Pamber Forest and Silchester Common is a Site of Special Scientific Interest

Site of Special Scientific Interest

A Site of Special Scientific Interest is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom. SSSIs are the basic building block of site-based nature conservation legislation and most other legal nature/geological conservation designations in Great Britain are based upon...

 in Hampshire

Hampshire

Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...

, UK. Covering 478 acre, the forest is known for its abundance of butterflies, of which 40 species have been identified – including the Purple Emperor, the White Admiral

White Admiral

-Butterflies:These butterfly species are commonly called as White Admirals:*In America it refers to two of the three subspecies of Limenitis arthemis*In Europe and Asia it refers to the White Admiral: Limenitis camilla...

, the Silver-washed Fritillary

Silver-washed Fritillary

Argynnis paphia is a common and variable butterfly found over much of the Palaearctic ecozone – Algeria, Europe, temperate Asia and Japan.-Subspecies:*A. p. butleri Krulikovsky, 1909 Northern Europe, Central Europe...

 and the Purple Hairstreak

Purple Hairstreak

The Purple Hairstreak Neozephyrus quercus is a butterfly in the family Lycaenidae distributed throughout much of Europe. North Africa, Asia Minor, Caucasus and Transcaucasia....

.

Pamber Forest (an oak

Oak

An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus Quercus , of which about 600 species exist. "Oak" may also appear in the names of species in related genera, notably Lithocarpus...

 wood) covers 458 acre (0.715625632736978 sq mi) of the SSSI, and is managed as a Local Nature Reserve

Local Nature Reserve

Local nature reserve or LNR is a designation for nature reserves in the United Kingdom. The designation has its origin in the recommendations of the Wild Life Conservation Special Committee which established the framework for nature conservation in the United Kingdom and suggested a national suite...

. Silchester Common, along with Tadley Common (both heathland commons), was designated a Countryside Heritage Site in 1987. The site is subject to the European Union

European Union

The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...

's 1979 Birds Directive

Birds Directive

The Birds Directive is a European Union directive adopted in 2009. It replaces Council Directive 79/409/EEC of 2 April 1979 on the conservation of wild birds which was modified several times and had become very unclear...

.