Bryologists are not as focussed on churchyard surveying as lichenologists, but churchyards do offer us an accessible and ecologically varied site in most lowland tetrads and are therefore routinely visited during bryophyte recording. For several years I have kept my churchyard records separate from more general village/rural recording so that I can compare different churchyards, sticking to Consecrated Ground for a church/chapel list (ie bryophytes inside the wall or on the wall count, whereas those eg on the lane outside do not). Chris Preston and I employed similar tactics whilst Atlas recording in Ireland, and I think churchyards were recorded separately in Cambridgeshire: in theory we should have a reasonable transect of semi-complete churchyard bryophyte records stretching from Cork & Limerick, via Pembrokeshire, Carmarthenshire & Monmouthshire, to Cambridgeshire.
Llanfihangel Pontymoel - north of Ponypool and west of Usk - was my 60th reasonably well-recorded churchyard in VC35. Just under an hour recording there on 23rd December produced 60 bryophyte species, which is the largest total so far for a church/chapel in VC35 (Monmouthshire but equivalent to the former county of Gwent). The previous record was held by Dixton church near Monmouth, with 58 species, followed by Shirenewton Church 53, Llangua Church 52, Nash Church 49, Gwrhay Church 46, Chepstow Priory Church 44 and Mamhilad Church 42.
The churchyard at Llanfihangel Pontymoel is quite large and varied, with scattered trees, abundant graves and a stream forming one boundary. The stream held Fissidens crassipes and Conocephalum conicum; sandstone graves supported Schistidium apocarpum ss (1 grave), Racomitrium aciculare (8) and R. fasciculare (1); roof tiles held Fissidens dubius; disturbed soil produced Microbryum rectum new for SO30 as well as Fissidens exilis, F. viridulus and Pleuridium subulatum. I almost stopped at 59 species, but spotted a discarded carpet as I left the churchyard on which was growing a single tuft of Bryum argenteum (often common on tarmac church paths but absent from the concrete path here).
A quick look at the nearby canal took the tetrad total over the 75 species mark.
Nice work Sam. I've kept some of my churchyard recordings in VC41 as separate lists but I fear I will have merged some of them with surrounding habitats.
ReplyDeleteFunny how R. aciculare seems to like graves so much.