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 county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...

, 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 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 The Bracklesham Group (formerly Bracklesham Beds), in geology, is a series of clays and marls, with sandy and lignitic beds, in the middle Eocene of the Hampshire Basin and London Basin of England. The type section of the Bracklesham Group is th ...
, 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 efficien ...
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. Alluv ...
. The habitats are drained by tributaries of the Monks Brook, 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'') 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 s ...

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 repea ...

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 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 h ...

'' *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 ...

'' *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'' *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 Albo ...

'' *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 wid ...

'' *Rowan '' Sorbus aucuparia'' *Sneezewort ''

Achillea ptarmica ''Achillea ptarmica'' is a European species of herbaceous perennial flowering plant in the genus ''Achillea'' of the daisy family Asteraceae. Common names include the sneezewort, sneezeweed, bastard pellitory, European pellitory, fair-maid-o ...

'' *Velvet bent ''

Agrostis canina ''Agrostis canina'', the velvety bentgrass, brown bent or velvet bent, is a species of grass in the family Poaceae. Description ''Agrostis canina'' is a perennial plant, with stolons but no rhizomes, and culms which grow to a height of up to ...

'' *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 ...

'' *Marsh marigold ''

Caltha palustris ''Caltha palustris'', known as marsh-marigold and kingcup, is a small to medium size perennial herbaceous plant of the buttercup family, native to marshes, fens, ditches and wet woodland in temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. It flo ...

'' *Brown sedge '' Carex disticha'' *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 473 species of holarctic perennial plants, known as saxifrages or rockfoils. The Latin word ''saxifraga'' means literally "stone-breaker", from Latin ' ("rock" or " ...

Chrysosplenium oppositifolium ''Chrysosplenium oppositifolium'', the opposite-leaved golden-saxifrage, is a species of flowering plant in the family Saxifragaceae, native to Europe (Belgium, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, France, Germany, Great Britain, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands ...

'' *Purple loosestrife ''

Epipactis purpurata ''Epipactis purpurata'', the violet helleborine, is an orchid Orchids are plants that belong to the family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant. Along with the ...

'' *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, ...

'' *Fen bedstraw '' G. uliginosum'' *Water avens ''

Geum rivale ''Geum rivale'', the water avens, is a flowering plant in the genus ''Geum'' within the family Rosaceae. Other names for the plant are nodding avens, drooping avens, cure-all, water flower and Indian chocolate. It is native to the temperate regio ...

'' *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'' *Sharp-flowered rush ''

Juncus acutiflorus ''Juncus acutiflorus'', also called sharp-flowered rush, is a rush or a grassy plant of the genus ''Juncus''. As the name suggests, the plant has notable sharp-looking flowers, flowering between July and September. Description The plant has leav ...

'' *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'' *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 be ...

'' *Cyclamen-flowered Daffodil ''

Narcissus cyclamineus ''Narcissus cyclamineus'', the cyclamen-flowered daffodil, is a species of flowering plant in the family Amaryllidaceae, native to North West Portugal and North West Spain. Description It is a vigorous bulbous perennial, growing to tall, with ...

''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'' **'' S. flexuosum'' **''

Sphagnum recurvum ''Sphagnum recurvum'' is a species of moss belonging to the family Sphagnaceae The Sphagnaceae is a family of moss with only one living genus ''Sphagnum ''Sphagnum'' is a genus of approximately 380 accepted species of mosses, commonly kno ...

var. mucronatum'' *Devil’s bit scabious ''

Succisa pratensis ''Succisa pratensis'', also known as devil's-bit or devil's-bit scabious, is a flowering plant in the honeysuckle family Caprifoliaceae. It differs from other similar species in that it has four-lobed flowers, whereas small scabious and field s ...

'' *Branched bur-reed '' Sparganium erectum''

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'' *Robber fly '' Choerades marginatus'' *Solitary bee '' Macropis europaea'' *Tachinid fly ''

Phasia hemiptera ''Phasia hemiptera'' is a fly belonging to the family Tachinidae. Distribution This species can be found throughout Northern and Southern Europe, to the east it reaches as far as Russia, Siberia and Japan. Description ''Phasia hemiptera'' ca ...

'' *Hoverfly '' Volucella inflata''

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