SHARPHILL WOOD FLORA SURVEY 2017
Notes to accompany Excel Spreadsheet ‘Flora Survey_2017_final’
To view the flora survey spreadsheet click here
- The 2017 survey is located in worksheet ‘2017’; earlier surveys are located in worksheet ‘2001-15’. A confirmed sighting is indentified by an entry of ‘17’ in column B (entitled ‘2017’).
- The starting point for the survey comprised the list of species previously identified, edited with the expected flowering period for each; this enabled a list to be compiled of flora which might be expected to be seen on a particular visit. The reference document used was ‘The Wild Flower Key’, Francis Rose, 2006.
- The survey is based on two to three visits to the wood for each of the months of March, April, May, June, July and August 2017; further short visits were also made in September and October. Gordon Dyne assisted with the identification of grasses, sedges, rushes and ferns, but the joint visit to the wood for this exercise took place in late season and some species may therefore have been missed.
- The separate section in the earlier surveys entitled ‘Open(ish) strip opposite Wheatcrofts’ has been deleted. The rationale for this deletion is that the wood is encircled by a species rich herbaceous zone between the wood and the surrounding fields (and including the strip opposite ‘Wheatcrofts’). In the place of the separate section, an attempt was made to distinguish between species (wildflowers only) which appeared to be: (i) only found in the wood, and; (ii) only found in the surrounding herbaceous zone. This distinction has been illustrated by highlighting in the ‘2017’ worksheet, but is ‘work in progress; many entries are not highlighted, either because flora were found in both locations, or because the records were not good enough to be sure. (It may be that this distinction between the flora in the wood and in its perimeter is not useful (and will be influenced by the filling in of the canopy of the wood as the year progresses); comments are welcomed).
- No attempt was made to categorise frequency (for example, by a ‘DAFOR’ scale).
- In summary, 70 species of wildflower, 25 species of tree and 6 species of grass, sedge, rush and fern were identified in 2017 (a total of 101 species), including both wildflowers and trees not previously recorded (10 and 7, respectively). 36 wildflower and 6 grass, sedge, rush and fern species which have been recorded in previous years were not identified in 2017 (these are shown by a blank entry in column B); it is likely that the reasons for this include not being in the right place at the right time, inexperience and/or simply a failure of observation, rather than any significant change in composition.
- It is intended to carry out a repeat survey in 2018. The frequency of future surveys beyond 2018 remains to be confirmed.
by RCE 04/10/2017
