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Greetings
I just came across the following story on a local BBC web site:
The dormouse population in a Worcestershire nature reserve is growing, as a result of work to make a wood butterfly friendly.
Monkwood nature reserve, owned by Worcestershire Wildlife Trust, had 30m (33 yard) rides cleared.
Full story
http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/herefordandworcester/hi/people_a...
Comments
law of unexpected consequences
even if in this case the result might be beneficiary, it's still an example that if you do A not only B happens, but also C, D, E and F.
I'm in favour
of anything which gives dormice a better chance to survive. They need broadleaf trees which produce edible seeds such as oak or even beech, with an understory of hazel--which needs to be coppiced, and they need honeysuckle. They use honeysuckle bark for making nests.
Angharad
Angharad
Wait.. Honeysuckle _bark_?
Wait..
Honeysuckle _bark_? Are we talking about the same plant here? In Texas, honeysuckle is a vine, and even at its oldest, it doesn't have much of a woody bark.
I'll get a life when it's proven and substantiated to be better than what I'm currently experiencing.
Vines
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lonicera_periclymenum European Honeysuckle
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honeysuckle The Family
Most vines have a bark, and it's just the right size for dormice, which are commonly a bit smaller than most beavers. They eat the flowers as well, and can be a benefit for larger trees, since honeysuckle vines can strangle them. In fact, one of the common names for honeysuckle is "woodbine," and foresters used to consider it a noxious weed, since it destroys the economic value of the trees it attacks through causing them to twist up into distorted shapes that make for very poor timber. This hatred of woodbine has doubtless contributed to the decline of dormice in general, because the common measures used to "control" the damage involve removing the entire understory of the forest or wood, which happens to be where dormice, and many songbirds, live.
Thus profit for a few is elevated over the beauty of the natural world enjoyed by many.
Cheers,
Puddin'
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Cheers,
Puddin'
A tender heart is an asset to an editor: it helps us be ruthless in a tactful way.
--- The Chicago Manual of Style