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On the Vegetation of Four Durham Coal-Measure Fells: I

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On the Vegetation of Four Durham Coal-Measure Fells: I On the Vegetation of Four Durham Coal-Measure Fells: I. General Description of the Area and Its Vegetation Author(s): Harold Jeffreys Source: Journal of Ecology, Vol. 4, No. 3/4 (Dec., 1916), pp. 174-195 Published by: British Ecological Society Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2255630 . Accessed: 25/06/2014 09:31 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at . http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp . JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected]. British Ecological Society is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Journal of Ecology. http://www.jstor.org This content downloaded from 188.72.126.25 on Wed, 25 Jun 2014 09:31:36 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions 174 ON THE VEGETATION OF FOUR DURHAM COAL-MEASURE FELLS I. GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE AREA AND ITS VEGETATION BY HAROLD JEFFREYS (WithPlate XI and threeFigures in theText) INTRODUCTION The term"fell" is extensivelyused in the Northof Englandto denote a tractof elevatedcountry in a moreor lessuncultivated condition. Well- knownexamples are Scafell,Cross Fell, Bow Fell and WiddybankFell. In thewest of Durham, where the underlying rocks are mainlythe coarse sand- stonesof the Bernician and MillstoneGrit series, the ground on them is mostly coveredwith thickpeat, and the principaldominant plants are Calluna vulgaris,Eriophorum vaginatum, and Sphagnumspp. (mainly S. cymbifolium)'. The vegetationtherefore belongs to the moorformation. In the east of the county,however, the coal measuresoutcrop, and manychanges in the environmentare associatedwith the geologicalchange. The rainfalldimin- ishes,the soils are mostlysand (oftenvery fine) and clay,and the elevation is lower. Most of the westof the countyis over1000 feet in height,while in the coal measurearea a hillof over800 feetis a rarity. Peat is seldom ornever formed, save in exceptionalcircumstances, and onsome of the steeper slopeseven humusis not to be found. The nativevegetation is divided mainlybetween the heath, marsh, and neutralgrassland formations, although the last is largelydue to humaninterference, which is in mostlocalities of considerableimportance. The soil of N.E. Durhamis readilycultivated, and the arable area considerablyexceeds that under pasture. Natural woodlandis nearlyabsent, and plantationsusually line the steepbanks of streams,as theseare almostimpossible to utiliseotherwise. The area (Fig. 20) is drainedby the RiversTyne and Wear,and their tributaries.The only affluent of the Tyne that we needconsider is theTeam, a dirtystream about 13 milesin length,which rises near AnnfieldPlain, 1 Lewis, F. J., "Geographical distributionof vegetation in the basins of the Eden, Tees, Wear and Tyne." Geogr.Journ. 28, 1904, pp. 313-331. This content downloaded from 188.72.126.25 on Wed, 25 Jun 2014 09:31:36 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions H. JEFFREYS 175 flowseast for8 miles,and turnsnorthwards at Birtley,falling into the Tyne near Gateshead. From Birtlevto Gateshead it followsthe old valley of the Wear, known as the "Great Durham Wash." Of the tributariesof the Wear, the most importantfor our purposeare the Cong Burn and the South Burn, whichenter the main streamrespectively at the northend of Chester- le-Streetand a mile south of that town. % ~ ~ ~ ~ ) % 70 .4 L // tr g fryr Dssai1~~'I''\ ' / / 21 5~~~~~~~ooDrt4p _~~~~~~~~~~~0. 4k FIG. 20. Map showing the position of the areas dealt with. Scale: 1 inch to 2 miles (1: 126,720). This content downloaded from 188.72.126.25 on Wed, 25 Jun 2014 09:31:36 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions 176 The Vegetationof four Durham Coal-Measure Fells The Team flowsin a wide and low valley, and on the sides of it rise the steep RavensworthHills and the SheriffHill range. The ground remains low betweenBirtley and Chester-le-Street;to the south-westof this is the elevated ground of the Waldridge and Edmondsley neighbourhood. Geo- logicallythis is probablycontinuous with the RavensworthHills. The fourfells to be describedin this paper are WaldridgeFell, Beamish Fell, BirtleyFell, and TinklerFell. The annual rainfallin the districtis usually about 28 inches, but its seasonal distributionis very variable. No Britishvegetation seems to have been describedthat bears any close resemblanceto that of this area. That of the Pennines is widelydifferent, and the moors of North-East Yorkshire', although on Jurassic rocks, resemble the Pennine moors more than the coal-measure heaths. The heaths of the New Forest are related to it, and some featuresof the coal- measureheaths show an affinitywith the sandy areas of the Breck Country2. The present paper consists of a descriptiveaccount of the vegetation; it is proposed to deal