Botanical Studies - Lundy

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144Irving, RA, Schofield, AJ and Webster, CJ. Island Studies (1997). Bideford: Lundy Field SocietyBOTANICAL STUDIEStook a survey of the recolonisation of the North Endafter the fires there in the 1930s (Wilkins & Debham1973). They found there was little difference in soildepth or plant variety between the burned andunburned areas. Heather Call una vulgaris. bellheather Erica cineraria and thrift Armeria maritimawere the most common flowering plants and of thenon-flowering plants, lichens, sedges, rushes andgrasses dominated. They believed that lichens played asignificant part in soil development.In 1974, Dr H .C. Dawkins surveyed the fescueblanket on the east end of Rat Island, which he foundto be very deep (Dawkins 1974a). He then surveyed thewest end, which had been burned by a flare and notedthe plants which were recolonising that area. Thesewere important observations since Rat Island is theonly part of Lundy left ungrazed. In the same year, DrDawkins also studied the southern slopes ofHangman's Hill below the Ugly, which he likened to asmall scale version of a forest with a canopy layer ofblackthorn, gorse and hawthorn, and a basal layer ofshade-loving plants (Dawkins 1974b).Rhododendron Rhododendron ponticum was a plantintroduced by the Heaven family into the Millcombearea in the nineteenth century and it soon began to. spread. J.R. Chanter in 1877 comments in his bookLundy Island that the plants had become naturalisedand were spreading. A fire in 1926 destroyed most ofthe vegetation between the northernmost quarry andSt Helens Coombe, but the rhododendron regeneratedfrom the surviving underground roots and rapidlyrecolonised the whole area. P.R. Marren conducted asurvey in 1972 and recorded the spread of seedlings tothe island plateau. Since then much has been done tocheck the plant's spread and cut back establishedplants.Other deliberately introduced species includeEscallonia and Hebe bushes beside the path leading toMillcombe. It is clear from the study of photographs ofthe house and from early written records that manytrees have been introduced to the island. Perhaps themost unexpected of these is the Japanese spindleEuonymus japonica. It is possible that birds may beresponsible for the arrival of some of the berriedspecies.In 1978 and 1979, Dr J.J. George and others studiedthe flora of the Lundy ponds and the results werepublished in the 30th and 31st Annual Reports. Thereis a further study in the 37th Report. The plants foundhad already been included in the main lists.Additional notes and flower lists have appeared overthe years starting with the 1st Report when a permanentquadrat was staked out in a deeply burned areawest of Middle Coombe. A list in the second reportcompiled by a number of Field Society members wasadded to the list in fljracombe Flora and Fauna. Sincethen lists have been contributed by Mrs Ann Westcott(e.g. Westcott 1969 & 1971) and others. One particularlyinteresting note was made in 1968 by Canon J .Stafford Wright who found honewort Trinia glauca -Copyright (1997) Lundy Field Society and the author
Irving, RA, Schofield, AJ and Webster, CJ. Island Studies (1997). Bideford: Lundy Field SocietyISLAND STUDIESunrecorded elsewhere (Wright 1968).A report in 1980 by Mr Rob Randall tells how hefailed to find purple spurge Euphorbia peplls (Randall1980). He also examined the status of balm-leaved figwortScrophularia scorodonia, which was becomingrare on the north coasts of Devon and Cornwall, butwhich was still flourishing on the east coast of Lundy.Fungal species are listed in the 14th, 21st, 22nd,23rd, 38th,, and 43rd Annual Reports. Lichen speciesare listed in the 3rd, 13th and 23rd Reports, with amajor lichen survey currently being undertaken byPeter James and Anne Allen. Liverworts are reported inthe 13th and 26th Reports; and freshwater diatoms inthe 3rd Annual Report.TreesWith the help of Mr W.H. Dyer I surveyed the treesfound growing on the island in 1969 and 1970. 433trees were counted in the eight main wooded areas,which were all on the east side. Sycamore Acer pseudoplatanuswas by far the most successful species andshowed the most signs of regeneration. ElderSambucus nigra, willow Salix atrocinerea·and S. capreaand ash Fraxinus excelsior were the next most numerous.All trees showed signs of wind damage where theywere unprotected by the bulk of the island. During thesummer of 1970, beech Fagus sylvatica, sessile oakQuercus petraea and three species of pine Pinus spp.,were planted on the north side of Millcombe in thememory of Albion Harman.145Tree planting has taken place since then and thereare two reports of this. Further planting was undertakenin 1983 in Millcombe Valley, StJohn's Valley, northof the Ugly, and St Helen's Copse. Trees have beenplanted to replace mature and dying trees and also innew areas in the hope that they will support wildlifeand the expectation that they will enhance the beautyof the island. The species chosen were mainly thosealready growing on the island, but field maple Acercampestre, aspen Populus tremula and a strawberrytree Arbutus unedo were also planted. A.J. Parsonsquestioned the wisdom of planting trees in St John'sValley, holding that its ecological importance lay in itsopen nature. P. de Groot replied to this in I984 sayingthat the Pinus muricata, which had been planted closeto the edge of the road to provide shelter, had not faredwell and many had died. The aspen and alder hadbeen planted to provide shelter for birds.Management studiesIn 1988, the then warden Neil Willcox, in conjunctionwith the Committee of the Lundy Field Society, producedthe first draft of A Management Plan for Lundy(Willcox 1988); this was developed over the next fewyears. In 1994, English Nature published a managementplan for the Marine Nature Reserve together withthe island's Site of Special Scientific Interest, entitledManaging Lundy's Wildlife (English Nature 1994).An important addition to the botanical studiesmentioned above was the survey of the island's floraCopyright (1997) Lundy Field Society and the author
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Botanical Studies - Lundy

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