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2020-12-31-accounts

British Bryological Society

A Charity Registered in England and Wales – No. 228851

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LOGO
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Annual Report of the Trustees 2020

Annual General Meeting 2021

Annual General Meeting 2021

Conditional upon Government regulations at the time, the AGM will be held at 4.30 on Sunday 12th September 2021 at Plas Caerdeon, North Wales

Agenda

  1. Apologies for absence

  2. Minutes of the last AGM, held via video-conference on 12th September 2020

  3. Matters arising

  4. Annual Report of the Trustees for 2020

  5. Accounts and Treasurer’s report for 2020

  6. Report from Council

  7. Election of Officers

  8. a. Vice-President

  9. a. General Secretary

  10. b. Conservation Officer

  11. c. Librarian

  12. d. Membership Secretary

  13. e. Recorder for Liverworts

  14. f. Recorder for Mosses

  15. g. Recording Secretary

  16. h. Elected Member

  17. i. Elected member

  18. Confirmation of co-option of Bulletin Editor (Joint)

  19. Appointment of Independent Examiner of the Accounts

  20. Place and date of the next Annual General Meeting

  21. Other future meetings

  22. Any other business

BRITISH BRYOLOGICAL SOCIETY

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING 2020, VIA VIDEO-CONFERENCE

Minutes of the Annual General Meeting via ZOOM video-conference at 10.00 a.m. on Saturday 12th September 2020

Present: M.A.S. Burton (President, in the chair) and 24 other members. (Attendees would normally sign the new Attendance Book, presented to the Society by P. Stanley, to record their attendance. In these unusual circumstances of a Covid-19 pandemic, a printed list will be inserted instead.)

1. Apologies for absence were received from: S. Grahame, R.H. Carter, J. Sleath and S. Caporn.

2. Minutes of the last AGM, held on Saturday 5th October 2019 at the Botanic Garden, Leicester

Following a proposal from P. Stanley , seconded by M. Godfrey , the Minutes were approved as a correct record of the meeting and will be signed by the President.

3. Matters arising:

There were no matters arising from the minutes of the last meeting.

4. Annual Report of the Trustees for 2019

There was an error made in the compilation of this booklet. The Secretary apologised for inadvertently including the Recording Secretary’s Report of the previous year (2018) instead of 2019. The correct report will be published in the next edition of Field Bryology. There were no further questions on the Annual Report of the Trustees; it was received by the meeting.

5. Accounts and Treasurer’s Report for 2019

There were no questions on the Accounts and Treasurer’s Report; they were accepted by the meeting.

The accounts had been prepared by the previous Treasurer, S. Peacock , and approved by Council and the Independent Examiner.

6. Report from Council

The President’s Report from Council, which was given at the meeting, will be published as Council Newsletter No. 37 in the May 2021 issue of Field Bryology – Bulletin No. 124.

The President thanked Sally Peacock for her clear presentation of the accounts during the past two years and also thanked Claire Halpin and Ambroise Baker for their work in taking the new website forward. O. Pescott was thanked for facilitating the online Zoom meetings during this difficult year.

7. Election of Officers

No nominations had been received from members following the notice published in Field Bryology , for these or any other posts.

Council made the following nominations for the officers who were due for election:

a. Treasurer G. Quartly-Bishop

Gail Quartly-Bishop had been co-opted by Council as Acting Treasurer following the resignation of the previous Treasurer, S. Peacock . Following a proposal by L. Ruffino , seconded by C. Halpin , she was duly elected as Treasurer with immediate effect by a unanimous vote.

M. Crittenden

L. Ruffino

C. Halpin

A. Baker

The meeting agreed to elect these en bloc . Following a proposal by P. Stanley seconded by G. Rothero , these Officers were duly elected by a majority vote (to serve for a 2-year period commencing 1st January 2021).

8. Election of Elected Members of Council

Council nominated P. Thompson (who had already been co-opted onto Council as an Elected member to replace D. J. Scott who had been elected General Secretary) and R. Whytock for election (for a further 2-year and a 3-year term respectively from January 2021). These two were proposed by G. Rothero , seconded by E. Kungu , all in favour.

9. Appointment of Independent Examiner of the Accounts

Mrs J.H. Bingley was willing to act as the Independent Examiner of the Accounts in 2021. The President said that the Society was exceedingly grateful to Mrs Bingley for taking on this role for another year. G. Quartly-Bishop proposed that she be re-appointed; M. Godfrey seconded the proposal, agreed unanimously.

