1 BRITISH LICHEN SOCIETY OFFICERS AND CONTACTS 2010 PRESIDENT S.D. Ward, 14 Green Road, Ballyvaghan, Co. Clare, Ireland, email [email protected]. VICE-PRESIDENT B.P. Hilton, Beauregard, 5 Alscott Gardens, Alverdiscott, Barnstaple, Devon EX31 3QJ; e-mail [email protected] SECRETARY C. Ellis, Royal Botanic Garden, 20A Inverleith Row, Edinburgh EH3 5LR; email [email protected] TREASURER J.F. Skinner, 28 Parkanaur Avenue, Southend-on-Sea, Essex SS1 3HY, email [email protected] ASSISTANT TREASURER AND MEMBERSHIP SECRETARY H. Döring, Mycology Section, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Richmond, Surrey TW9 3AB, email [email protected] REGIONAL TREASURER (Americas) J.W. Hinds, 254 Forest Avenue, Orono, Maine 04473-3202, USA; email [email protected]. CHAIR OF THE DATA COMMITTEE D.J. Hill, Yew Tree Cottage, Yew Tree Lane, Compton Martin, Bristol BS40 6JS, email [email protected] MAPPING RECORDER AND ARCHIVIST M.R.D. Seaward, Department of Archaeological, Geographical & Environmental Sciences, University of Bradford, West Yorkshire BD7 1DP, email [email protected] DATA MANAGER J. Simkin, 41 North Road, Ponteland, Newcastle upon Tyne NE20 9UN, email [email protected] SENIOR EDITOR (LICHENOLOGIST) P.D. Crittenden, School of Life Science, The University, Nottingham NG7 2RD, email [email protected] BULLETIN EDITOR P.F. Cannon, CABI and Royal Botanic Gardens Kew; postal address Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Richmond, Surrey TW9 3AB, email [email protected] CHAIR OF CONSERVATION COMMITTEE & CONSERVATION OFFICER B.W. Edwards, DERC, Library Headquarters, Colliton Park, Dorchester, Dorset DT1 1XJ, email [email protected] CHAIR OF THE EDUCATION AND PROMOTION COMMITTEE: position currently vacant. CURATOR R.K. Brinklow, Dundee Museums and Art Galleries, Albert Square, Dundee DD1 1DA, email [email protected] LIBRARIAN R.G. Woods, Ty Mawr Mill, Llanfihangel Brynpabuan, Builth Wells, Powys LD2 3SH; e-mail [email protected] WEBMASTER J.I.J. Middleton, 4 Down Close, Heyshott, Midhurst, West Sussex GU29 09N, email [email protected] CHAIR OF THE MEMBERS’ SERVICES COMMITTEE D.J. Hill, Yew Tree Cottage, Yew Tree Lane, Compton Martin, Bristol BS40 6JS, email [email protected] FIELD MEETINGS SECRETARY S.G. Price, Woodlands, Combs Rd, Combs High Peak, Derbyshire SK23 9UP, email [email protected] MEMBERS OF THE COUNCIL G. Boswell, A. Britton, L. Davies, D. Hawksworth, I. Pedley, S.G. Price, K. Sandell, M. Simms, H. Thüs. REFEREES (Regional & Specialist) See web-site: www.thebls.org.uk 2 British Lichen Society Bulletin no. 107 Winter 2010 Welcome to the Winter 2010 Bulletin, with notes and articles that are more varied than ever – a real reflection of the diversity of our membership. There must be something for everyone – persevere with the more erudite contributions and lighten up for the others! The Lichens in Gardens theme has continued throughout the year, with our members hobnobbing with the great and the good (come to think of it, they are the great and the good!) in some of the estates and gardens for which the country is famous. The 2010 Autumn meeting surveyed lichens at the National Botanic Garden of Wales, and members inspected the Society’s Library in its smart new location. The BLS is most grateful to NBGW and its library staff for hosting the collection and making it accessible to members. On a domestic note, lichen surveys of members’ own gardens have been coming in – there’s still time to make a list of your patch if you haven’t joined in yet. A major event over the summer was the 9th International Mycological Congress, held in Edinburgh at the beginning of August. Lichens and lichenologists featured strongly throughout much of the programme, reflecting the ever-closer links between study of lichenized and non-lichenized fungi. We do fit here more comfortably than with “cryptogamic plants” – whatever they are nowadays. The BLS awarded travel grants to a number of young lichenologists to present their work at IMC9, and short summaries of their contributions are included in this Bulletin. Special thanks to Heather Coffey for coordinating this, who was too modest to remind me that her own poster (presented with Lenore Fahrig) received a prize from the British Mycological Society. The congress was preceded by a well-watered (and well-whiskied) field meeting in Kintail and Skye, hosted by Brian and Sandy Coppins under the auspices of the IAL. The Autumn field meeting has already been mentioned, but other events included an excursion to the Isle of Man (also well-watered at times; lichen survey on Snaefell was challenging due to low clouds – it was difficult to see lichens, let alone identify them!). The summer meeting based in the Moray region was also memorable; accounts of both will follow in future issues. Looking forward, the AGM (on 14-16 January 2011) returns to London after its perambulations around the country. Don’t