Trodds Copse () is a 25.23

hectare The hectare (; SI symbol: ha) is a non-SI metric unit of area equal to a square with 100- metre sides (1 hm2), or 10,000 m2, and is primarily used in the measurement of land. There are 100 hectares in one square kilometre. An acre is ...

biological Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), in central

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English cities on its south coast, Southampton and Portsmouth, Hampshire ...

, notified in 1989. It comprises ancient semi-natural woodland, unimproved meadows and flushes.

Location

The copse is situated to the north-west of

Chandler's Ford Chandler's Ford (originally The Ford and historically Chandlersford) is a largely residential area and civil parish in the Borough of Eastleigh in Hampshire, England. It has a population of 21,436 in the 2011 UK Census. Chandler's Ford lies on ...

between Flexford Road and Hook Road and adjoins the Eastleigh to Romsey railway line.

Description

The citation for the SSSI says:

Trodds Copse Site of Special Scientific Interest comprises ancient semi-natural woodland, unimproved meadows and flushes overlying Bracklesham Beds, Bagshot Sand,
peat Peat (), also known as turf (), is an accumulation of partially decayed vegetation or organic matter. It is unique to natural areas called peatlands, bogs, mires, moors, or muskegs. The peatland ecosystem covers and is the most efficient ...
and
alluvium Alluvium (from Latin ''alluvius'', from ''alluere'' 'to wash against') is loose clay, silt, sand, or gravel that has been deposited by running water in a stream bed, on a floodplain, in an alluvial fan or beach, or in similar settings. ...
. The habitats are drained by tributaries of the
Monks Brook Monks Brook is a river in the English county of Hampshire. It is a tributary of the River Itchen, which it joins at a medieval salmon pool in Swaythling. The brook is formed from seven streams that rise in the chalky South Downs, with the of ...
, a branch of the River Itchen. The diverse geology and varied drainage conditions give rise to a wide range of habitats. At least ten woodland types can be identified, of which four are considered nationally rare. The diversity of woodland types is matched by an extremely rich ground flora. The antiquity of the woodlands is reflected in the very high number of ancient woodland indicator species recorded within the site. Over fifty such species occur, including a number of rare or local plants such as tutsan (''
Hypericum androsaemum ''Hypericum androsaemum'', also referred to as Tutsan, Shrubby St. John's Wort, or sweet-amber, is a flowering plant in the family Hypericaceae. It is a perennial shrub reaching up to 70 cm in height, native to open woods and hillsides in E ...
'') making it one of the botanically richest woods in Hampshire.

History

Trodds Copse and surrounding land has been well documented since the late 16th century. The whole site was enclosed from common land prior to 1588 and woodland boundary banks can be clearly discerned. Some areas were managed as wood pasture but by the early 19th century this practice had ceased, the land being converted to

pasture Pasture (from the Latin ''pastus'', past participle of ''pascere'', "to feed") is land used for grazing. Pasture lands in the narrow sense are enclosed tracts of farmland, grazed by domesticated livestock, such as horses, cattle, sheep, or sw ...

coppice Coppicing is a traditional method of woodland management which exploits the capacity of many species of trees to put out new shoots from their stump or roots if cut down. In a coppiced wood, which is called a copse, young tree stems are repeate ...

woodland. The site is threatened by the north-westerly expansion of Chandler's Ford. In 1990, a planning application to build 200 houses and a golf course at neighbouring Broadgate Farm,

Ampfield Ampfield is a village and civil parish in the Borough of Test Valley in Hampshire, England, between Romsey, Eastleigh, and Winchester. It had a population at the 2001 census of 1,474, increasing to 1,583 at the 2011 Census. Geography Ampfield ...

was refused as it "''would result in the destruction of part of the Trodds Copse Countryside Heritage Site''".

Flora

Among the many tree and plant species found at Trodds Copse are: *Maple ''

Acer campestre ''Acer campestre'', known as the field maple, is a flowering plant species in the family Sapindaceae. It is native to much of continental Europe, Britain, southwest Asia from Turkey to the Caucasus, and north Africa in the Atlas Mountains. It has ...