subsequentlywith experimentalwork that has been carriedout on certainpoints connected with it. The maps have been taken fromthe 6-inch ordnance survey charts, and the details filledin from a triangulation. The general map of the district(Fig. 20) is derived from the half-inchBartholomew map, sheet 2. GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE FELLS CONSIDERED Waldridge Fell, where most of the work in this paper has been done, lies about two and a half miles south-westof Chester-le-Street,and is a roughlyrectangular area approximatelyhalf a square mile in extent. To the northof the village is a furthertract of waste ground,disconnected from the main Fell but ecologicallya part of it. The Fell is extremelyirregular in its verticalsection, ranging in heightfrom 427 feet to 150 feet,while the hills are thirteenin number. The south-eastside of the Fell is bounded principallyby the South Burn, and the north-westside by the Cong Burn. These are both small streams,of a yellow colour owing to the oxidation of ferroussulphate in the water, this being itselfan oxidation product of the iron pyritesin the coal of neighbouringpits. The sides of these streams away from the Fell are mostly covered with plantations, excepting the portion of the South Burn to the south of the ChesterMoor road. Here the Fell extends east of the stream to the top of a steep hill covered with bracken,while the moisterground in the valleyis spontaneousand apparently natural woodland, of Betula alba on the rightbank and Alnus rotundifolia 1 Blgee, P., "Eastern moorlandsof Yorkshire." This JOURNAL, 2, 1914, p. 1. 2 Parrow, E. P., "On the ecology of the vegetation of Breckland." T-hisJOURNAL, 8, 1915, p. 211. This content downloaded from 188.72.126.25 on Wed, 25 Jun 2014 09:31:36 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions H. JEFFREYS 177 on the left. The rightbank of the Cong Burn is an almost precipitousslope all the way, and fromthe point where the stream entersthe Fell to the railwaybridge it is covered with an oak-hazel wood. A sparse alder wood lines both banks of the streammuch lower down, just beforeit leaves theFell. Many small streamsrise withinthe area. The whole of the south-west side is drained by that marked 1 in Fig. 21, althoughthis itselfleaves the Fell immediatelyafter its source in Bog 7. Stream 2 is a tributaryof it, whilethose marked3 and 4 end blindlyin a depressioncontaining numerous small Juncuseffusus bogs. Streams5, 6 and 7 are fed by the large Wanister bog (Bog 11), while 8, 9 and 10 also fall into the South Burn. A few small intermittentstreams enter the Cong. Of all the fourteenstreams in Fig. 21, however,only Nos. 1, 5 and 10 are permanent. The othersall become dry in August. Most of the bogs also are not permanentlywet, the exceptions being Nos. 4, 7 and 11. In addition the duck pond 5 never becomes dry, and Bog 13 veryrarely does so. Both of these drain into the Wanisterbog, thoughby no very definitechannel. Of the hills withinthe area, the highestis Hill 10, overlookingthe village. The most strikingin appearance, however,is the Wanisterhill (Hill 2), on account of its sharp rise fromthe low-lyingground where the Wanisterbog lies. Hills 6 and 7 are mere rubbishheaps, 8 is an old air shaft,and 11 is a pit heap. A bare and precipitousslope overhangsthe valley that contains Bog. 7. The generaltopography consists of a gradual but irregularrise fromthe South Burn and Stream 1 up to the ridge where Hills 10 and 12 stand. Round these is a plateau, with a steep slope to the north. The detached portionis likewisea plateau, sloping very rapidlyto the Cong Burn, whose valley is indeed a ravine. A furtherinteresting area is a disused pasture north-eastof this, between the plantationand the burn. Pasturingis not extensiveon the Fell, only a few ponies being fed, while rabbits occur only on Hills 1 and 3, and in the pasture just mentioned. On these two hills they are scarce, and apparentlyhave little effecton the vegetation. They may have been more plentifulformerly, as the steep slope opposite Hill 13 is knownas "Rabbit Banks." The sandy areas are a large tongue extendingfrom Hill 3 nearly to the rows of houses surroundingPond 5, a smaller patch near the east corner, and the detachedpart. The rest is mainlyclay, with varyingquantities of sand. Human interferenceis in evidence in several ways. Two waggon-ways intersectthe Fell, but their effecton the vegetationseems very local. The heaps of shale fromthe collierieshave a highlycharacteristic vegetation, as have also the Smithydenequarries near the Edmondsley road. The most interestingeffects due to human agency are, however,the constructionof footpathsand burning. The formerappears to introduce two ecological This content downloaded from 188.72.126.25 on Wed, 25 Jun 2014 09:31:36 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions 178 The Vegetationof four Durhamt Coal-leasure Fells Y.A I718z.2)1c4b"1Ieo.Rc.cs~_ \ 4/W/#'0 Ha ll mt J 4.
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