Grassland and lake

Rough Hills grassland

A series of grassland areas, approximately 2 hectares in size, are surrounded by scrub and are managed by an annual mowing regime. They had previously been grazed, and in the 1950s and 1960s some parts were used for horticultural trials.
 
They are broadly neutral grasslands and normally support large butterfly populations in mid-summer.

Publications

Warrington S 1994 Field evidence for intra-specific competition between trees. Journal of Biological Education 28:186-190.
 
Warrington S and Brayford JP 1995 Some aspects of the population ecology and dispersal of the small skipper butterfly Thymelicus sylvestris (Poda) in a series of linked grasslands. The Entomologist 114: 201-209.

Lake

The Lake was created in 1772 and is approximately 0.8ha of fairly open water, with four small islands. The only inputs are from a small stream to the south and a spring to the east and from surface runoff. The depth fluctuates considerably over the seasons, with a maximum of about 3.5m. The fish population is monitored annually (publications below), and surveys of the plants and invertebrates have been carried out over the years. Surrounding specimen trees, mainly non-native, were planted in the mid 19th-century.

Publications

Copp GH, Cerny J and Kovac V 2008 Growth and morphology of an endangered native freshwater fish, crucian carp Carassius carassius, in an English ornamental pond. Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems 18: 32-43. Read the abstract.

Copp GH, Warrington S and Wesley KJ 2008 Management of an ornamental pond as a conservation site for a threatened native fish species, crucian carp Carassius carassius. Hydrobiologia 597: 149-155. (DOI: 10.1007/s10750-007-9220-0)
 
Tarkan AS, Copp GH, Zieba G, Godard MJ and Cucherousset J 2009 Growth and reproduction of threatened native crucian carp Carassius carassius in small ponds of Epping Forest, south-east England.  Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems 19:797-805. Read the abstract.

Tarkan AS, Gaygusuz O, Godard MJ and Copp GH 2011 Long-term growth patterns in a pond-dwelling population of crucian carp, Carassius carassius: environmental and density-related factors. Fisheries Management and Ecology 18 375-383. (DOI 10.1111/j.1365-2400.2011.00791.x)