The distribution of the Oxlip Primula elatior (L.) Hill in Essex
In general the impact of deer on coppiced woodlands and their flora is well recorded (Rackham
1975; Cooke 1993, 2001; Cooke & Farrell 1995; Tabor 1993, 1998, 1999). What is less well
understood are the relative impacts of different species and different intensities of deer numbers on
the coppice flora and structure. These are important questions as we move from the phase of
describing the issues to one in which we try to effect management controls that will protect the
plants we value from deer. Whilst it is not the objective of this paper to answer these questions, the
survey did provide the opportunity to provide some necessary foundations for further research into
the subject. To that end, the level of grazing was assessed for the woodland sites visited. Figure 3
shows the results. Across all woodlands, over 30 % of Oxlip flower scapes are eaten off, and in
nearly one third of Oxlip woods over 50% of the flowers produced disappeared.
Fig. 3. The distribution of the different levels of browsing across the 76 woods surveyed
This loss of flowers is particularly important if the number produced has already been reduced by
other factors; if half the plants do not flower, and half of those that do arc eaten off, the loss of seed
produced is 75%. There was no correlation between the percentage of flowers eaten and the size of
the wood. That large woods have no advantage may mean that these woods support higher densities
of deer (particularly muntjac). When ivy feeding trials (Cooke 1996, 2001; Tabor -unpublished
report to F.E.) were carried out in Hempstead wood, a site of 71 hectares, all of the samples were
located by the deer within 7 days. This indicates that even in a wood of this size deer are foraging
effectively over the whole site. This probably explains why, in the same work, no correlation was
found between the percentage of flowers produced and the percentage eaten (i.e. there was not
higher predation of the flowers in areas where more flowers were produced). It should be noted
that in Hempstead the Oxlip plants are fairly evenly distributed throughout the wood.
For some time the Wildlife Trust has been using the deer damage and activity scoring system
developed by Dr Arnold Cooke (1996). Results have been used to provide a measure of the damage
to key species on sensitive sites, and thus provide both a basis for deer control plans and a measure
of their effectiveness. As apart of this survey, deer activity and damage scores were carried out in
46 of the woods surveyed. Not a single wood surveyed had a zero score for deer activity, although
there was a wide range in activity and damage levels. There was, as expected, a high correlation (r=
0.86, P