Moorlinch SSSI
Moorlinch is a 226.0 hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest at Moorlinch in Somerset, notified in 1985.
Moorlinch is part of the extensive grazing marsh grasslands and ditch systems of the Somerset Levels and Moors. Lying in the Parrett Basin at the foot of the Polden Hills, the area drains by gravity into the King’s Sedgemoor Drain.
The water table is high for most of the year with frequent winter flooding from high ground and surface water remaining on many fields throughout the winter and early spring. Moorlinch contains a good proportion of botanically rich ditch systems. Regularly
maintained field ditches are often species-rich and diverse. Notable species include Lesser Water-plantain, Tubular Water-dropwort and Hairlike Pondweed. The channels and banksides support a rich fauna; rare species include the water beetle and the soldier fly. Large populations of dragonflies and damselflies occur, including the Hairy Dragonfly and the Variable Damselfly.
