Merionethshire

The vice-county of Merionethshire is one of the most sparsely populated counties in the UK. It is bounded on the west by Cardigan Bay, by Caernarfon and Denbighshire to the north, Montgomeryshire to the east and Cardiganshire to the south. Sandy soils are found along the coast of Merionethshire and inland there are large expanses of clay dominated soils. As well as coastal habitats, a large proportion of Snowdonia National Park falls within Merionethshire and the upland areas are dominated by peat and man- made soils comprised of spoil.

One of the least arable vice-counties in Wales. However, there was still an 83% reduction in arable land between the 1930s and 1980s habitat mapping. This will have had a huge impact on the amount of land managed suitably for arable plants.

Merionethshire has seen a huge reduction in the area of arable land; from being largely arable before the war, Merionethshire is now mostly pasture for silage and grazing.

The arable flora of Merioneth is not very diverse. There are only records of 20 important arable plants present between 1978-2015, with a combined IAPA score of 54. However, there are some records of relatively rare species including large-flowered hemp-nettle, a species of conservation concern on Section 42 of the NERC Act 2006, and corn spurrey which is considered to be vulnerable across the UK.

Two tetrads in Merionethshire are considered to be of county importance for arable plants. Both have corn spurrey and field woundwort, whilst one tetrad has henbane and the other has large-flowered hemp-nettle.

Although there have been some surveys of arable plants in Merionethshire there are still many areas that are under recorded. The style of farming in Merionethshire, where cultivated fields are rotated round in between grass leys, means it is particularly difficult to survey all the fields which are under cultivation. There is a need for a systematic survey of arable plants in Merionethshire, particularly in the north east of the county where arable farming still persists and there is a hot spot for large-flowered hemp-nettle. This would provide more rigorous data that could be used for targeting management measures for arable plants such as through agri-environment schemes or voluntarily by conscientious farmers.

Merionethshire 1933-1949 Arable Land Use

Land used for arable cultivation in the 1933- 49 period covered 4497 ha, with the greatest concentration in lowland areas of the vice county, particularly the valleys of the River Dee and its tributaries. There was also a high concentration of arable land near the coast.

The 1930s are considered a low point in arable land use and the coverage of cultivated land may have been historically much greater.

Contains Ordnance Survey © Cyfoeth Naturiol Cymru,

and database right 2015. Wales, 2015.

± 5 km

Merionethshire 1979-1991 Arable Land Use

Land used for arable cultivation during the 1979-91 Phase 1 habitat survey of Wales covered 800 ha in Merionethshire, an 82% reduction since the 1933-49 land use survey. What little remained of arable land by 1991 was predominantly located in the north east of the vice county.

Merionethshire Soil Map

Soils considered to be in the broad soil category of clay are the dominant substrate for 314 tetrads in Merionethshire. Most of the arable land in the vice-county is located in areas with clay soils. Some arable land is also to be found in areas with sandy soil. Sandy soils are the dominant soil type for 18 tetrads, all of which are located on or adjacent to the coast.

There are no great expanses of calcareous soils in Merionethshire.

‘Other’ types of soils are the dominant substrate for 195 tetrads. This includes deep humus-rich soils that are present in upland areas and disturbed and man-made soils from mining activity.

Contains Ordnance Survey © Cyfoeth Naturiol data © Crown copyright Cymru, 2014. © Natural and database right 2015. Resources Wales, 2015.

± 5 km

Corn Chamomile Anthemis arvensis

There is a very historical record of corn chamomile in Merionethshire, from 1894 near Aberdovey.

Data maintained by the Contains Ordnance Survey Vice-County Recorder and data © Crown copyright and provided by the Botanical database right 2016. Society of the British Isles

and Ireland and accessed

± from the BSBI Distribution

5 Database 2016.

Red Hemp-nettle Galeopsis angustifolia

There are three historical records of red hemp-nettle from Merionethshire without habitat descriptions which could well be from arable land. Two are located in the Vale of Ffestiniog and the other near Dolgellau, they were all recorded in 1886.

There are no recent records of red hemp- nettle in Merionethshire and it is presumed to be locally extinct.

Contains Ordnance Survey Data maintained by the data © Crown copyright Vice-County Recorder and and database right 2015. provided by the Botanical Society of the British Isles and Ireland and accessed ± from the BSBI Distribution 5 Database 2015. km

Large-flowered Hemp-nettle Galeopsis speciosa

There are four recent records of large- flowered hemp-nettle at:

 Llandderfel (SH93X).

 Glan-yr-afon (SJ04B).

 Llandrillo (SJ03P).

 Gwyddelwern (SJ04Y).

However three of these records are for ‘single plants’ therefore they are unlikely to represent healthy, viable populations, without the establishment of sympathetic management.

The majority of the historical records of large-flowered hemp-nettle in Merionethshire are at the hectad scale (10 x 10 km) and therefore are not mapped here. This may hide a decline in the distribution of large-flowered hemp- nettle.

Corn mint Mentha arvensis

There are eight recent records of corn mint from arable land in Merionethshire. These are distributed across the vice-county.

The majority of the historical records of corn mint in Merionethshire are at the hectad scale (10 x 10 km) and therefore are not mapped here. As a consequence it is not possible to assess whether there has been any change in the distribution of corn mint.

Corn Spurrey Spergula arvensis

In recent years corn spurrey has been recorded from twenty two sites, distributed all across Merionethshire.

The majority of the historical records of corn spurrey in Merionethshire are at the hectad scale (10 x 10 km) and therefore are not mapped here. This may hide a decline in the distribution of corn spurrey.

± from the BSBI Distribution Database 2015. 5 km

Field Woundwort Stachys arvensis

There are four recent records of field woundwort on arable land in Merionethshire. Along the coastal strip field wound wort has been found twice in 2014: at Llanaber and at Ty Newydd, Dyffryn Ardudwy. It was also found in the north east of the vice-county in 2007 on a turnip field at Rhos y Maerdy, Llandrillo and in 2013 near the River Alwen, south west of Corwen.

The majority of the historical records of field woundwort in Merionethshire are at the hectad scale (10 x 10 km) and therefore are not mapped here. This may hide a decline in the distribution of field woundwort.

Contains Ordnance Survey Data maintained by the data © Crown copyright Vice-County Recorder and and database right 2015. provided by the Botanical Society of the British Isles

and Ireland and accessed from the BSBI Distribution ± 5 Database 2015. km

Merionethshire IAPA Status

Two tetrads in Merionethshire have sufficiently high IAPA score to qualify as being of county importance.

 Tetrad SH61C is located on the coast near Barmouth and is dominated by clay soils. It has records of henbane, corn spurrey and field woundwort present.

 Tetrad SJ03P is located in the north east of the vice county, near Llandrillo, and its soils are dominated by clay. The species which contribute to its IAPA score are large-flowered hemp-nettle, corn spurrey and field woundwort.

The records used for this analysis fall within the range 1987-2015, and only records of plants originating naturally from the soil seed bank have been included. Older records and those from introduced seed have been excluded from the analysis.

Contains Ordnance Survey Data maintained by the data © Crown copyright Vice-County Recorder and and database right 2015. provided by the Botanical Society of the British Isles © Cyfoeth Naturiol Cymru, and Ireland and accessed