10. Place and date of the next Annual General Meeting

Although the situation is currently fluid owing to Covid-19, it is hoped that the next Annual General Meeting will take place on the 2nd or 3rd week of September at Plas Caerdeon in Merionethshire.

11. Other future meetings

The Meetings Secretary, L. Ruffino , reported that plans were in place to hold a full set of meetings in 2021, but all depending of the rules prevailing at the time concerning Covid-19. The spring meeting will be in the Lake District in April, but shared accommodation will not be possible. The Summer meeting on Jura, postponed from 2020, is also planned to go ahead in June 2021. It is also anticipated that the late summer meeting will take place in Merionethshire in Wales based at Plas Caerdeon. The dates for this are not yet fixed and it is hoped that Plas Caerdeon will be able to include a weekend in order to hold the AGM.

C. Halpin reminded the meeting that 2023 will be the Centenary Year of the BBS. L. Ruffino stated that no plans were yet in place for meetings to commemorate the event and welcomed any suggestions from the membership.

J. Bingley stated that similar organisations to the BBS had successfully arranged their AGM meetings using video conferencing. The usual programme of presentations had been made possible by spreading the frequency of these over several days instead of being condensed into one long day. She suggested that this method could be explored if the same restrictions were still in place next year.

13. Any other business

P. Stanley drew attention to the fact that the ‘Rules’ (‘Constitution’) of the Society make no mention of what a quorum for the AGM should be. The ‘Rules’ were last revised in 2006. It was agreed that Council should examine the existing clauses and decide whether any need to be updated. Action: DJS

P. Stanley was commended by the meeting for his sterling efforts in scanning and committing to .pdf and DVD the following historical documents: MEC Reports: 1896 – 1922 (Complete set); BBS Reports: 1923 – 1944 (Complete set); Bulletins (old style): 1963 – 2002 (Complete set prior to Field Bryology ).

They are currently held in the BBS Dropbox archive which does not have public access but the documents will ultimately be available on the new website. The documents were also recorded on a DVD which has been deposited with the BBS library at Treborth Botanic Garden in Bangor, N. Wales.

The President thanked everyone for having taken part in this first online AGM to allow the Society’s business to be carried out.

There being no further business, the meeting closed when the President’s gavel came down at 10.45 a.m.

D.J. Scott, Hon. General Secretary September 2020

British Bryological Society

A Charity Registered in England and Wales – No. 228851

Annual Report of the Trustees for the year 2020

Address of Principal Office: 19 Abbotts Grove, Peterborough, PE4 5BP

Trustees at the date this report was approved:

Dr K.J. Adams (Librarian) Dr A. Baker (Website Editor, Joint)) Dr M.A.S. Burton (President) Prof. S.J.M. Caporn (Elected Member) Ms M. Crittenden (Elected Member) Mr M.F. Godfrey (Past President and Education and Training Officer) Ms C. Halpin (Elected Member and Website Editor, Joint) Mr N.G. Hodgetts (Recorder for Liverworts) Dr E. M. Kungu (Vice-President) Mr P.G. Martin (Membership Secretary) Dr O.L. Pescott (Recording Secretary) Ms S. L. Pilkington (Recorder for Mosses) Dr C.D. Preston (Bulletin Editor, Joint) Ms G. Quartly-Bishop (Treasurer) Mr G.P. Rothero (Conservation Officer) Ms L. Ruffino (Meetings Secretary) Mr D.J. Scott (General Secretary) Mr M. Stribley (Elected Member) Ms P. Thompson (Elected Member) Dr. M. Whitelaw (Bulletin Editor, Joint) R. Whytock (Elected Member)*

In addition, the following served as Trustees during 2019

S. Peacock

The Constitution of the British Bryological Society

The governing document of the British Bryological Society is The BBS Rules, adopted April 1963, amended 12 April 2003, 6 September 2003 and 9 September 2006.

Organisation

The British Bryological Society is managed by a Council which meets twice a year; Council members are the Trustees of the Society. The Council comprises the Officers of the Society, the immediate Past President, and six elected members.

