Ancient Woodlands and Biodiversity Offsetting: what do BSBI members think?

Sanicle Sanicula europaea
Image: I. Denholm

Lots of coverage in the media recently about ancient woodlands, but here at BSBI we like to take an objective look at the evidence.

So what is it about ancient woodlands in particular that has caused both the Woodland Trust and 38 degrees to launch petitions to protect them?

Well, it’s not just about the trees - Miles King makes that point very well here. 

Any botanist who has carried out Local Wildlife Site surveys for a Wildlife Trust or Local Authority will have entered a wood with a checklist of Ancient Woodland Indicator plants. 

Toothwort Lathraea squamaria
Image: I. Denholm

These lists were the brainchild of George Peterken and Francis Rose, and tell you which plants to look out for in order to find out if the site meets the criteria to be designated as a Local Wildlife Site. 

Ancient Woodland Indicator lists vary according to region, but are likely to include such plants as Toothwort Lathraea squamaria, Herb-Paris Paris quadrifolia and Sanicle Sanicula europaea. 

Grime et al. (1988) point out that Sanicle “is long-lived, with a half-life of between 59 and 360 years (Inghe & Tamm, 1985). Thus, [it] may live for as long as the trees above it”. 

Image: I. Denholm

This certainly doesn’t mean that all ancient woodlands are teeming with interesting wildflowers, or that all secondary woodland is species-poor – far from it! 

But regarding Bluebells, Grime et al. point out that “In some lowland areas... the species is largely restricted to ancient woodland (Rackham, 1980) and may therefore be declining”. 

If you’d like to know more about ancient woodlands, the works of Prof Oliver Rackham - a BSBI member since 1980 - should be your first port of call. 

In The History of the Countryside (1986), he says “Our historic woods are not mere isolated relics of antiquity, but belong to an unbroken tradition extending through the Middle Ages back to the beginnings of civilization and beyond.”    

Herb-Paris Paris quadrifolia
Image: K. Walker

BSBI President Ian Denholm said “these proposals from the Government conflict with their stated commitment to act on the findings of the recent ‘State of Nature’ report, which documented alarming declines in species (including flowering plants, mammals, birds and insects) that are habitat specialists, dependent on the retention and correct management of long-established tracts of woodland.  I would encourage BSBI members to look at these campaigns and consider adding their support.”

The 38 degrees petition calls on Owen Patterson to “Please stop the proposal under ‘Biodiversity Offsetting’ to allow the destruction of our Ancient Woodlands for building”. 

The Woodland Trust petition is addressed to the Prime Minister, copying in Forestry Minister Dan Rogerson. It begins “I want to see better protection for ancient woodland” and goes on to suggest some options for how to achieve this. It closes by calling for “an open, constructive discussion on these options”.

References:
Grime, J.P., Hodgson, J.G. & Hunt, R. 1988. Comparative Plant Ecology: a functional approach to common British species. London: Unwin Hyman
Rackham, O.1986. The history of the countryside. London: J.M. Dent 

BSBI Irish Members' Conference. 

Glasshouse at the Botanic Gardens, Dublin
Image: M. Long

Maria Long, the BSBI's Irish Officer, is just sending out the first details of the BSBI Members' Conference, to be held at the National Botanic Gardens, Dublin from 28th-30th March. 

You can see the flyer here or follow the link on the BSBI - Irish Section's Facebook page. More details to follow. 
 

Using social media to promote botany. 

I was going to write a Blogpost about this, but Jonathan Mitchley got there first and has saved me a job - thanks, Dr M! But here is a short video of botanist Anne Osterreider explaining how to get students so keen to work on their biology projects that they forsake watching sport on the telly! 

New Year's Plant Hunt: the results. 

We asked botanists to spend up to three hours listing any wild flowers and garden escapes in flower over New Year, but not species planted in gardens. Around 70 BSBI members responded to the call, and members of the public also contributed records via Facebook or on Twitter at BSBIPlantHunt.  We received 48 lists of plants in flower from 32 counties across Britain and Ireland: from Cornwall to Orkney and from Suffolk to Anglesey and Wexford in Ireland. The records covered a wide range of plants and most botanists were surprised at how many species they found in flower. 

