Zoom in close on the aerial images taken by Google in the last year and you will see a mysterious patterning of dark green rings spreading all over our new chalk grassland fields at RSPB Winterbourne Downs. These are fungal “fairy rings” which have slowly been colonising our new chalk grasslands. This colonization of fungi will actually herald wonderful changes in our grasslands as most of the nutrient recycling in ancient grasslands is carried out by fungal mycorrhizal networks. Many wildflowers, just like trees, form associations with fungi and tap in to their fine root-like mycorrhizae for nutrients and water, and inter-plant communications. The arable fields, from which our new grasslands have been reverted, by contrast have a much simpler bacteria based nutrient recycling system.
Most notable of the wildflowers that form associations with fungi are the orchids. And it is perhaps not by chance now that the fungi are beginning to establish that we see orchids arriving in their wake. This year we have observed common-spotted orchids in most of our grasslands over six years-old, and fragrant orchids have been seen for the first time, in both of our oldest 10 year-old fields. Some chalk indicators have been slow to get established at the reserve, such as dropwort and rockrose, despite their seed having been sown. It looks like we just need to be patient, wait for the right fungi to arrive and then the wildflowers will follow......