27 July 2006
Blackberries in custard? Rare lichen discovered in north Wales
A rare lichen – Blackberries in Custard (Pyrenula hibernica) - has been discovered for the first time in north Wales in a wood which is part of a major partnership project working to care for the oak woodlands of Meirionnydd.
Coed Felinrhyd, Maentwrog, is one of 58 woodlands involved in the project, and is looked after by Coed Cadw (the Woodland Trust) which is managing the 89 ha (221 acre) acre semi natural oak woodland to restore the character of the woods as they would have been hundreds of years ago.
Now a special survey, has discovered a range of rare lichens – symbiotic organisms made up of microscopic algae or bacteria and fungi – on the site.
A 250 page report commissioned by CCW shows that Coed Felinrhyd has the biggest range of rare lichens in Wales, some, including Blackberries in Custard, which has previously been recorded in the Scottish Highlands and in the south-west of Ireland, but never before in Wales.
“This appears to be the most important site for lichen in the whole of Wales,” said Coed Cadw project officer Rhydian Roberts. “We think the open woodland canopy, with sparse undergrowth is responsible for the diversity.
Now Coed Cadw, which runs the Meirionydd Oakwoods Project in partnership with Forestry Commission Wales, the Countryside Council for Wales and other organisations, is looking at new ways of managing the wood to improve conditions for the rare plants.
Lichen lives on lower sections of tree and likes open woodland because it provides more light. Too much undergrowth and it fails to thrive.
Work at Coed Felinrhyd, between Harlech and Maentwrog in the Snowdonia National Park, includes careful thinning of conifers to give the old oak trees a better chance to grow. Now Coed Cadw is looking at introducing selective grazing into the woodland to control undergrowth. Sheep, feral goats and deer are all being considered as a possibility.
“The lichen has thrived in this woodland because of the way it has been managed in the past, and to do nothing would allow the overhead canopy to reduce light getting in to the woods themselves,” said Rhydian.
“But we have to be careful, there has to be enough stock to control brambles and regeneration, but not too many to affect the lichen,” he said. The Coed Cadw team is considering a partnership to trial different stocking rates with local graziers and with PONT1, a recently established initiative which seeks to bring together graziers and conservation land managers. The name PONT means “bridge” in Welsh, and it also stands for “Pori Natur a Threftadaeth“ or “grazing, nature and heritage”.
“Coed Felinrhyd is a very special place, and we are working to restore it to something like the way it looked generations ago, before it was planted with conifers – but we do not want to do that at the expense of these rare plants.”
Detailed investigation of the lichens at Coed Felinrhyd is part of the requirements of SAC designation. Conducted by specialist lichen hunter Neil Sanderson, who discovered a species rich graphidian community – with several lichens new to Wales.
The most exciting find is the ‘Blackberries in Custard’ lichen – so named because the fruits are black and flask shaped and sit on smooth yellow buff lichen - which has only been identified in two sites in Scotland and a few sites in Ireland. It is protected on Schedule 8 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act and is a species for which the UK has international responsibility.
Neil also found Stenocybe bryophila and Opegrapha thelotrematis and Mycomicrothelia atlantica – all new to Wales
The Meirionydd Oakwoods Habitat Management Project is a partnership between eight organisations, representing the public, private and voluntary sectors, and includes over 50 woods across a thousand hectares of Meirionnydd. It is a concerted effort to protect, restore and expand the small pockets of ancient wood that have survived.
Coed Felinrhyd is on the A496 next to Maentwrog hydro-electric power station, at grid reference SH 653 395. Like almost all Coed Cadw woods, it is open for anyone to visit at any time for free. It now has its website, including all kinds of information and an interactive map, at: www.wt-woods.org.uk/coedfelinrhyd
Coed Felinrhyd is one of 15 sites which Coed Cadw is due to carry out £700,000 of work at as part of the Meirionnydd Oakwood Habitat Management Project. Half of this funding comes from the European Union’s Objective 1, European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund (EAGGF) directed through the Welsh Assembly Government.
The other half is being raised by Coed Cadw itself, representing a major investment in the natural beauty and wildlife of the Snowdonia National Park. The work to be undertaken includes:
• Footpath improvements to improve public access at a number of sites, particularly Coed Llechwedd, Harlech and Coed Cymerau Isaf, Ffestiniog
• Repair of dry stone wall boundaries at Coed Oerddwr, Coed Felinrhyd and Coed Cymerau Isaf, to protect the woods from encroachment by sheep, whilst enhancing their unique atmosphere and beauty.
