Description of section 6 in 1999.

Clover and Heath Speedwell in Section 6.

The section was very diverse over much of its area and each quadrat normally contained a considerable number of different species.

Included amongst the wildflowers were Greater Bird's-foot Trefoil, as well as several species more characteristic of heathland habitats, such as Heath Speedwell (light blue flower spikes on the left) and Tormentil.

The composite flowering plant family was well represented in this section, with several perennial and biennial species commonly found across much of the area.

These included Cat's-ear (yellow flowers on the left), Autumn Hawkbit, Marsh Thistle and some Ragwort. These grew interspersed among the dominant grasses.

Section 6 - Spring brushcut being carried out.

The section also contained considerable quantities of the creeping herb, Bugle (blue flower spikes on the left) together with Woodrushes (also visible flowering on the left).

These plants flower in the spring and have died back considerably by the time of the annual survey in July. As a result, their dominance is not truly reflected in the survey data.

This section contained fewer tree seedlings than other sections, although a non-native cherry seedling is visible in the foreground (left)

Heather, although not widespread, occurred in several large, extremely dense clumps. A few isolated plants of Bell Heather were also present.

There was little Bramble or Silver Birch in this section.

Species	Overall % frequency		Mean % Cover (all quadrats)
	1999	1998	1999	1998
Yorkshire Fog	96	100	25	42
Common Bent	96	88	30	22
Common Dog-violet	92	50	15	4
Heath Speedwell	63	33	13	5
European Gorse	54	29	16	4
Slender St John's-wort	50	63	4	4
Pill Sedge	42	4	5	0.5
Greater Bird's-foot Trefoil	42	42	3	14
Smooth-stalked Sedge	38	33	9	5
Bugle	38	21	4	2
Marsh Thistle	33	21	11	2
Eurhynchium praelongum	33	4	7	0.5
*Polytrichum formosum*	29	42	18	18
Heath Woodrush	29	4	2	0.5
Green-ribbed Sedge	25	8	5	1
Compact Rush	25	29	4	2
Thuidium tamarascinum	25	8	4	0.5
Heather	21	8	6	3
Cat's-ear	21	17	4	5

Summary:

The dominant plants in this section were the grasses Yorkshire Fog and Common Bent.

The section resembled a wild flower meadow habitat, although it also contained a number of characteristic heathland species such as Heather, Bell Heather, Tormentil and Heath Speedwell.

The Heather in this section had become extremely thick from the frequent cutting. As a result, even though it was low-growing, no other plants could become established in amongst its dense, woody growth.

The section was extremely diverse over much of its area. The regular cutting throughout the year prevented any one plant from becoming too tall and shading out the other smaller plants.

Changes since the previous year:

Violets approximately doubled in abundance, becoming the third most dominant plant in this section.

The amount of Heath Speedwell, Heather and European Gorse had approximately doubled in this section since the preceding year.

Pill Sedge, while not present in extensive quantities increased ten-fold.

Moss cover also increased, with the amount of Eurhynchium praelongum and Thuidium tamarascinum increasing at least three-fold.