Limestone pavement is a unique and very vulnerable habitat. In the Your Dales Rocks Project Area, it covers 1052 hectares representing, approximately, 40 per cent of the total British area of 2500 hectares. As well as the protection afforded by SSSI designation, areas of limestone pavement can, under section 34 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, be further protected by Limestone Pavement Orders. In the Yorkshire Dales National Park, over 10,000 hectares are covered by 36 orders. The major areas form part of the Craven Limestone Complex, and the Ingleborough Limestone Complex Special Areas of Conservation (SAC).
Map: The distribution of Limestone Pavement Orders in the Project Area