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Potteries and Churnet Valley
Located within northern Staffordshire, this is a natural area of strong contrasts: the sprawling conurbation of the Potteries sandwiched between the wild landscape of the uplands around Biddulph to the north, the sheltered, wooded valleys and pastures of the Churnet Valley to the south-east, and the rural landscape of the Staffordshire/Cheshire plain to the south and west. Despite the considerable impact of industry, substantial areas of semi-natural habitat remain; principally in the steep sided valleys of the River Churnet and its tributaries. This natural area holds some of the richest sites for wildlife in Staffordshire.
Needwood and South Derbyshire Claylands
This rolling plateau is located half within Staffordshire and half in Derbyshire. The area within Staffordshire contains the remnants of the Needwood Forest. This was once chase or woodland and is now characterised by a managed, rectilinear landscape of fields, straight roads and woodlands. Parklands and wood-pasture make a locally significant contribution to the landscape and have veteran trees of considerable ecological value to fungi and invertebrates.
Midlands Plateau
The Midlands Plateau is a distinctive incised plateau of predominantly sedimentary rock 100m-300m above sea level marking the division in central England between southern lowland and northern upland, and demonstrating west-east transitions. The plateau is evident in the southern half of the county extending as far north as Stafford. It contains significant tracts of nationally important lowland heathland notably within the county at Cannock Chase, Highgate Common and Kinver Edge.
Mosses and Meres
The Mosses and Meres natural area covers most of Cheshire, the northern half of Shropshire and part of Staffordshire. The area within Staffordshire consists of a gently rolling plain dominated by intensive dairy farming, beef and arable production. At the end of the last ice age, glacial meltwater trapped by the surrounding hills and moraines caused the creation of large lakes (Meres) and peatlands (Mosses), many of which still survive today and include the internationally important Aqualate Mere.
Trent Valley and Rises
Comprising the south-eastern border area of Staffordshire, this natural area produces fertile soil ideal for agriculture. Despite a large area being under intensive agriculture there are a number of important habitats remaining. These include neutral grassland, wet meadows, wet woodland, reservoirs, rivers and streams. There is also great scope to improve the quality of the land for wildlife in a strategic manner, for example restoring gravel pits and other mineral workings along the Trent catchment.
South West Peak and White Peak
Only a small area of both the South West Peak Natural Area and White Peak Natural Area can be found within the Staffordshire BAP boundary. This is located along the political boundary between Staffordshire County Council and the Peak Park Planning Authority, which has prepared its own BAP.
The South West Peak is characterised by acidic soils dominated by moorland vegetation, whereas the White Peak consists of a gently rolling plateau dominated by meadows and pastureland enclosed by dry stone walls.
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