DB Specific Record

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***SWAAG_ID***	833
Date Entered	23/08/2014
Updated on	24/08/2014
Recorded by	Tim Laurie
Category	Tree Site Record
Record Type	Botanical HER
Record Date	23/08/2014
Location	Birkdale Common. Uldale Beck. Lower Falls.
Civil Parish	Muker
Brit. National Grid	NY 81206 03287
Altitude	530m
Geology	Waterfall formed by hard thin bedded strata close to the Crow Limestone.
Record Name	Uldale Lower Falls and relict woodland close to the present altitudinal limit of trees in Swaledale.
Record Description	This record describes two living trees, the first being an ancient rowan, the other a very young seedling juniper. The remains of a third tree, long dead are also mentioned. This small juniper is a surprise, no living juniper survives here today. The nearest known living junipers are an isolated isolated ancient juniper at the waterfall on Little Sleddale Beck and three junipers on Black Scar on Birkdale Beck, upstream of Ellers. However there can be no doubt that that junipers were once widespread on all the tributaries of the Swale and the remains of fossil prehistoric juniper are present, together with birch and willow below deep blanket peat at elevation up to 640m at Lodge Haggs and elsewhere on the eastern slopes Mallerstang Edge and on Birkdale Common, see photos.
Dimensions	See photos
Additional Notes	The existence of this isolated and very healthy seedling juniper on the steep heather dominated slope immediately above Uldale Beck Falls is very significant and certainly indicates that natural regeneration from long dormant seed can and does occur today. The locality of this seedling is characteristic of the localities where relict junipers do survive today, and the absence of mature living juniper today in Uldale Gill does not imply that junipers were not present here recently. The rotted remains, unidentified, of a dead tree which were seen on the cliff beside the falls does show that further trees or junipers were recently present here. For an account of the present altitudinal limit of trees in the High Northern Pennines together with details of the existence and age of prehistoric tree remains below deep blanket peat, including Downy Birch, Willow, Aspen and Juniper, at elevations up to 760m in Upper Teesdale within the Moorhouse National Nature Reserve, see Johnson, G.A.L and Dunham, K.C. 'The Geology of Moorhouse' Monographs of the Nature Conservancy No 2. HMSO. 1963.
Image 1 ID	5794 Click image to enlarge
Image 1 Description	The Lower Falls, Uldale Beck.
Image 2 ID	5785 Click image to enlarge
Image 2 Description	Approach to the Falls
Image 3 ID	5796 Click image to enlarge
Image 3 Description	A good place for lunch.The multi stemmed rowan grows at the edge of the Beck below the Falls
Image 4 ID	5797 Click image to enlarge
Image 4 Description	This old rowan has several stems or trunks. The base of the tree and each stem being concealed below moss.
Image 5 ID	5798 Click image to enlarge
Image 5 Description	The Rowan in August.
Image 6 ID	5799 Click image to enlarge
Image 6 Description
Image 7 ID	5788 Click image to enlarge
Image 7 Description	Hard fern, Blechnum spicant at the falls
Image 8 ID	5800 Click image to enlarge
Image 8 Description	Hard fern and Broad Buckler Fern, Dryopteris dilitata, at the falls.
Image 9 ID	5783 Click image to enlarge
Image 9 Description	Recording the seedling juniper in heather close to the falls.
Image 10 ID	5784 Click image to enlarge
Image 10 Description	The small juniper in heather by the falls.
Image 11 ID	5790 Click image to enlarge
Image 11 Description	Uldale Gill Beck above the Lower Falls
Image 12 ID	5792 Click image to enlarge
Image 12 Description	Lodge Haggs. Massed tree remains below residual mound of blanket peat, 2-3m deep.
Image 13 ID	5793 Click image to enlarge
Image 13 Description	Detail of the fossil tree remains. Remains of Downy birch, Willow and Juniper have been identified below peat in this area.