The biodiversity of three traditional orchards within the Wyre Forest SSSI in Worcestershire: a survey by the Wyre Forest Study Group (ENRR707)

The aim of the survey was to demonstrate the range of biodiversity that orchards managed in a sympathetic manner can support. The English Nature study concentrated on habitat recording, and selective recording of lichens, bryophytes, fungi and invertebrates, the members of the Wyre Forest Study Group carried out species recording in greater depth and over a much wider range of taxa. Their comprehensive survey of three traditional orchards is the first of its kind in the UK and is thus of unique importance in understanding the biodiversity of the orchard habitat.