Appointment of Trustees

Officers of the Society are elected at an Annual General Meeting for a term of two years. The six Elected Members each serve for three years, two being elected at each Annual General Meeting. Prospective trustees are asked to read the Charity Commission’s publication The Essential Trustee as a check of their eligibility, and newly appointed trustees are asked to sign the Charity Commission Trustee Eligibility Declaration.

Public Benefit Statement

The trustees have complied with the Charity Commission requirement for the BBS to provide identifiable public benefits, and have had due regard to the Charity Commission public benefit guidance when exercising any powers or duties to which the guidance is relevant. Of the descriptions of charitable purposes set out by the Charities Act, the work of the BBS is covered by the following: b) the advancement of education; f) the advancement of the arts, culture, heritage or science; and i) the advancement of environmental protection or improvement. Details of the ways in which public benefit has been delivered during 2016 are given in the account of BBS achievements below.

Objectives of the BBS

(a) To promote and advance all branches of bryology throughout the world and especially in relation to bryophytes of the British Isles;

(b) To facilitate the exchange of information among bryologists by organising field meetings, conferences, lectures and exhibitions, publishing the results of bryological study and research, maintaining a library, and other appropriate means;

(c) To promote in every way possible the conservation of bryophytes.

Activities of the BBS

The BBS is registered for Gift Aid.

The BBS neither owns nor leases any land or buildings.

Achievements during 2020

1. Membership and Volunteers

At the end of 2020 membership of the BBS stood at 540 paid-up members, an overall gain of 9 in total membership, and there were 48 new members during the year (compared to 46 in 2019). The BBS is registered for Gift Aid with 157 members paying their membership under this scheme.

Many members carry out informal voluntary work for the Society. New liverwort records were submitted by 29 people through the year and 50 people added new mosses to vice-county lists. In addition to the 20 Members of Council, approximately 30 people are active in the organisation of meetings, including field meetings for the 17 local groups, in BBS publications and committee work

(the BBS does not employ any staff); others (~60) take on the role of Regional Recorders in each vice-county (3 new Regional Recorders were appointed in 2020).

2. Journal of Bryology

The Journal continues to thrive, although there were a few delays during 2020. Volume 42 of the Journal of Bryology ran to 414 pages, well within the page allowance set by Taylor & Francis. Advanced article on-line publication continued for all content of the Journal .

A major achievement was the publication of the new annotated European bryophyte checklist with its attendant index. Other papers were almost evenly divided between taxonomic revisions, descriptions of new species, ecological papers and regional checklists. Authors of articles came from a wide geographical spread spanning 23 different countries; when the popular New National and Regional Bryophyte column is included the number of contributors totalled 108 from 33 countries, with 55% from European countries. The impact factor fell slightly to 1.152, down from 1.361 in 2019, but this is anticipated to increase following the publication of major checklists: the European checklist in June and the revised British and Irish checklist accepted for 2021 publication.

There are currently 13 scientific editors and one proof reader who enabled the Journal production to continue during a year when home working and furlough due to the pandemic caused problems for some members of the editorial board.

3. Field Bryology

The two issues published, numbers 123 and 124, totalled 180 pages and there was a continuing supply of suitable articles with varied content. These included taxonomic studies, articles on sites where there is scope for future exploration, book reviews and obituaries, as well as articles on significant records and Society business. There will, however, be no accounts of field meetings for some time to come, with the postponement or cancellation of all field meetings in 2020 due to Covid-19 restrictions. Some delays of anticipated articles have been experienced due to closure of museums, archives and libraries during the pandemic.

4. BBS Website

The development of the new website continued throughout 2020 after the approval by Council for the selected web developers, CastlegateIT, to work with the BBS Website editors, Claire Halpin and Ambroise Baker, with the launch planned for early in 2021. The existing website, hosted by RBGE, was kept up to date with key information, particularly relating to updates about scheduled meetings in relation to Covid, but had otherwise received little attention.

The new website development was a major collaborative effort between the BBS Website Editors and CastlegateIT and additional input and feedback from other BBS members was encouraged. Content from the existing website was uploaded, organising existing material and adding new features to improve access to information for members and for non-members interested in bryology.

5. Other Publications

The BBS Field Guide, Mosses and Liverworts of Britain and Ireland – a field guide continued to sell well and provides a welcome source of revenue to the Society.

