BRITISH BRYOLOGICAL SOCIETY
Survey of the
Bryophytes of Arable Land
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Introduction to the SBAL project
Arable land has a distinctive bryophyte flora, which has often been neglected in the past. Harold Whitehouse (1917-2000) took a keen interest in arable bryophytes from the late 1950s. He often astonished bryologists on BBS excursions to rich areas of the north and west by examining the local arable fields. Few other bryologists were so keen on the arable habitat, with the result that we now have little idea of how its bryophyte flora is changing.Porley (2000) reviewed the current state of knowledge and proposed a nationwide survey of bryophytes on arable land. The BBS Conservation and Recording Committee endorsed Porley’s proposals and asked him to flesh them out as a full BBS recording scheme. The developing scheme was advertised in the BBS Bulletin (Porley, 2001a,b).
During 2001, an informal Steering Group was set up. From autumn 2001 to spring 2002, the methodology was tried out and a sampling scheme proposed. SBAL is the result of these deliberations.
Steering committee
Ron Porley (English Nature, chair)
Mark Hill (CEH Monks Wood)
Chris Preston (Biological Records Centre, Monks Wood)
Gill Stevens (Natural History Museum)Time scale
Autumn 2001-Summer 2002 Pilot year with limited recording and testing of methodology
Autumn 2002 Main phase of scheme launched with workshop at Preston Montford, 16-17 November 2002.
Spring 2005 Recording ends.
Summer-Autumn 2005 Data entry and analysis
Autumn 2005 One or more papers presented to BBS paper-reading meeting
Winter 2005 Papers ready for submission to J. Bryol.References
Porley, R. D. (2000). The conservation ecology of arable plants: What role for research? In Fields of vision: a future for Britain's arable plants (ed. P. Wilson and M. King), pp. 8-19. Plantlife, London.
Porley, R. D. (2001a). Recording Matters 19. Bulletin of the British Bryological Society 76, 45-47.
Porley, R. D. (2001b). Recording Matters 20. Bulletin of the British Bryological Society 77, 30-32.