since the first Atlas published in 1962. There were many more records this time, so the
coverage is more thorough. However, there are still some kinds of plants, especially tiny
ones, which are considered to be seriously under-recorded. Many agricultural weeds are
dwindling fast as they cannot survive the modern farming methods, and many new arrivals
are spreading rapidly, especially in waste places close to urban areas. A number of the
new ones are escapes from gardens, some of which cause concern. Some plants escaping
from garden ponds, such as New Zealand Pigmyweed and Floating Pennywort, run riot
in the wild, and completely smother wetland plant communities. Others, like the Spanish
Bluebell and the various daffodils, hybridise with the native Bluebells and Daffodils,
and are slowly destroying our native species.
A general problem is over-enrichment of most soils, leading to an increase in coarse,
greedy plants, such as Common Nettle, Cow Parsley, Bramble, Broad-leaved Dock and
the like, which then smother the smaller ones below. The sources of these excess nutrients
are mainly fertiliser run-off from fields and transport exhausts, the latter being gases
washed out of the atmosphere and landing on soils in rain. Taller plant species seem to
be winning over smaller ones in most of the lowland areas of Britain, which may be
related to the increased nutrient levels, and/or to the decline of hay-cutting and grazing.
Widespread habitat destruction for building roads, new towns etc, has taken its toll, but
just as significant is the decline of mixed farming over Britain. Conversion of grazing
land to arable in much of England means loss of the traditional grassland plant
communities, and the conversion of much of the arable farming in Scotland and Wales
to livestock has decreased the plant diversity there. Many important habitat types arc
becoming rarer and conservation is ever more important. Global warming is showing in
two ways: the increase in southern Britain of plants common in southern Europe, and
the decline of some montane or arctic-alpine species. But plants are mostly dying rather
than moving to more favourable habitats, as seed dispersal is generally much more
limiting as a means of moving about than the movement of animals. Much of this was
already known or suspected, but now there are Britain-wide data to support the ideas.
The drought eventually broke in mid-October, too late for most of the early fungi. There
were several frosty nights near the end of the month. This put paid to most of the later
fungi, making 2002 the poorest year for at least a decade. However, many noticed that
the autumn colours of the trees were spectacular, and presumably the frost contributed
to this as it does in the amazing displays seen in Canada and the United States at this
time of year.
Everyone noticed the gale on Sunday 22nd October. It was 15 years ago, also in October,
that we had the big storm that uprooted so many trees. This one was much less, but
some roads were blocked by big branches of trees, and I saw one parked car crushed as
a roadside tree had fallen on top of it. Fortunately, the car was empty at the time. The
Thames bridge to Dartford was closed most of the day, and huge queues built up. At
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Essex Field Club Newsletter No. 40, January 2003