6. Library and Sales

There were slightly fewer sales items ordered during the year, but the librarian was able to supply 13 people with free pdf guides to microscopy techniques. He also enhanced and extended the BBS Photographic Archive of past and present BBS members. The successful removal of the library to Bangor had been completed in 2019, but Covid restrictions in 2020 prevented any further progress with maintaining it.

7. Meetings

Guidance on holding meetings during the pandemic with the changing Covid-19 regulations were published on the BBS website, providing links to the latest Government regulations in the different countries of the UK. Although the planned field meetings, the Spring meeting in North Wales and the Summer meeting on Jura had to be postponed, a few local group meetings were held in accordance with the regulations at the time. The September AGM was held on-line on Zoom since it was not possible to hold the planned Autumn indoor meeting and AGM, at Teesside University.

8. Education and Training

The Education and Training activities were restricted to two events. A liverwort workshop, at Manchester Metropolitan University, was held before any Covid-19 restrictions were imposed. The Year 2 Bryophyte foundation course, part of the joint project with Plantlife in the West Country, was delivered via Zoom by Sharon Pilkington. This was attended by 24 New Generation Botanist trainees and several field days on Dartmoor followed the on-line introduction. Plans were developed for other postponed courses, including the “Advanced” aspects of the Plantlife training project, to be delivered in 2021. A draft of a beginner/intermediate bryophyte key using microscopic features to supplement the Field Guide was prepared by Nick Hodgetts. Although it is unclear how the BBS might be involved, there are ongoing discussions with the FSC about their proposed “Identimoss” project.

9. Recording Mosses and Liverworts

About 50 data sets were received in 2020 and an additional 7400 records were received via iRecord, illustrating the extent of bryophyte recording outside direct submissions via Regional Recorders, and the potential for further engagement with new bryologists.

There were around 40 direct requests for the Society’s data this year; requests supported individual recorders, bryological consultants, and the planning of Society field meetings. As always, the number of direct requests to the Recording Secretary does not capture the numerous downloads of BBS data from the NBN and from GBIF. Additionally, there has been more work on improving the UK Species Inventory for bryophytes (that provides the taxonomic dictionary underlying the NBN Atlas and iRecord) and work in preparation for the forthcoming new official census catalogue. Three new Regional Recorders were appointed during the year.

10. Bryophyte Conservation

Involvement with conservation initiatives has continued throughout the year, although no Committee meetings were possible in 2020.

A new checklist of bryophytes for Britain and Ireland was produced by the Conservation and Recording Committee, through the Nomenclature Panel, providing a much needed update that will be published in the Journal of Bryology . BBS members carried out consultancy work for Natural England on the status and ecology of several moss species. In Scotland, the BBS became a partner in the Alliance for Scotland’s Rainforest, an organisation managed by Plantlife and The Woodland Trust to encourage sustainable management of the oceanic woodlands that have internationally important bryophyte communities. BBS members are also involved with the Celtic Rainforest Life project in Wales that has similar objectives with an additional interest in the value of oceanic bryophytes as early indicators of nitrogen pollution that may damage these woodland sites.

Financial Review 2020 – Accounts and Treasurer’s Report

BRITISH BRYOLOGICAL SOCIETY (Charity Commission registered number 228851)

