Thursday 2 August 2007

The results are in...

...and we have more species than I can count. Well I could count them but fingers and toes would be needed from several participants and I am sitting here with just dogs for company and they won't keep still. The Devon Biodiversity Records Centre survey records have been compiled and there are more Latin names and geological terminology being bandied about than have passed before my eyes to date, although perhaps I was asleep at that point in geography lessons. The words are sonorous and serious and have a grandeur that moves you beyond the soil conditions and bring vividly to mind the layers leading to the earth's core and a sense of prehistory. Carboniferous, Namurian, Crackington Formation, Pleistocene. All of it under my feet.
Three sites across the farm were surveyed, with two of them including the Culm qualifying for consideration as County Wildlife Sites. The Culm and its surrounding wood host 80 species including twelve Ancient Woodland Indicator species: Hard-fern, Remote Sedge, Wood-sedge, Creeping Soft-grass, Bluebell, Holly, Yellow Pimpernel, Three-nerved Sandwort, Wood Sorrel, Primrose, Red Currant and Field-rose. With my natural interest in the edible, the discovery of the wild red currant was a thrill - I had no idea they occurred in woodland, and daftly
visualised the fruit bushes as garden centre specials, cultivated within an inch of their glossy plant lives. The chance of tasting a currant before the dormice get their nibblers round them is small. I might put up a notice asking them to leave me a sample.

8 comments:

Around My Kitchen Table said...

Whatever kind of grass, trees or assorted plant-life you have, it looks absolutely beautiful to me! And I'm glad you're laid-back about the dormice. Losing a few blackcurrants is a small price to pay for keeping these wonderful little creatures in existence.

Rob Clack said...

Looks wonderful, Mopsa. Any fossils in them there carboniferous rocks?

mountainear said...

What excellent news. Sounds like a huge responsibility though.

rilly super said...

mopsa dear, don't worry, I've got some stuff you can spray on and get rid of all that lot in one go

I shall now impress Rob no end by reciting 'pregnant camels often sit down carefully, perhaps their joints creak, early oiling might prevent problems happening'...

rilly super said...

..probably early oiling...oops

Mopsa said...

Thank you AMKT - i think it's beautiful too.

Rob - the rocks are well buried , but you never know what might turn up.

M'ear - the responsibility will be juggling the demands of the culm vs those of the dormice - don't want to do the swaling and roast an unsuspecting rodent.

Rilly - Roundup is a banned word! And the pregnant camels thingummyjig is a new one on me - do interpret. I can do a gelded llama if that's any good??

rilly super said...

mopsa, it's the stratigraphic table, all I remember from school, sigh

Mopsa said...

Stratigraphic - another to add to those new oh so serious words. Ta Rilly!