Ancient Woodland Ancient Woodland

4/1/20 Siskin in garden, Cologne Rd.

12/2/20 Brimstone exceptionally early sighting.  Cologne Rd.

16/2/20 Bullfinch Garden Cologne Rd. RMP




WOOL ROAD VERGES.


It is easy to take areas of grass such as road verges for granted but they can contribute significantly to biodiversity. Most of the plants and animals of road verges are common but are still very valuable as they can be food for others, road verges  may act as corridors linking other more important wildlife areas though this is difficult to demonstrate and they can be visually important creating an attractive and colourful border to sterile roads. In spring this can be seen on many verges even into the centre of Wool where there are large carpets of shining yellow Lesser celandines and cushions of pale cream Primroses.


Wool has just over 13 km of roads of all grades outside the built up area, most have verges on both side of the road and most have a hedgerow as well. If the average width along this 25 km is 2 m this makes about 5 hectares of grassland spread throughout the parish.


A considerable diversity of wildlife can exist in quite small areas of grass from small mammals such as shrews, moles and voles to vast numbers of invertebrates and a wide range of herbaceous plants. Most verges are adjacent to a hedge so that there is a combination of herbaceous and shrub vegetation that can then provide both food and nesting sites for birds. Kestrels are often seen hovering over road verges because their prey, not only small mammals but grasshoppers and other large insects, can be abundant in the rough grass.


Road verges in Wool are diverse depending on whether the soils are developed from the nutrient poor sand and gravel, the well-drained chalk or the moister river plain soils. The nutrient poor and dry soils can be the most botanically diverse because there are fewer of the large aggressive tussocky grasses or tall herbs. The nutrient rich verges have a larger number of large competitive species such as the grasses Cocksfoot and False oat grass and herbs such as Hogweed, Cow parsley, Nettle, Goosegrass and close to the road Dandelion that tolerates winter salt treatment. Throughout Dorset 80 - 90 % of road verges tend to have a high proportion of these plants of nutrient enriched soils. In Wool these plants of rank verges are less common and there are higher numbers with plants such as Knapweed, Yarrow, Wild Carrot, Square Stemmed St John’s wort and Bird’s foot trefoil that elsewhere are present on 20% or less of verges.


While most plants and animals on verges are common and widespread in Wool there are some unusual, interesting and colourful species such as Common broomrape that is parasitic mainly on clovers but also on other plants and Chicory whose bright blue flowers are particularly attractive on the verge of the lane from the Lulworth road down to Wood Street. In some years patches of pale yellow Toadflax, or Snapdragons, occur to liven up verges in late summer.



























Some road verge plants are garden escapes such as this Tansy on the Lulworth Rd.



Many insects found on verges are attracted by scent to flowers for their pollen and nectar. Plants such as Hogweed that smell repulsive to us are very attractive to insects particularly flies and the Common red soldier beetle.  Beside the Lulworth road there can be very good patches of Knapweed that is particularly attractive to butterflies and bees.


Road verges are subjected to many pressures that may discourage wildlife. They may be dug up to lay pipes and cables, they may be compacted by vehicle parking, they are subject to noise and pollutants from passing vehicles and they may be mown in a way that is harmful to wildlife, just to keep them tidy.

While disturbance by digging trenches for pipes and cables is in the short term destructive it may in the longer term create areas for recolonising plants such as Teasel and Mullein that may diversify the vegetation for a few years. Buried seeds may come to the surface during digging so that a red flush of Poppies appears. Unfortunately following work on verges nutrient enriched topsoil may be brought in that contains non-local seed. This has occurred in the last 10 years just outside Wool at the corner of the C6 and King George V Road when the footpath was reconstructed. The verge on the corner had a diverse flora including a good population of the small orchid, Autumn Lady’s tresses, that was decimated and Pale flax was lost by the addition of nutrient enriched topsoil containing not only the seeds of agricultural weeds but crop seeds as well. Moles do some natural turning over of verge soil and create natural seedbeds for annual plants.


Flail mowers are particularly damaging because they mince up the vegetation and anything in it. This forms a mulch that smothers small low growing plants and it releases nutrients as it decomposes that encourages rank vegetation. Unfortunately removal of cut vegetation to reduce nutrients is desirable but not economic except for very special verges. The success of many insects is dependant on the availability of nectar and pollen but cutting removes the flowers and this important food resource, which may be a factor contributing to the decline of Bumblebees in the countryside.  Vetches, clovers and docks are important food for the larvae of many insects; larvae that feed on the leaves are very vulnerable to mowing but those that feed on the roots may survive.


A small amount of coarser vegetation on verges can be beneficial. Tussocks of Cocksfoot provide important hibernation sites for invertebrates but late season mowing can damage these, however, with Cocksfoot present on over 90% road verges in Dorset, there should always be some available for hibernation.


A few years ago along the north side of the A352 from Burton Cross into Wool, now abutting the new houses being built, the Parish Council tried to establish some patches of wildflowers to enliven the verge but due to the markers being regularly removed it became indiscriminately mown and now only a few Ox-eye daisies and Red campion remain.

































Ancient Woodland

Winfrith Roundabout; short turf with an abundance of Bird’s foot Trefoil.

Mallow - an attractive taller plant that often grows at the back of road verges where it is less likely to be mown.

Above, Common Broomrape. A parasitic plant that does not have chlorophyll, has a variety of hosts. Found on two verges in Wool.