Scopelophila in Swansea - Reestablishment update

Treatment area, showing location of planted clump (red) and scarified
ground sown with crumbled Scopelophila mixed with donor substrate.
Iona Graham & Gareth Bowen

Scopelophila was last recorded in Swansea in 2007 by Sam at the Six Pits Branch and was one of the features that led to the site being designated as a SSSI in 2017.  Even before the site was notified, it was already known the species may have been lost due to illegal dumping of cuttings at this last known site.  Despite works by an NRW-led team, which cleared the key area in 2015, no regeneration of Scopelophila was apparent the following season.  This led to Andrew Lucas arranging the paperwork and permissions for a translocation exercise in 2018, in which a small quantity of material from the donor site at Bynea saltmarsh was used to reestablish the species at the Six Pit, Swansea Vale and White Rock SSSI.  The exercise was undertaken on 17th October 2018 by another NRW-led team and myself using the following method "Samples ranging approximately between 10-20 cm2 were generally planted against rocks, which both serve as useful reference points for relocation and also provide an element of protection from being dislodged. ... [Also] a crumbled sample of donor substrate with rhizoidal tubers was loosely scattered on land adjacent to each location after scarifying the ground..." 

crumbled donor material ready for sowing on scarified ground 

Kerry Rogers & Iona Graham at one of the treated
locations where inoculation has been very successful

As I was passing the site today, I had a quick 10 minute shifty around the site to look for evidence of how the Scopelophila was doing.   I was able to relocate some of the spots where I remembered us doing the work, and whilst some of the planted clumps were not evident during my quick scan (presumed dislodged), others had taken well and had put on some growth.  Much more encouraging was the growth of the crumbled material, which was growing on the scarified substrate, this being a simple method for greatly extending the area of the population with limited intervention.

Location 7, 17-Oct-18 

Location 7, 22-Dec-19.  Note brown hue to soil is all Scopelophila establishing

Location 7, 22-Dec-19.  Detail of Scopelophila establishing

Even the 'last minute' cycle-path edge plots, 17-Oct-19 held Scopelophila

I must finally mention that the work undertaken by NRW last winter to reduce the amount of encroaching scrub has been very beneficial.

Slagtastic Loughor

After several years of failing to find Scopelophila cataractae in the Swansea Valley, I was filled with great joy today when I came across a lovely population in the Loughor Estuary at Bynea. There were many patches scattered on the two fingers of slag dumped on the saltmarsh, as indicated by the yellow areas shown above (SS558989), the dashed green line showing the Carmarthen Bay and Estuaries SAC boundary. Whilst the bulk of the material I found was technically outside the SAC (i.e. the yellow patches shown 'within' the western finger), it would seem unlikely this narrow bit of ground would ever be interfered with. Although, a small amount of freshly dumped material was noted close to where the two fingers meet, so it may be worth considering notifying the owners.

The main associate was Weissia controversa var. densifolia, with occasional patches of Bryum cf pallescens and some interesting lichens. An odd-looking Pohlia (I'm suspecting it's just young annotina but I will investigate further) was frequent, growing in dense and quite deep cushions with tightly packed appressed leaves. The shoots were noted to fragment very easily, possibly as a means of dispersing? Any thoughts on this one appreciated. [Des Callaghan kindly informed me this is Pohlia nutans fo. gemmiclada]

Finally a photo of a very smart lichen that was growing over (seemingly eating up!) the cushions of Weissia - again any suggestions appreciated: 

Swansea Copper Quarter

this looks very much like the quay area we looked at today (looks rather different now!)
there are some remarkable photos on line showing how this area once looked - search 'Copperopolis'

Sam and myself carried out a unsuccessful search for Scopelophila cataractae at a selection of sites with some of the last metalliferous spoil remnants of the Copperopolis legacy. My optimism for rediscovering the species in Swansea has been dampened a little after today's blank, but there are still pockets of land where the species might be found, so the challenge continues...

Despite the apparent absence of Scopelophila, important metalliferous bryophyte and lichen communities are still present in Swansea, but these are under pressure from  natural succession as-well-as ongoing redevelopment of the Copper Quarter. Thankfully steps are being made to safeguard the best examples of these remnants.

One plus from today was learning a new species, with the discovery of a strong population of Bryoerythrophyllum ferruginascens. Once the key characters were demonstrated to me by Sam, it immediately appeared so distinctive it was recognisable even at distance and we noted it in two tetrads. The dark red older leaves, with contrasting bright yellowy-green shoot tips create a distinctive hue on barren ground. This is one I suspect we will start seeing more frequently locally. First recorded by A.J.E. Smith at Craig-y-Llyn in 1961 and more recently Sharon Pilkington found it on the cliffs at Pennard, so it seems likely it can be found on suitable ground anywhere in the county.

B. ferruginascens showing up as
yellowy-speckled dark-bronze patches

location of photo above shown

Scopelophila at Six Pits Branch

Pohlia sp?, Bryum pallescens & Cephaloziella sp.

With the help of Sam's report I was at last able to find the right spot, which as you can see has changed considerably in the intervening seven years; sadly not for the better and only a few tufts of Scopelophila cataractae could be located in the remaining parts of the colony not covered in brash or scrub. I did not quite manage to line up my shot with Sam's 2007 image, but the white markers I have added help show the changes that have taken place.

Sam's 2007 image when the colony was a healthy 4m x 2m patch

today's image showing approximate frame position of Sam's photograph above
dumped brash and encroaching scrub are major threats to this population

I'm guessing the brash is being dumped by contractors responsible for the amenity plantings, so some detective work may be needed to prevent more material being added. Sam, I'm not sure if this is something you might want to take on in an official capacity, but I suspect if the ground is cleared there's a chance the species might recolonise some of the lost ground. In addition to the brash, leaf litter from encroaching scrub is another issue that is problematic as it is enabling pleurocarps such as Hypnum and Thuidium to dominate. Some limited scrub clearance and raking off of litter might could prove beneficial if it can be arranged? Alternatively I would be happy to do a bit of gardening myself, though I would not have the facility to remove arisings off site.

Metal toxic Swansea

Here are a couple of photos from the Pluck Lake/Six Pits branch area of Llansamlet, taken during a survey in 2007.  Brachythecium velutinum on the metal-rich spoil is extremely falcate and well-marked; Scopelophila cataractae is more subtle, but distinctively tongue-shaped; the area also supported a peculiar bulbiliferous Pohlia that keys as P annotina but is too shiny (suggesting P proligera).  It would be good to go back some time to see how these species are doing, because 99% of the metal spoil heaps in Swansea have been reclaimed.