RECEIPTS AND PAYMENTS ACCOUNTS for the financial year ended 31 December 2020

Note 2020
2019
GENERAL FUND
Receipts
Interest and investment income 1 £4,143
£3,928
Members' subscriptions (less rebates settled through Paypal) £11,221
£12,589
Journal of Bryology(Royalties) 3 £15,473
£14,494
Bryophyte Field Guide(less rebates settled through Paypal) 4 £11,766
£8,083
Census catalogue £54
£9
Other publications £45
£13
Lenses and forceps, etc. net of refunds & returns £373
£369
AGM and other meetings £0
£175
Gift-Aid 5 £0
£0
Editorial Expenses - Advance from Taylor & Francis £9,076
£9,076
Bank error correction £0
£25
Leaflet distribution £0
£32
Sundries £0
£42
Transfer from PayPal £0
£3,906
PayPal fee reversal £137
£1
Total Receipts £52,288
£52,742
Payments
Production and distribution
Journal of Bryology £17,952
£4,516
Field Bryology 6 £4,743
£2,622
Field Guide £3,107
£14,395
Annual Report £1,958
£1,793
Web Domain £0
£59
New website £8,413
£0
Bryum Monograph - plates 7 £2,000
£0
Bryum Monograph - publication £800
£0
Library move £204
£2,035
Library purchases £76
£0
Meetings £149
£0
Workshops and field trip transport £0
£2,357
Spring Meeting Accommodation 2019 £0
£925
Spring Meeting Expenses 2020 £0
£540
AGM Expenses and Accommodation £0
£597
Insurance £897
£757
Bank charges and sundries £0
£25
ICO - Data Protection Registration £35
£35
Sundries £96
£133
Total Payments £40,429
£30,789
Net of Receipts(payments) £11,859
£21,953
BEQUEST AND DONATION FUND
Receipts
Interest and investment income
8
Donations (owing from current account)
Total Receipts
Payments
Grants
Total payments		 £2,075
£2,084
£114
£1,106
£2,189
£3,190
£2,500
£240
£2,500
£240
TOTAL INCOME AND EXPENDITURE
Total receipts
Total payments		 £54,477
£55,932
£42,929
£31,029
STATEMENT OF ASSETS AND LIABILITIES AT 31 DECEMBER 2020
CASH FUNDS
Paypal
Nat. West. a/c
COIF Deposit Funds
9
TOTAL cash funds at this year-end		 £17,679
£4,804
£35,460
£42,079
£89,870
£83,653
£143,009
£130,536
INVESTMENT ASSETS
11
General Fund
COIF Investment Fund accumulation units
COIF Investment Fund income units
COIF Property Fund income units
Total		 £2,737
£2,716
£115,484
£116,513
£7,397
£7,834
£125,618
£127,063
Bequest and Donation Fund
COIF Fixed Interest Fund income units
COIF Investment Fund accumulation units
COIF Investment Fund income units
COIF Property Fund income units
TOTAL
Total investment assets		 £25,020
£24,283
£13,229
£13,126
£28,705
£28,961
£7,397
£7,834
£74,352
£74,204
£199,970
£201,267
OTHER ASSETS
Bryological library
Small stocks for sale of lenses, forceps, publications
Back issues of journals and sundry items
Field Guide, 2376 Copies @ £6.69
Bryological Atlas, 290 Copies @ £35
Sums Owed (uncleared cheques) General Fund
10
TOTAL
NET AVAILABLE ASSETS
NB Figures are rounded to the nearest pound		 £0
£0
£0
£0
£0
£0
£13,072
£15,895
£0
£0
-£35
-£4,081
£13,037
£11,814
£356,016
£343,617

These accounts were approved by Council on 19th May 2021, and have been agreed by the Independent Examiner. Her certificate is reproduced below.

Treasurer’s report

Notes to the accounts for the Financial Year 1 January to 31 December 2020

Amounts in this report are rounded to the nearest pound.

  1. As permitted under section 133 of the Charities Act 2011, the accounts have been prepared on the receipts and payments basis. All funds are unrestricted.

  2. Some assets are assigned by the trustees to the Bequest and Donation Fund, to provide investment income from which grants are made. When this Fund was established on 1st January 1995, its status was not explicit. The trustees wish to make it clear that they regard the Fund as expendable endowment, in view of the large size, in the context of the normal expenditure of the Society, of the legacies that have gone into formation of the Fund. With regard to future donations and legacies, if any evidence exists, or can be inferred from the circumstances of the donation or legacy, that a donor or testator had a specific intention one way or the other, the gift or legacy will be treated accordingly and, if appropriate, administered by the Bequest Committee. Where there is no such evidence, the gift or legacy will, except as described below, be treated as income and added to the accumulated monies available for disbursement by the Bequest Committee. Where the gift or legacy is a large sum (£500 or more) in the context of the normal expenditure of the Society, the trustees consider it reasonable to assume that the donor or testator would not have expected the Society necessarily to spend promptly such a sum of money, but would have expected the Society to invest the gift or legacy as expendable endowment and to use the income, unless and until the trustees choose to embark on some major project on which the endowed funds could reasonably be spent. Any such gift or legacy regarded as an addition to endowment will be noted in the accounts and will be invested along with the Bequest and Donation Fund; the resulting income will be available for disbursement by the Bequest Committee.

