1.    Total number of different plant species recorded in all sections:

      76 species

2.   The dominant plants across the whole project area:

     Eurhynchium praelongum
      Common Bent - Agrostis capillaris
      Yorkshire Fog - Holcus lanatus
      Bramble - Rubus fruticosus agg.
      Violet - Viola riviniana
      Thuidium tamarascinum
      Polytrichum formosum
      European Gorse - Ulex europaeus
      Silver Birch - Betula pendula
     

3.   Plants occurring in every section of the Heathland Restoration Project site:

      Nine plants were found in every single section on the site. These were:

4.  The sections closest to a heathland habitat:

      Section 7 (spring brushcut, initial gorse and grass control)
      Section 8 (autumn brushcut, initial selective weed control)
      Section 9 (handweeding)

This is based on these sections having the greatest abundance of heath species such as Heather,         Bell Heather, gorse, bramble, Tormentil, Silver Birch, Pill Sedge, Bristle Bent and mosses such as      Hypnum jutlandicum.

5.  Rhododendron now in almost half of the sections:

This highly invasive non-native species which formerly covered the Heathland Restoration Project        site is gradually reappearing.

6.  The sections with the highest species diversity:

     Sections 6 (spring, summer and autumn cut) and 9 (handweeded).

Section 6 continued to have high species diversity because the frequent cutting prevents taller plants from becoming dominant and shading out the smaller herbs.

Section 9 is the largest section on the project site with approximately twice the area of any of the        other sections. It also has two environmentally different zones, an upper dryer section and a lower,        wetter, more marshy area. Different species are dominant in these different zones, increasing the        species diversity of the section overall.

7.  The section with the lowest species diversity:

     Section 1 (autumn brushcut). This section has the smallest area of any of the sections.

Ecological Survey 2000
Contents