147
BRYOPHYTES UPDATE
SUFFOLK BRYOPHYTES, AN UPDATE RICHARD FISK After the publication of A Flora of Suffolk (Sanford & Fisk 2010) recording was concentrated on unrecorded tetrads but it soon became apparent that this was adding little to the overall knowledge of the county’s bryoflora and I decided to concentrate on sites that had not been visited for ten years of more. It was hoped that this would show some of the changes in abundance that are taking place. It is not possible to make a direct comparison because at the same time I changed my recording programme from Aditsite to Mapmate and began recording by monad instead of by tetrad. The maps in the species accounts sections are of records made since publication of the Flora. In the Flora I had noted some changes that were already taking place and since then some species have occurred much more frequently. 1980-2005
2010-2020
Cryphaea heteromalla
89
250
Pulvigera lyellii [Orthotrichum lyellii]
92
206
Plenogemma phyllantha [Ulota phyllantha]
39
97
Frullania dilatata
127
245
The above figures are the number of tetrads, but the actual number of records is higher, for example currently Frullania dilatata has been recorded 527 times from 294 tetrads and Metzgeria furcata 560 times from 406 tetrads making it the most frequently recorded (commonest?) liverwort. (Brachythecium rutabulum remains the most frequently recorded moss). The tiny liverwort Myriocoleopsis minutissima [Cololejeunea minutissima] had one record in the Flora (surely overlooked) but has now been found at 92 sites (75 tetrads). It is not only epiphytes that have become more abundant; the introduced liverwort Lophocolea semiteres recorded from 47 tetrads in the Flora has now been found at 162 sites (80 tetrads). While my interest has been concentrated on epiphytic species I have paid less attention to some other groups, such as arable species and by just looking at numbers one might think these had declined. Bryum klinggraeffii was recorded from 376 tetrads in the Flora but from only 276 sites since then. For Dicranella staphylina the figures are 401 and 258. It is obvious that recording methods have an influence on species distribution statistics so it is not safe to jump to conclusions from numbers alone. There have been relatively few sphagnum records in this period, Barnby Broad has not been visited although most other sites have, if rather infrequently. The Fen Covert area at Blythburgh has become degraded and the area of sphagnum reduced, however in Scotland Fens, Capel St Andrew the area of sphagnum has been found to be more extensive. In the species section, all species recorded in the county have been listed, so it acts as a checklist but comments have only been appended to those where there is some new or noteworthy information. Trans. Suffolk Nat. Soc. 59 (2023)