Ends
For media enquiries contact:
Rory Francis (Publicity and Public Affairs Officer for Wales) on 01766 832563 or 07760 171174
Afallon, Tanygrisiau, Blaenau Ffestiniog, Gwynedd LL41 3RH
Email roryfrancis@woodland-trust.org.uk
Or Rhydian Roberts, Coed Cadw, Project Officer
on Tel: 01745 818808
Contact any of the Project staff on Tel: 01341 422289
E-mail all staff or any enquiries via the website:
www.meirionnyddoakwoods.org.uk
Tim Gordon-Roberts of the Meirionnydd Oakwoods Habitat Management Project on 01341 422289
The Woodland Trust Press Office on 01476 581121, e-mail media@woodland-trust.org.uk
1. PONT, which stands for Pori, Natur a Threftadaeth, or Grazing, Nature and Heritage, is an initiative that words with farmers and graziers in the Welsh countryside to get the best possible deal for wildlife, the landscape and the cultural heritage of our country by utilising expertise gained from a long history of livestock farming in Wales to implement grazing management schemes on individual land-holdings and, in partnerships, on larger scale projects throughout the country. E-mail: PONT@grazingamimalsproject.info
Coed Cadw (The Woodland Trust)
The Woodland Trust is the UK’s leading woodland conservation charity. It has 250,000 members and supporters. The Trust has four key aims: i) No further loss of ancient woodland; ii) Restoring and improving the biodiversity of woods; iii) Increasing new native woodland; iv) Increasing people’s awareness and enjoyment of woodland.
Established in 1972, the Woodland Trust now has over 1,000 sites in its care covering approximately 20,000 hectares (50,000 acres). These include over 100 sites in Wales, with a total area of 1,580 hectares (3,900 acres). It offers free public access to nearly all of its sites. Further news can be accessed via www.coed-cadw.org.uk The Trust adopted a new Welsh language name in 2000: “Coed Cadw”. This is an old Welsh term, used in medieval laws to describe protected or preserved woodland.
The project is set up to care for the oak woodlands of Meirionnydd, promoting their importance to the local community, their visitors, the economy and the environment
The Meirionnydd Oakwoods Habitat Management Project is the result of several years’ work by a local partnership of government, non-government and private conservation and forestry organisations working closely with the European Union.The partner organisations include Forestry Commission Wales, the Countryside Council for Wales, Tilhill Forestry Ltd, Flintshire Woodlands, the Woodland Trust, Ffestiniog Railway, the National Trust and Snowdonia National Park Authority.The project is supported by a 50% grant worth £1,111,673.00 from the European Union’s, Objective 1, European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund (EAGGF) directed through the Welsh Assembly Government. The other 50% comes from the partner organisations and private landowners. This gives a total of £2,223,346.00 to be spent in the area over 4 years. There are 58 woodlands and a railway line included in the project area, covering 1710 hectares. The project ends in September 2008.
Objective 1 funding is designed to “narrow the gap between the development levels of the various regions”. Regions that are lagging behind usually have a per capita gross domestic product (GDP) below 75% of the Community average and typically have:
• a low level of investment;
• a higher than average unemployment rate;
• lack of services for businesses and individuals;
• poor basic infrastructure.
The European Agriculture Guidance and Guarantee Fund (EAGGF) is designed to:
• Help preserve the link between diversified farming and the land.
• Improve and support the competitiveness of agriculture as a key activity in rural areas.
• Ensure the diversification of the economy in rural areas.
• Help to keep thriving communities in rural areas.
• Preserve and improve the environment, the landscape and the rural heritage.
The Meirionnydd Oak Woodlands are important because they are made up of natural woodlands and ancient woodland sites that have been damaged and are now being managed to bring them back to a natural condition.
The natural woodlands are considered to be some of the best areas of Atlantic Oak Woodland in Europe and so have been designated as candidate Special Areas of Conservation (cSAC).
Sites designated as cSAC’s form a part of “Natura 2000”, a network of conservation sites across the European Union, aimed at protecting species and habitats that are rare, endangered or vulnerable.
Atlantic Oakwoods are found on the Atlantic fringe of Europe from Northern Scotland right the way round to Portugal. This coastal fringe is heavily influenced by the Gulf Stream, which keeps the area warm but wet. The Atlantic coastal climate creates damp humid conditions that support unique communities of ferns, mosses and liverworts, lichen and fungi. Some of the species found in these oakwoods cannot be found anywhere else in the world.
Welsh European Funding Office Editor’s Notes
Together with public and private sector match funding, some £2.75bn has now been invested in Wales over the past 5 years through the European Structural Funds Programmes managed by the Welsh European Funding Office.
This level of investment has created or safeguarded over 87,000 jobs in Wales, improving prosperity, increasing opportunity and transforming communities once considered economic black spots.The primary objective of the Welsh European Funding Office is to ensure that Wales derives the maximum possible benefit from the European Structural Funds over the period 2000-06. It is part of the Welsh Assembly Government's Economic Development and Transport Group.
A range of partnership bodies in the public, private and voluntary sector delivers projects.
The Structural Funds aim to promote sustainable economic growth, increase prosperity in all parts of Wales, reduce disparities within Wales and tackle inequality, inactivity and social exclusion.
Simon Jenkins, WAG press office.
Tel: 02920 898203.
E-mail: simon.jenkins@wales.gsi.gov.uk