Delairea odorata German-ivy flowering in Cornwall
Image: Elise O'Donnell

Plant Hunt Co-ordinator Tim Rich has now finished collating all our records, so here are our results:

·         221 species in flower, of which:

·         164 species are native to Britain and Ireland (about 10% of our native wild flowers), and

·         57 species are non-native or escaped from gardens.

The most commonly recorded species were Groundsel (40 out of 48 records = 83%), Daisy (81%) and Dandelion (69%) which are well known to flower during the winter. Other species recorded in over half of the lists were Smooth Sowthistle, Annual Meadow Grass, Chickweed, Shepherd’s Purse, Dwarf Spurge, Common Field-speedwell and Red Deadnettle. Gorse, well known to flower all year, was recorded in 44% of the lists.  In contrast, another 104 species were only recorded once; these are the more unusual occurrences of plants flowering out of season. 

Erodium cicutarium Musk Stork's-bill in Lincs.
Image: Sarah Lambert

The most species found flowering during any one survey were jointly in Cardiff and Leicester (66 in flower). 15 lists had more than 30 species recorded flowering whilst 14 had fewer than 10 species. 

In general, more species were recorded in the south compared to the north, and more species were recorded in towns and cities, where there are more weeds and the temperatures are slightly warmer.  The least number flowering (2 species) were recorded in the Outer Hebrides and Central Wales.  Amongst the interesting records were a first record of Round-leaved Crane’s-bill in Leicester, and a second record of Musk Stork’s-bill in Lincolnshire. 

What do taxonomists do? 

Bust of Linnaeus presiding over Herbarium, Univ. Reading
Image: C. Metherell

Thanks to BSBI member and Blogger extraordinaire Jonathan Mitchley for spotting this excellent video by Dr Sandy Knapp of the Natural History Museum. Called 'Understanding Plant Diversity', Dr Knapp talks for almost an hour about taxonomy, phylogenetics, plant ID and why herbaria are so important, illustrating her talk with slides - some show herbarium specimens collected by Linnaeus and Joseph Banks.

She tells us about her work on the Potato Family Solanaceae and talks about discovering and describing new species. She tackles questions like - what is a species? Her working definition is: "a hypothesis about the distribution of variation in nature". Finally, she answers the question - why are we bothering with all this? 

Click here to watch the video and please let me know if you've spotted any other good videos about botany - leave a comment below or email me, louise.marsh@bsbi.org 

Field Meetings 2014. 

BSBI field meeting 2012 at Rutland Water VC55
Image: M. Crittenden

Diaries out: this year's Field Meetings Programme has just been published - click here to see what is on offer. 

We have flagged up meetings aimed at different interests and skill levels, so look out for the relevant symbols. Meetings marked G (general) or T (training) are particularly suitable for beginners - and a few are designed to offer an introduction to field ID for absolute beginners.

Looking for diagnostic characters
Image: M. Crittenden

As always, our meetings are aimed primarily at members, and are probably the main reason that people join the BSBI, but non-members are also welcome to attend if there is space once our members have booked.

If you are a non-member, please let the meeting organiser know and you will be put on the waiting list and will be invited to attend if there is space.

Hope to see you at a field meeting this year - and please send photos for the Blog so I don't have to keep recycling the same ones! 

Anniversaries and hopes for the future. 

On 2nd January 1944, a thirteen-year old school-leaver called Peter Sell started work at the Herbarium at the University of Cambridge and embarked upon a lifetime in botany that gave us publications like "Sell & Murrell". 

Herbarium volunteers, Univ. Leicester
Image: L. Marsh

Sadly, Peter died in October 2013 before he could complete a full seven decades at the Herbarium. So, as well as raising a glass to Peter's memory today, how about we try to "complete" those days for him? 

Peter Sell is, of course, irreplaceable, but even relatively inexperienced botanists can make a virtual contribution to herbarium curation with Herbaria@Home. This is a good way to get started, and you can also browse collectors, check what they saw in your area - some records go back over centuries - and find out why herbaria are so important to botanists. 

Chris Metherell in the Herbarium, Univ. Reading
Image: A. Culham (?)

Next step would be to give up one day this month to help out in your nearest herbarium, mounting specimens, printing labels or typing in data. We could soon make a difference to the backlog of herbarium specimens! 

If herbaria really don't appeal, there are lots of other ways to get involved with botany this year. Recording what's in flower for the New Year's Plant Hunt would be a great way to get started - and to raise a metaphorical glass to Peter Sell (1931-2013).