12
This diversity of species reveals that, fortunately, attempts to completely eradicate the
native vegetation have been unsuccessful. In many parts of the wood, conifers have not
established themselves well, and are poorly grown, considering that most must be more
than 30 years old. Native trees, including Smallleaved Lime and Hornbeam, which once
appeared to be totally absent from much of the coniferised area, are quite widely
distributed amongst the conifers. Presumably, having re-grown from old coppice stools
which survived the clearing and replanting. Some of the areas cleared of conifers have
taken on the appearance of recently coppiced broadleaved woodland. On these sites it can
need quite careful searching for the stumps to reveal that the conifers were ever present.
It should prove interesting to see how these areas develop in comparison with the County
Council part of the wood which was never coniferised.
Perhaps the best discoveries were in the case of the ferns, where the frequency of the
Golden-scaled Male Fern (Dryopteris affinis Ssp. borreri) and Narrow Buckler Fern
(Dryopteris carthusiana) was much higher than in most of the woods in our area.
Although both were largely associated with the boggy flushes, the former was also found
in several patches along the rides, and the latter was widespread in hollows in an area
recently cleared of conifers.
The flushes are dominated by Alder and Ramsons (Allium ursinum). In the most westerly
flush, hybrid poplars have been planted amongst the Alder, and are gradually falling over
naturally as they age. The canopy however is still reasonably open, and
remarkably, a dense carpet of the large thalloid liverwort Conocephalum conicum occurs
over a wide area of the accumulated peat beneath the Allium. In the next flush moving
east, a sizable colony of the Opposite-leaved Golden Saxifrage (Chrysosplenium
oppositifolium) was found, together with the veiy local moss Fissidens adiantoides,
fruiting abundantly.
The two most easterly flushes, however, were far to densely overgrown to penetrate in the
time available, and are clearly ready for some selective coppicing. The only other notable
bryophyte was a scrap of Plagiothecium laetum on a hornbeam stump
near the northern entrance car park, which had been recorded for the wood before.In
conclusion, although no really spectacular new finds were made, the visit confirmed that
Chalkney wood is an interesting site and that even the coniferised areas have retained
many of their important features. Continued monitoring is needed particularly with regard
to the re-establishment of native vegetation as the conifers are removed, and see if the
veiy rare sedge Carex elongata, recorded from the wood by Dr E Varenne in the 1840s,
(presumably from one of the boggy flushes), ever reappears.
Jeremy Ison & Ken Adams
BSBI FIELD MEETING, SHOEBURY OLD RANGES NR, 28TH MAY 1994
To avoid too much trampling, only 10 BSBI members were allowed on this fragile area of
old rabbit grazed dunes and dune slack. Fortunately a cold spell had held back flowering
of many species and with Tim Pyner's help, the following notables were winkled out of
the short turf in a hands and knees operation: Trifolium
scabrum, T. glomeratum (new to the site), T. suffocatum (only site in Essex), Vicia
lathyroides, Moenchia erecta, Sagina maritima and at the far eastern end Ranunculus
parviflorus (5 healthy patches) and Cerastium semidecandrum. At the far western
end of the NR extensive spreads of Medicago minima and the dead remains of the early
flowering Poa bulbosa and Saxifraga granulata were found, together with a patch of the
Bearded Fescue, Vulpia ciliata Ssp. ambigua, pointed out to us by Arthur Copping, and
new to Vcl8.
After lunch we literally moved a couple of yards in a roundabout route by road, to explore
the grounds of the Coastguard Station next door. The whole area was carpeted with