What is ‘special’ about the wildlife at Broad Oak  SSSI?
This site has 3 special features:
Marshy grassland
Unimproved neutral grassland
Marsh fritillary butterfly
As well as the features listed above, Broad Oak SSSI  has other
habitats, which are important to the wildlife interest of this site. These include a sedge-
rich flush, scrub and trees. Throughout the site there is an abundance of whorled
caraway. In Britain, this plant is found only in the milder and wetter west, and in
Carmarthenshire it is associated with the wet meadows overlying the South Wales
coalfield. The diversity of habitats similarly supports a wide range of other species and
these too are key components of the special interest of the site. Management of this site should aim to look after these habitats as well as the listed
features of interest.

What should Broad Oak SSSI to look like?
The site is part of a wider area used by a metapopulation (a group of local populations
connected by migrating individuals) of the marsh fritillary butterfly. The site will
contribute towards a sustainable metapopulation of the marsh fritillary in the Capel
Hendre area, within which Caeau Ffos Fach SSSI is central. Broad Oak SSSI

is part of the Mynydd Mawr Special Areas of Conservation.
The marshy grassland will occupy at least 95% of the site. At least 60% of it will be
dominated by purple moor grass, with short sedges, sheeps fescue, and tormentil common
throughout. Grasses such as sweet vernal grass and heath grass will be more prominent
in the drier areas but a rarer meadow thistle community, which occurs in the wetter
zones, must dominate over 10-20% of the site. Rushes, with plenty of greater bird’s-foot-
trefoil, will dominate the remainder of the marshy grassland. Whorled caraway should
be present thoughout the grassland, and devil’s-bit scabious, the preferred food plant for
the caterpillars of the marsh fritillary butterfly, should also be common throughout the
site. The sward should be variable in height, mainly about 8-25 cms, the ideal structure
for the marsh fritillary butterfly. Species indicative of agricultural modification, such as
rye grass, should remain rare in the grassland.
The unimproved neutral grassland should occupy ca. 5% of the site. This grassland will
be characterised by a range of species, including common bent, red fescue, common
knapweed, common bird’s-foot-trefoil and heath grass.
What management is needed on Broad Oak SSSI and why?

Although this site is an excellent place for wildlife it will only remain so if the necessary
management continues.
What does this mean in practice?
There are a number of different factors that could damage the special features at this site
if they are not properly managed. These are the ones we regard as most important:
Marshy grassland, unimproved neutral grassland and marsh fritillary butterfly
Grazing
Both over and undergrazing would lead to unwanted changes in the vegetation structure
and species composition of the sward.
The site should be managed to ensure that the grasslands retain their rich and varied
range of plants in the long term. Light grazing with cattle/horses between April and
September is ideal during this period. Ideally this should result in a patchwork of long
and short vegetation (mainly between 8 and 30 cms). Hand cutting should only be
considered if grazing does not produce the desired sward height, and then only small
areas should be cut at any one time, and burning should be avoided, as it would damage
the butterfly populations. Over-grazing should be avoided as this leads to poaching,
creating areas of bare ground.
Fertilisers
Neither organic nor inorganic fertilisers should be applied to the site because of the
resultant change in species composition and community type. Supplements such as sea-
weed extract are also considered to be detrimental to the site. The basic chemical nature
of the sea-weed extract would neutralise the soil thus affecting the slightly acidic
component of the neutral grassland community and change it irreversibly. Other
activities that could lead to enrichment problems, such as supplementary stock feeding or
storage of cut vegetation, should not take place on the site.
Drainage
The marshy grassland is dependent on the maintenance of a natural or traditional
drainage pattern. No new drainage systems should be put in place, and any maintenance
of the existing drainage system should be done carefully so as not to alter the current layout of any drainage and or ditches.
Scrub
The spread of scrub may be indicative of insufficient grazing and a loss in the extent and
composition of marshy grassland.
Scrub should not encroach more than 3m from the field boundary onto the site. Some
form of scrub-control management may be needed initially but the correct level of
grazing should control scrub in the longer term.