Trends in vegetation cover and species richness in Wytham Woods 1974-1999 (ENRR363)

Data from 24 permanent plots in Wytham Woods (out of total set of 163) were available from 1974, 1985, 1991 and the most recent re-recording in 1999. These results were used to explore trends in vegetation cover, species richness and the abundance of particular species over a 25-year period. The main trends were confirmed as a decline in the shrub layer; broad stability in the canopy layer; high plot-to-plot variation in vegetation cover changes; no change in overall species richness; decline in bramble Rubus fruticosus cover; increases in cover of other species, notably Brachypodium sylvaticum.