Survey run by N.T.H. Holmes for English Nature (Peterborough). All these records relate to "Holmes (1991) The Distribution of Zostera and Ruppia in the Fleet 1991". A copy of the report is held at English Nature (Dorset Team).
This is the third of three surveys by the author which aim to determine the abundance and distribution of two Zostera species (Z. nolti and Z. angustifolia) and two Ruppia species (R. cirrhosa and R. maritima) in the Fleet, Dorset. Fieldwork was carried out on August 9th and 10th 1991. Results are compared with two previous surveys by the author in 1983 and 1985. At each site a quadrat of approximately 100 square metres was surveyed and the percentage cover of the individual plant species estimated. For the purpose of this survey, cover from non-attached algae was considered separately from that which was rooted; therefore a total cover of more than 100% was possible if algae were deposited on top of eel-grass. In total 151 quadrats were surveyed. The author notes that it is impossible to be precise about where each of the quadrats were located, but the report provides a detailed map comparing the sites surveyed in the three different survey years. A grid reference has therefore been allocated to each quadrat using the map from the report. The report confirms the west-east and north-south zonation of species reported from previous surveys. Ruppia cirrhosa is very dominant west of Rodden Hive Point but then gives way gradually to Zostera on passing east down the Fleet; Z. noltii thrives best along the northern coves whilst Z. angustifolia dominates along the shore in the shadow of Chesil and in the main body of the Fleet.