'' *Alder ''

Alnus glutinosa ''Alnus glutinosa'', the common alder, black alder, European alder, European black alder, or just alder, is a species of tree in the family Betulaceae, native to most of Europe, southwest Asia and northern Africa. It thrives in wet locations wh ...

'' *Common Hazel ''

Corylus avellana ''Corylus avellana'', the common hazel, is a species of flowering plant in the birch family Betulaceae. It is native to Europe and western Asia. It is an important component of the hedgerows that were the traditional field boundaries in lowland En ...

'' *Alder buckthorn ''

Frangula alnus ''Frangula alnus'', commonly known as alder buckthorn, glossy buckthorn, or breaking buckthorn, is a tall deciduous shrub in the family Rhamnaceae. Unlike other "buckthorns", alder buckthorn does not have thorns. It is native to Europe, northern ...

'' *Common Ash ''

Fraxinus excelsior ''Fraxinus excelsior'', known as the ash, or European ash or common ash to distinguish it from other types of ash, is a flowering plant species in the olive family Oleaceae. It is native throughout mainland Europe east to the Caucasus and Albor ...

'' *Pedunculate Oak ''

Quercus robur ''Quercus robur'', commonly known as common oak, pedunculate oak, European oak or English oak, is a species of flowering plant in the beech and oak family, Fagaceae. It is a large tree, native to most of Europe west of the Caucasus. It is widel ...

'' *Rowan '' Sorbus aucuparia'' *Sneezewort '' Achillea ptarmica'' *Velvet bent '' Agrostis canina'' *Tall oat ''

Arrhenatherum elatius ''Arrhenatherum elatius'', with the common names bulbous oat grass, false oat-grass, tall oat-grass, tall meadow oat, onion couch and tuber oat-grass, is a species of perennial grass, native to Europe, western Asia, and northern Africa. This bun ...

'' *Marsh marigold '' Caltha palustris'' *Brown sedge ''

Carex disticha ''Carex disticha'' is a Eurasian species of sedge known as the brown sedge or, in North America, tworank sedge. Distribution ''Carex disticha'' is native to parts of Northern and Western Europe, where it grows in moist spots in a number of habit ...

'' *Smooth-stalked sedge '' C. laevigata'' *Tussock sedge '' C. paniculata'' *Remote sedge '' C. remota'' *Opposite-leaved golden

saxifrage ''Saxifraga'' is the largest genus in the family Saxifragaceae, containing about 465 species of holarctic perennial plants, known as saxifrages or rockfoils. The Latin word ''saxifraga'' means literally "stone-breaker", from Latin ' ("rock" or " ...

'' Chrysosplenium oppositifolium'' *Purple loosestrife '' Epipactis purpurata'' *Meadowsweet ''

Filipendula ulmaria ''Filipendula ulmaria'', commonly known as meadowsweet or mead wort, is a perennial herbaceous plant in the family Rosaceae that grows in damp meadows. It is native throughout most of Europe and Western Asia (Near east and Middle east). It has ...

'' *Marsh bedstraw ''

Galium palustre ''Galium palustre'', the common marsh bedstraw or simply marsh-bedstraw, is a herbaceous annual plant of the family Rubiaceae. This plant is widely distributed, native to virtually every country in Europe, plus Morocco, the Azores, Turkey, Turkm ...

'' *Fen bedstraw '' G. uliginosum'' *Water avens '' Geum rivale'' *Ivy ''

Hedera helix ''Hedera'', commonly called ivy (plural ivies), is a genus of 12–15 species of evergreen climbing or ground-creeping woody plants in the family Araliaceae, native to western, central and southern Europe, Macaronesia, northwestern Africa and ...

'' *Yorkshire fog ''

Holcus lanatus ''Holcus lanatus'' is a perennial grass. The specific epithet ' is Latin for 'woolly' which describes the plant's hairy texture. Common names include Yorkshire fog, tufted grass, and meadow soft grass. In North America, where it is an invasive ...