be put off by the thought of boring administrative announcements – the meeting will be spiced up by four fascinating presentations on lichen matters, including the biennial Swinscow Lecture, lichen tours around the NHM facilities, dinner (very important!) and a local field meeting the following day. More information at the back of this Bulletin. Next year there will, in addition to the usual field programme, a series of affordable one-day courses on lichen identification, subsidized by a grant to the BLS from OPAL. Don’t forget to put your name down – potentially the best £20 you will spend for a good while! And finally, your 2011 subscription is due shortly: see the end pages. Make sure you pay promptly, please, before you get targeted by the Membership Secretary! Paul Cannon, BLS Bulletin editor: email [email protected] _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Front cover: Lichen mosaic on a wooden bench at the National Botanic Garden of Wales 1 The Lichens of Sutton Park, Warwickshire Abstract Lichen diversity in lowland England was devastated by the effects of industrial pollution during and after the Industrial Revolution. The Midlands are now enjoying a dramatic period of re-colonisation in areas that were, until recently, considered as “lichen deserts”. Fieldwork was undertaken between 2008 and 2010 to record lichens throughout Sutton Park and these records allow some comparisons to be made with a personal list made by James in 1977 from a limited area of woodland and heathland. We present an annotated list of the 156 lichen taxa recently recorded and some of the changes that have been observed are discussed. The major habitats within the park and their associated lichens are described. Areas and features of particular interest are highlighted. Published surveys of specific sites in the Midlands and south-east England appear to be rather few and include the following papers. Brightman (1965) published an account of the lichens of Cambridge walls, Earland-Bennett (1976) and Laundon (1972, 1973 and 1977) produced several detailed surveys during the 1970s, while more recently James & Davies (2003) and Powell (2010) have published detailed accounts. Re-surveys of some of these sites have highlighted just how dramatically the lichen communities have changed and are still changing. The re-colonisation continues and it is to be hoped that many more sites will be surveyed allowing these important changes to be monitored. Introduction Sutton Park, the largest urban park in Europe covering 2400 acres, is situated just seven miles north of the centre of Birmingham (Coxhead, 2009). In contrast to most urban parks, which were created by town planners within the last 150 years, Sutton Park has an ancient history. A deer park was established in the twelfth century but the woodland and heathland that dominated the area were also managed to provide timber and grazing. In 1528 the Borough Charter was awarded by Henry VIII and the Corporation that was established took over responsibility for the park (Lea, 2003). This Corporation played an important role in preserving stable habitats by regulating the grazing, controlling the removal of wood and by banning ploughing. Some landscaping schemes to improve and beautify the landscape were attempted about 1800 but the park was still managed largely to give a good yield of timber and to provide grazing for cattle. During the 1800s the park became increasingly used for recreation, visitors could hire rowing boats, pay for pony rides and get refreshments. There were football and cricket pitches and a golf course was created but still the majority of the area consisted of heathland and woodland. By the second half of the twentieth century the emphasis was on the preservation of the park as a place of natural beauty. In 1997 it was designated as a National Nature Reserve, the only one in Warwickshire. The local inhabitants have had a long history of applying pressure to preserve Sutton Park. When the Corporation sold off parts of the park as farmland in the early sixteenth century the locals secured an injunction to prevent further sales. 2 Enclosure proposals put forward in 1778 were defeated by popular demand. Today public pressure still continues to influence the Park’s maintenance and priorities. Thus, the continued history of Sutton Park has allowed large areas of semi-natural habitat to survive in a relatively stable condition for many centuries. Methods The majority of lichen species were identified in the field. The more critical species were collected, if present in sufficient quantity, by the removal of a suitably small sample that would not endanger the colony. Chemical tests, microscopic examination and, where necessary, thin layer chromatography, have been employed to identify critical material. Saxicolous crusts are not easy to collect when growing on surfaces that cannot be damaged.