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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 |
| SWAAG Site Name | |
| Site Type | |
| Site Name | |
| Site Description | |
| Site Access | |
| 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 |
| Geographical area | |
| Species | |
| Scientific Name | |
| Common / Notable Species | |
| Tree and / or Stem Girth | |
| Tree: Position / Form / Status | |
| Tree Site ID | 0 |
| Associated Site SWAAG ID | 0 |
| 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.
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| 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 |
| Image 11 Description | Uldale Gill Beck above the Lower Falls |  |
| Image 12 ID | 5792 |
| Image 12 Description | Lodge Haggs. Massed tree remains below residual mound of blanket peat, 2-3m deep. |  |
| Image 13 ID | 5793 |
| Image 13 Description | Detail of the fossil tree remains. Remains of Downy birch, Willow and Juniper have been identified below peat in this area. |  |
