A very poplar move
ONE of Britain's rarest native trees, the black poplar, is being given a fighting chance to boost its numbers thanks to an Environ-ment Agency project, to be known as Freeman's Pools, part of the Lower Lancaster Flood Alleviation Scheme.
As part of the new 15-acre reserve a number of black poplar trees have been planted. The saplings are genetic matches to a mature specimen at the nearby Freeman's Wood County Biological Heritage Site.
Cathy Ovens, the Environment Agency's biodiversity officer, said: "The black poplar was once a common sight in the British landscape and features in many classical paintings such as John Constable's The Hay Wain.
"The species has historically been persecuted as the females produce vast amounts of fluffy seeds that can cause a nuisance for landowners. Large numbers of females were destroyed meaning that the tree has been edging towards extinction in the UK."
Freeman's Pools was created after the Environment Agency bought the land to excavate providing material for the construction of new flood embankments.
The newly created habitat is intended to be a haven for wildlife and there will be no public access into the area.
The full article contains 196 words and appears in n/a newspaper.
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Last Updated:
03 July 2008 12:10 PM
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Source:
n/a
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Location:
Lancaster
