In some ways the visit was disappointing - the oaks were clothed in Hypnum spp but little else, and most of the riverbank trees were frustratingly out of reach (the banks were steep and topped with dense bramble). I did manage to grab a few arm's-length samples from riverbank alders by lying on the bank; these resulted in a few silty epiphytes: Leskea polycarpa, Homalia trichomanoides and Plagiomnium rostratum. Elsewhere, small streams crossing the site produced a fair range of species including Hygroamblystegium tenax. By the time I got to the sedge swamp it was almost dark, but the few grab samples I took home included some straggly shoots of Calliergon cordifolium, last recorded at the site on a CCW survey back in 1995 (photos below).
The tetrad total has risen to 72 taxa.
Job done George - that's a better start to the year than I've achieved so far
ReplyDeleteThanks, and as you say, job done - I thought Lanley might need two visits but I don't think it really warrants another one. Looking forward to the next tetrad to the north (ST07T) which has some amazing looking river meanders and a footpath alongside.
ReplyDeleteYes, well done George. Some of our tetrads are hard work.
ReplyDeleteAnywhere with 72 taxa is child's play compared with some of the tetrads at the east end of the St David's Peninsula in Pembs, where a combination of exposure and intensive agriculture make it difficult to top 40 species of bryophyte! Well done though, George.
ReplyDeleteLikewise the south-east Cardiff docklands, where I've struggled to get past 35 in a couple of tetrads.
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