Sata Pond is a spring-fed, apparently ancient pond, situated at an elevation of 78m AOD. It is located in a small valley which would probably always have supported fen habitat, although the track along the western edge of the pond forms a dam preventing water from draining towards Ganthorpe Lane.
The western end of the pond contains open water with broad-leaved pondweed (Potamogeton natans) and branched bur-reed (Sparganium erectum). The rest of the pond has been colonised by an extensive carpet of bogbean (Menyanthes trifoliata) and the mosses Plagiomnium and Calliergon, along with bottle sedge (Carex rostrata), common sedge (C. nigra), greater tussock sedge (C. paniculata), soft rush (Juncus effusus) and water horsetail (Equisetum fluviatile). Other species associated with this mossy fen include lady's smock (Cardamine pratensis), marsh bedstraw (Galium palustre), marsh marigold (Caltha palustris), marsh pennywort (Hydrocotyle vulgaris) and marsh speedwell (Veronica scutellata).
Areas of fen meadow fringing Sata Pond are characterised by mixtures of sharp-flowered rush (Juncus acutiflorus) and meadowsweet (Filipendula ulmaria) with associated species including marsh thistle (Cirsium palustre), greater birdsfoot trefoil (Lotus pedunculatus), meadow vetchling (Lathyrus pratensis), common sorrel (Rumex acetosa), meadow buttercup (Ranunculus achs), common spotted orchid (Dactylorhiza fuchsii), brown sedge (Carex disticha) and creeping bent (Agrostis stolonifera). Fleabane (Pulicaria dysenterica) and lesser spearwort (Ranunculus flammula) occur locally close to the edge of the pond.
Soil reaction in the fen areas around Sata Pond ranges from pH 5.6 to pH 6.2 (mean = pH 5.9).