A Quantitative Study of the Bryophytes of Chalk Grassland

Abstract

Report on study of bryophytes along permanent transect lines on 4 Nature Reserves. Point contact and quadrat methods are used and the results compared. Each gives the same picture of status of principal species. New light is shed on the relative importance of different species in chalk grassland. The importance of angle and aspect of slope, turf character and land use history is discussed. Species of north- and south-facing slopes are contrasted. The survey followed drastic reduction of rabbits through myxomatosis and the influence of this on bryophyte incidence is considered.