'' *Tutsan ''

Hypericum androsaemum ''Hypericum androsaemum'', also referred to as Tutsan, Shrubby St. John's Wort, or sweet-amber, is a flowering plant in the family Hypericaceae. It is a perennial shrub reaching up to 70 cm in height, native to open woods and hillsides in E ...

'' *Sharp-flowered rush '' Juncus acutiflorus'' *Yellow archangel '' Lamiastrum galeobdolon'' *Honeysuckle ''

Lonicera periclymenum ''Lonicera periclymenum'', common names honeysuckle, common honeysuckle, European honeysuckle, or woodbine, is a species of flowering plant in the family Caprifoliaceae native to much of Europe, North Africa, Turkey and the Caucasus. It is found ...

'' *Gipysywort ''

Lycopus europaeus ''Lycopus europaeus'', common names gypsywort, gipsywort, bugleweed, European bugleweed and water horehound, is a perennial plant in the genus ''Lycopus'', native to Europe and Asia, and naturalized elsewhere. Another species, '' Lycopus america ...

'' *Yellow loosestrife ''

Lysimachia vulgaris ''Lysimachia vulgaris'', the yellow loosestrife or garden loosestrife, is a species of herbaceous perennial flowering plant in the family Primulaceae. It was transferred to Myrsinoideae based on results of molecular phylogenetic research bef ...

'' *Cyclamen-flowered Daffodil '' Narcissus cyclamineus''Newsletter of the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust’s Flora Group: Autumn 2006
/ref> *Bramble ''

Rubus fruticosus ''Rubus fruticosus'' L. is the ambiguous name of a European blackberry species in the genus ''Rubus'' in the rose family. The name has been interpreted in several ways: *The species represented by the type specimen of ''Rubus fruticosus'' L., ...

'' *Wood club rush '' Scirpus sylvaticus'' *Bog mosses including **''

Sphagnum palustre ''Sphagnum palustre'' (Syn. ''Sphagnum cymbifolium''), the prairie sphagnum or blunt-leaved bogmoss, is a species of peat moss from the genus ''Sphagnum'', in the family Sphagnaceae. Like other mosses of this type it can soak up water up to the 3 ...

'' **'' S. flexuosum'' **'' Sphagnum recurvum var. mucronatum'' *Devil’s bit scabious '' Succisa pratensis'' *Branched bur-reed ''

Sparganium erectum ''Sparganium erectum'', the simplestem bur-reed or branched bur-reed, is a perennial plant species in the genus ''Sparganium ''Sparganium'' (bur-reed) is a genus of flowering plants, described as a genus by Linnaeus in 1753. It is widespread ...

Fauna

The wide range of habitats is reflected by the diverse

invertebrate Invertebrates are a paraphyletic group of animals that neither possess nor develop a vertebral column (commonly known as a ''backbone'' or ''spine''), derived from the notochord. This is a grouping including all animals apart from the chordate ...

fauna present within the site, including: *Hoverfly ''

Criorhina asilica ''Criorhina asilica'', is a species of hoverfly. It is found in many parts of Britain and Europe. The larvae of ''C. asilica'' are associated with rotting deciduous wood in mature woodland and fens. Adults are Honey Bee mimics and can be found ...

'' *Robber fly '' Choerades marginatus'' *Solitary bee ''

Macropis europaea ''Macropis europaea'' is a species of insect belonging to the family Melittidae Melittidae is a small bee family, with over 200 described species in three subfamilies. The family has a limited distribution, with all described species restric ...

'' *Tachinid fly '' Phasia hemiptera'' *Hoverfly ''

Volucella inflata ''Volucella inflata'' is a large species of European hoverfly. Description ''V. inflata'' is a large, short-haired fly. Though a little smaller than most European species of ''Volucella'', typical body length is 12–15 mm and wing length i ...

References

External links

Natural England website
(SSSI information)
Map of the SSSI
{{SSSIs Hampshire biological Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Hampshire Sites of Special Scientific Interest notified in 1989 Test Valley