Possil Marsh is a nature reserve and Site of Special Scientific Interest, of both flora and fauna, within the city ofGlasgow, Scotland. The reserve was once part of an extensive system of lochs and marshes which extended throughout much of lowland West Central Scotland. However, centuries of drainage and reclamation have resulted in the elimination of much of this system. Due to its geographic position, the marsh is particularly vulnerable from industrial and residential development. The reserve contains a monument for the High Possil meteorite, which fell there in 1804.
Possil Marsh has been under the custodianship of the Scottish Wildlife Trust since 1982, when it was acquired as a gift. Prior to this it had been managed by the Scottish Society for the Protection of Wild Birds, on behalf of the Scottish Wild Birds Sanctuaries Trust, since 1950. This management, and subsequent protection, has resulted in little alteration within the site in the past 50 years. Due to its importance, the marsh was first notified as a Site of Special Scientific Interest in 1954. Subsequently, it was then designated a bird sanctuary under Wild Bird Statutory Instrument 1956 No 333. Following the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, the bird sanctuary was redesignated under Wild Birds Amendment Order 1983. At present the reserve has multiple occupation – 4 owners, 2 occupiers, 1 owner/occupier. It also has British Trust for Ornithology status and district importance for wintering wildfowl, and its diversity of wintering birds, supporting up to 150 bird species, with 22 species recorded breeding. In addition to this it also contains a diverse number of invertebratefauna, including 2 nationally scarce species and a number of locally scarce species, as well as many important plant species.
Important habitats
The reserve consists of a shallow mesotrophicloch, covering roughly 15% of the total site, with extensive fen and swamp 45-50%, damp grassland 15%, dry meadow 10%, and birch and willow scrubland 15%. Within the site there are a number of vegetation communities including Typha latifolia beds, Potentilla palustris meadows and Carex rostrata swamps. These fen/swamp habitat communities are the largest remaining areas of their type within the district,and also include limited areas of Carex diandra fen. Other notable areas of interest include the dry grassland/heath habitat and the central birch island which contains an important number of sphagnum species.
Plants that are of local and/or national importance include: Lysimachia thyrsiflora, Sphagnum riparium, Sphagnum magellanicum, C.diandra, and Lemna triscula. Many of the species which are firmly established within the reserve have either been deliberately introduced, such as Berula erecta, Chamerion angustifolium, and Ranunculus bulbosus, or have been accidentally introduced, such as L. thyrsiflora, Mimulus luteus, Urtricularia minor, and Elodea canadensis, from the adjacent canal. Other species, such as Ranunculus scleratus, entered the marsh due to material being brought in to level up the ground for a cottage that once stood within the reserve.
