Wicken Fen nature reserve, Cambs, is owned by the National Trust. The first land acquisition was in 1899. The core of Wicken Fen is 255 ha of SSSI/SAC and 170 ha is the high quality, ancient undrained sedge fen. The total site is approaching 800 hectares as arable deep drained farmland has been bought and restored. Wicken has a very long history of natural history recording, with the earliest data from pre-1880. Significant effort in recording was carried out in the 1920s, 1990s, and since the Wicken Fen Vision was launched in 1999. The Vision aims to create a landscape-scale nature reserve of over 50km2 within one large drainage area, and the land area of the reserve has increased 2.5 times in the last 25 years. The most species-rich taxon groups are the Diptera (2072 species), Coleoptera (1775) and Moths (1252).
Monday, January 8, 2024 - 17:49
Breakdown of species counts by category
315
7
38
131
699
139
443
1
98
3
29
342
20
131
43
29
13
453
876
1 775
2 072
35
1 252
163
24
3
4
229
34
97
Comments
New species
Literature research has added several Ichneumonidae and Braconidae, plus some aquatic fungi to the lists. Current new species include Jersey Tiger, Grass-leaved Vetchling and Eared Leafhopper.