Rain, flooding and high winds have “obliterated” Oxfordshire’s county flower, a wildlife trust have said.
Just over 6,000 snake’s head fritillaries were counted by Berkshire, Buckinghamshire & Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust (BBOWT) this year.
That is down from 43,000 last year - and the lowest figure since 1993.
The count is held annually at Iffley Meadows nature reserve on the River Thames in Oxford.
The trust said the flower had been “decimated” by wild weather conditions and browsing by deer.
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This is the best summary I could come up with:
Rain, flooding and high winds have “obliterated” Oxfordshire’s county flower, a wildlife trust have said.
Just over 6,000 snake’s head fritillaries were counted by Berkshire, Buckinghamshire & Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust (BBOWT) this year.
The count is held annually at Iffley Meadows nature reserve on the River Thames in Oxford.
BBOWT senior ecologist Colin Williams, who was in charge of the count, said: “The low numbers are disappointing, but not unexpected.”
He said “prolonged and extensive flooding” of the site, along with recent heavy rainfall meant many of the plants were “really struggling”.
The “disappointing” count result comes in the same week the trust seeks public donations for a “double your money” £60,000 one-week appeal to help floodplain meadows like those at Iffley.
The original article contains 281 words, the summary contains 122 words. Saved 57%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!
