THE TREE RESOURCE OF CHURCHYARDS OF GWYNEDD, WALES

Summary

Data are presented from a survey of the tree population in 212 Church in Wales churchyards in the county of Gwynedd, North Wales. In general the diversity of tree species was low, with yew, sycamore, and ash accounting for 63 per cent of the tree population. Tree numbers and species diversity were greater in eastern parts of Gwynedd than in the more exposed Anglesey and Llyn regions of the county. Oak, rowan, birch, willow, alder, and poplar, were all scarce in churchyards compared with their numbers recorded in other tree surveys of rural areas of Gwynedd.

The size class distribution suggests that few trees had been planted in Gwynedd churchyards during the past 40 years. Sycamore and ash were regenerating freely, together with hawthorn, blackthorn, and elder, and much smaller numbers of oak, rowan, and yew. The populations of most of the other species present were biased towards larger size classes. Species composition varied within Gwynedd, but with ubiquitous regeneration of a few species combined with the ageing populations of other species it is likely that these regional differences will diminish.

A high proportion of the yew trees were estimated to be 75 to 150 years old, though some were considerably older. There is evidence to suggest that the condition of some of the older yew trees has deteriorated over the past few years. Of the other species present the majority were planted between 1890 and 1940.