Category: National Plant Monitoring Scheme

Sundews and Stonecrops at Cornwood

In a previous blog post, we introduced you to our National Plant Monitoring Scheme square at Cornwood, near Ivybridge. Last month, we returned to our square and completed our first survey of the year.

Rich introduces us to the survey plot

On our previous visit, we had identified the plots we were going to use, so now it was a case of finding them again, laying out a survey square and recording what plant species were there. Our first square was high up in the NE corner of the square, along the edge of a earthwork dug into the ground. The square was heavily grazed, and we only found four species there: gorse, wavy hair-grass, tormentil, and heath bedstraw. All of these species are indicators for heathland, but key species such as bilberry and heathers were completely absent, presumably munched away by the local sheep. This was the case across the site, and we found hardly any heather even when walking between our plots.

The second plot was more fun. This was a wet area (or ‘flush’) that we had identified on our recce, an area of wet ground high on the hill that fed a small stream cutting across the site. The area was dominated by more wavy hair-grass, soft rush and sphagnum, but the real find was a plant I knew to be carnivorous but couldn’t recall the name of. Fortunately Kev had an app that stepped in and took the word sundew off the tip of my tongue:

Plot 2
Kev reading a poem called The Sundew, by Victorian poet Algernon Charles Swinburne

After this excitement, we had two more plot to visit and recorded more species that were positive indicators for both acid grassland and dry heath: heath bedstraw, tormentil, wavy hair-grass and a bit of bilberry on the higher plot. We recorded both as acid grassland, because the hair-grass dominated and there was no heather at all, and the presence of a couple of sorrel species confirmed this classification:

A look at one of our last two acid grassland plots

One of our favourite finds emerged right at the end though, when our eyes were drawn to a small succulent plant with beautiful pinkish-white star-shaped flowers. This was English stonecrop sedum anglicum, and we found a tiny little patch of it growing among the moss in the crevice of a boulder. It was once of those plants that once you had spotted it your eye was in, and we found a lovely patch of it on a bare sunny rock on the walk back to the car. It looked like a starry map of constellations laid out on the ground, a stunning and beautiful sight that we’d have probably walked past if it weren’t for the NPMS.

It was a really good day out and, even though we only found a dozen or so species, we learnt quite a lot just through having to look closely and identify plants. We signed up for the NPMS with a little bit of trepidation because we’re both interested amateurs who have never really studied botany, but we had quite a lot of fun and it felt great to be contributing to this important national monitoring project. We’re really pleased to be involved and can’t wait to go back to our site later in the year.

If you want to know more about the NPMS, visit the National Plant Monitoring Scheme website where you can learn about survey methods and even sign up for your own square!

Our National Plant Monitoring Scheme Square

Last week, I attended a really good Mountain Training seminar with Sarah from the National Plant Monitoring Scheme (NPMS). The NPMS is a national volunteer plant monitoring scheme designed and developed by four partner organisations: Plantlife, BSSI, UKCEH and JNCC. It is a habitat-based scientific survey that collects data about plant populations all over the country and relies on volunteers to go out twice a year to collect data. A randomised set of 1km squares of land are assigned to volunteers who go out twice a year and report back on what they find. It is the best wild plant database we have and it is something that we are very keen to contribute to.

So we signed up, chose a square and were sent through a whole load of information: wildflower ID guides, species lists and guidance about what to do and how. We have chosen square SX6061, which is on the edge of Dartmoor a few kilometres north of Cornwood.

Our plot is divided into 25 plots as above, and our first task was to identify which plots would be most representative of the habitats in the square. At least three of our five plots should be plots from the grid above, and we could also do two plots along linear features and/or a wet area if there is one in our square. Ideally we should try to include one of each habitat type, too. So this morning we visited the site to have a good look around and decide on a surveying plan.

We quickly ruled out all of the southernmost plots marked as ‘other habitat’, as these were all on farmland, in fields used for livestock. It also became apparent that the wooded areas, though photogenic, were not suitable either. They were surrounded by a high wall topped with a fence, and even had access looked likely it appeared that inside was overgrown and recently replanted. So it looked like we were focussing on the lowland grassland and heath!

The OS map marked a watercourse passing through plot 19 that looked like a good target for a linear plot, so we decided to check out that area first. However, the watercourse was dry. This is not uncommon on OS maps, especially if the watercourse is seasonal. However, it was drier than expected, and the reason became apparent as we followed it up the hill. Some time ago, a bank had been built across the top to divert the water to the south-west via a rough leat and we arrived at the top to find quite a nice ‘flush’ where water comes to the surface to form a wet area. This was a really good find so became our first plot, and we decided that further down the leat we would plan our linear plot.

Kev standing just downstream of the flush.

Now it was just a case of walking the rest of the site and deciding which three plots would be most representative. The eastern side is more grassy and the more you go to the north and west the rockier and more heathy it gets. We haven’t decided for definite yet, but we will probably do plot 24 to capture the grassland and 16 for the heath. We didn’t visit the locality of plot 6 but the satellite imagery seems to suggest that it is in an area that is being colonised by trees, so this will most likely be the third.

With our plans in the bag, we headed for the top of nearby Penn Beacon where there are some ancient cairns, a trig point and amazing views down to the china clay works and Plymouth beyond.

We’ll be back to the site in a few weeks time to start our surveys – we’ll post another update then!