversity in Wiltshire

Wiltshire (including Swindon Borough) is the largest inland county in southern England. 

"Chalk and Cheese" has often been used to describe the two geological and landscape forms into which much of the county falls.
CHALK - denotes the areas of rolling downland - the Marlborough Downs and Salisbury Plain and Cranborne Chase. Together they constitute more than half of Wiltshire's land mass and dominate the southern, eastern and central parts of the county. Wiltshire has 50% of the total UK calcareous grassland resource, and  thus is of international importance for chalk grassland.
CHEESE - the flatter pasture lands of north-west Wiltshire which consist of beds of Oxford and Kellaway clays separated by a ridge of limestone.

Thre river systems drain the majority of the county:
1. The Salisbury Avon and its tributaries
2. The Bristol Avon - draining West Wiltshire
3. The River Kennet - draining the north east of the county

Under the UK Biodiversity Action Plan, 47 habitats have been designated as UK priorities, and of these 47 Wiltshire has examples of 17 (many of these not occurring in the county are either upland or coastal and marine habitats).

The richness of habitats in Wilthsire is reflected in the diversity of species which occur here, and 82 of the UK Biodiversity Action Plan priority species have been identified as being present in the county.

To find out more about the different habitats in Wiltshire, go to the Wiltshire BAP pages of this website.