New sensors to protect Eryri ice age relics
EARLY WARNING SYSTEM TO ENSURE PLANTS DON’T BECOME EXTINCT
SENSORS are being installed at a Snowdonia nature reserve to help protect rare plants from over-enthusiastic rock climbers. It follows concern they are inadvertently digging up soil in crevices with ice axes and crampons.
Cwm Idwal is home to some of Wales’ rarest plant species, including Arctic-alpine species such as the Snowdon lily and purple saxifrage. They cling to life in areas that are out of the reach of hungry sheep, but not from well-equipped climbers.
Although the Snowdon lily is found around the world, in Britain it is an Ice Age relic that can only be found in a few spots in Snowdonia (Eryri). Fewer than 100 bulbs are thought to exist and the “pride of Wales” needs all the help it can get: it is thought the plant will be the first to become extinct in Britain as a result of climate change.
If the ground underneath is not frozen, ice axes and crampons can severely damage the turf that host these rare plant species.
In 2014, a warning system was set up at Cwm Idwal Information Centre to alert climbers that they should avoid the area’s high cliffs.
This relies on sensors placed at high altitude that record air and ground temperature at various depths.
However, the equipment is almost 10 years old and it is now being updated.
Cwm Idwal’s upgraded warning system will also allow historical temperature data to be displayed. The work was undertaken by the Cwm Idwal Partnership, which includes Natural Resources Wales (NRW), National Trust Cymru and Snowdonia National Park Authority.
They said it was a good example of how conservation and outdoor recreation can work together for the environment.
Tom Carrick, BMC access and conservation officer, said: “The new data will hopefully be much more reliable. Although it might be tempting to get out and winter climb whenever there is snow on the ground, this data should become a daily check - like looking at the weather forecast - before heading out winter climbing.”
In Welsh, the Snowdon lily is known as Brwynddail y mynydd (“rush-leaves of the mountain”).
With Purple Saxifrage, another Ice Age survivor, it is one of a remarkable collection of plant rarities at Cwm Idwal.
Other Arctic-alpine species include Saxifraga stellaris (Tormaen serennog), Dryas octopetala (Blodyn gwyn) and the moss Mwsogl racomitrium.
Curiously, Cwm Idwal’s Purple Saxifrage is not always purple, with white and pink flowers that are thought to be unique to Snowdonia.
Alison Roberts, NRW’s specialist advisor for responsible recreation, said: “Most winter climbers are aware of the need to minimise the impact of their activity on sensitive and fragile habitats.
“The real time data collected (at Cwm Idwal) will assist us in communicating responsible access messages more effectively.”
The temperature data can be viewed on BMC’s website and at the touch screen at the Cwm Idwal Information Centre.