Levels (including Grazing Marsh)

Levels is a name given to reclaimed coastal grasslands, used for grazing livestock, which would otherwise be flooded by seawater, particularly on high tides. Typically they have a network of drainage channels, called reens, which are of great interest in themselves. In West Glamorgan, Margam Moors is an area of reclaimed grassland, formely saltmarsh, which falls into this category. It supports a long list of plant species and there is a complex mosaic of communities that range from wet, reed-dominated and sedge-dominated areas often with large swards of Greater Pond-sedge (Carex riparia), to relatively dry grassland that is grazed by cattle and sheep. In past decades, both early Purple-orchid (Orchis mascula) and Fragrant Orchid (Gymnadenia conopsea) were recorded there but they have not been seen in more recent times; however, Southern Marsh-orchid (Dactylorhiza praetermissa) is common. Wetter parts have abundant Meadowsweet (Filipendula ulmaria), Marsh Marigold (Caltha palustris), Ragged Robin (Silene flos-cuculi), Yellow Loosestrife (Lysimachia vulgaris) and Purple Loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria) and large areas are dominated by rushes (e.g. Juncus effusus). Some of the key species on the site include Lesser Pond-sedge (Carex acutiformis), Blunt-flowered Rush (Juncus subnodulosus) and Whorl-grass (Catabrosa aquatica).

The large area of floodplain grazing marsh that straddles the River Neath between Neath and Aberdulais is a unique habitat in West Glamorgan. This wet grassland habitat, occasionally flooded by high tidal waters, is dominated in places by tall reeds such as Common Reed (Phragmites communis) and Reed Sweet-grass (Glyceria maxima) and might be described more accurately as floodplain mire in those parts. Willow Feather-moss (Amblystegium varium), Tufted forget-me-not (Myosotis laxa), Celery-leaved Buttercup (Ranunculus sceleratus), Slender Spike-rush (Eleocharis uniglumis) and Marsh Foxtail (Alopecurus geniculatus) are common here but there is also a brackish marsh element with species such as Sea Club-rush (Bolboschoenus maritimus), Sea Arrowgrass (Triglochin maritima) and Parsley Water-dropwort (Oenanthe lachenalii). The site is grazed by a small herd of cattle and some sections are cut for hay occasionally.