Nitrogen pollution, in the form of nitrates, ammonia and various oxides of nitrogen, is a threat to ecosystems, ecosystem services and biodiversity.   Monitoring and measuring such pollutants in rain and air borne particles is expensive and, ideally, needs frequent samples. It has been estimated that some 400,000 tonnes of airborne pollution are deposited over Britain each year.  Research by Dr H Harmens et al at the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology (Bangor) has indicated that there may be a simpler and cheaper way of gauging nitrogen pollution  - through the assessment of the state of local moss populations. Read more...

"That's the wettest woodland in the county" is a comment people often make about their local woodland.  But this comment cannot be literally true for very many woods.  It seems that people are often surprised by how wet woodlands can be and hence are often keen to drain them.  However, wetlands are important habitats and can be home to unusual birds, invertebrates and mammals. Visiting the London Wetlands Centre recently I discovered how a former sewage works has been transformed into a wildlife sanctuary over the last 20 years.  Having become redundant as a sewage treatment plant, because of the creation of the Thames Water ring main, negotiations in the late 1980s led to part of it being developed for housing by Berkeley Homes (about 40 acres) and the remainder Read more...

Bugs or invertebrates such as insects, arachnids, centipedes, molluscs, crustaceans and millipedes are an essential part of any ecosystem including our woodlands. In woodland they help create the leaf litter layer and dead wood which adds essential nutrients into the forest ground layer. Some insects pollinate flowers helping to create productive crops, biodiversity and picturesque woodlands. Some even provide us with honey. The wonderful birdlife we have in this country thrives due to the large number of insects which are essential food stuff for birds, including our woodland birds such as woodpeckers, tree creepers and willow warblers. Read more...

The leaf miner moth (Cameraria ohridella) that arrived in the UK about a decade ago has spread widely, and many horse chestnut trees have been ravaged by its activities (see related posts / links). The brown, lifeless leaves that dangle from the branches in late summer are a clear sign of the activities of this insect.  It had been hoped that certain parasitoid wasps might help control the leaf miner, but this is not the case. There is now the suggestion that birds, like blue tits, might help. Read more...

Recently the blog commented on the loss of wild flowers from country lanes and roadsides - occasioned by seeing nettles and cow parsley for miles, and very little else.  This loss of diversity may be attributed in part to the use of nitrogenous fertilisers and aerial deposition of pollutants.  It is 'rare' to see poppies around the edges of fields nowadays.   So what is happening ? Obviously, the seed used by farmers nowadays has fewer "wild contaminants" but Plantlife is concerned that various agricultural management practices have placed arable plants under threat.  The need to make economic use of every bit of land, the increased use of herbicides (to control pernicious weeds - such as charlock, black grass, sterile brome) has a knock-on effect on many arable wild flower species, as has the greater use of winter planting.   In some parts of the country, a switch away from arable farming has also had its effects. Some 150 wild flowers are characteristic of,  or associated with arable farming;  many are now threatened.  The majority of the 'uncommon species' are found in the south-east (crudely speaking - draw a line from the Wash across to the Bristol Channel) Read more...