Nature Tripping Episode 31 - Bryophytes and the Atlantic Rainforest

Bryophyte curious?  Join Jo and Cathy in this episode of Nature Tripping for a walk through Hardcastle Crags in Calderdale with bryologist Johnny Turner.   It might just look like green stuff but get close-up and the trees, rocks and streams are home to specialist species of mosses and liverworts indicative of Atlantic rainforest, as well as more common species once lost from the woods but now back in abundance.We learn what makes an Atlantic rainforest and how to tell if you’re in one.  We find out about a long lineage of local bryologists from 1700s onwards and how their records reveal the impact of human activity on Calderdale’s temperate woodland across the centuries.  It’s not all bad news!  Johnny also shares his thoughts on his life-long relationship with these very ancient plants.