  3. In 2020, royalties of £15,473 were received from the publisher for Journal of Bryology and the costs of the purchase of members’ copies of £17,952 were paid to the publisher. The costs in year are higher than the royalties because of the timing of payments – in 2019, payments were only £4,516. For both years together, the net surplus is £7,499, which is in line with previous experience. Following Council decisions in 2006, the Journal of Bryology Editor (Dr. E.M. Kungu) was not a member of Council. She received remuneration commensurate with the work involved and took on financial responsibility for any expenses incurred that related to editing the journal. This is covered by an editorial advance paid by the Publisher (Taylor and Francis).

  4. Sales of the Field Guide in the year net of PayPal rebates were £11,766. The costs associated with the Field Guide totalled £3,107. The surplus in 2020 was therefore £8,658 (2019: deficit £6,313. 2018: surplus £11,821.) Over its lifetime, the Field Guide to date has provided a net surplus to the Society.

  5. Gift Aid may be claimed for up to four years. No claims were made in 2020.

  6. In 2020, Field Bryology numbers 123 and 124 were published. Actual payments in year totalled £4,743, relating to numbers 122 and 123 with the payment for number 124 expected in 2021.

  7. The Council of the British Bryological Society agreed in 2018 to back a Monograph for Bryum financially with a loan of up to £12,500 in support of publication. The first tranche of £2,000 was paid for the production of plates in 2018, with a further £2,000 paid in 2020, along with £800 paid to the publisher. The book has now been published, and final publication costs will also be seen in the 2021 accounts.

  8. £2,500 was paid out in 2020 in relation to grants awarded from the Bequests & Donation Fund. These grants were: £250 for one student to attend a course and three research grants of £750 each.

  9. Deposit Funds are deposited with CCLA. As at the most recent 2020 statement, the General Fund was £78,087 and Bequest & Donation Fund was £11,783. The General Fund owes the Bequest & Donation Fund £3,366 for the net amounts paid out of General Fund cash accounts on its behalf (cumulative with 2019 total). Owing to the transfer between treasurers which took place in 2020 and the complicating factor of a change in the previous treasurer’s address, a full set of CCLA statements was not available to support the production of the accounts; balances have been reconstructed from statements received in 2021.

  10. Financial assets and liabilities include £35 paid out as a cheque not cleared as at the year end.

  11. Reserves policy: the Society maintains reserves, amounting to the fund balances (less commitments) at year end, to provide contingent resources to enable it to meet its contractual commitment towards ongoing publication of the Journal of Bryology, to support and underwrite the cost of publishing projects, to meet requests from within the Society or from other bodies for financial help in the promotion of bryology, to pay upfront and underwrite costs of meetings, and to meet unforeseen costs.

With regard to the financial implications and risks of the Society’s charitable activities, the trustees consider that a reserve in the range £40,000 to £100,000 is appropriate. If the reserve falls below the lower end of this range, the trustees may consider raising the level of the membership subscription and/or re-designation of part of the Bequest and Donation Fund. Most funds, while being held in reserve, are placed on deposit to earn interest or invested to provide income.

This policy is reviewed annually at the first Council meeting of the year as part of the process of approving the Accounts (including Notes to the Accounts).

Gail Quartly-Bishop, May 2021

Independent examiner’s report to the trustees of the British Bryological Society

Independent examiner’s report to the trustees of the British Bryological Society

I report on the accounts of the British Bryological Society for the year ended 31st December 2020

Respective responsibilities of the trustees (British Bryological Society Members of Council) and the examiner

The charity’s trustees are responsible for the preparation of the accounts. They consider that an audit is not required for this year under section 144 of the Charities Act 2011 (the Charities Act) and that an independent examination is needed. It is my responsibility:

Independent examiner's statement

I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe that in any material respect:

  1. accounting records were not kept in respect of the Trust as required by section 130 of the Act; or

  2. the accounts do not accord with those records.

I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.

J H Bingley MA FCIS, Chartered Secretary, Eaton Farm, Miles Lane, Cobham, Surrey KT11 2ED 20th May 2021

Officers’ Reports for 2020

General Secretary

It goes without saying that 2020 was a very difficult year for society as a whole, let alone our Bryological Society, as the coronavirus pandemic cast its long shadow. However, like everyone else, the Society has had to adapt: the last two Council meetings and the AGM were successfully held via ZOOM video-conferencing. The business was carried out, but it emphasised just how important the usual personal interaction on the periphery of these meetings is, even though it may seem inconsequential at the time.

2020 saw a major change in the Society’s officers with the General Secretary, President, Treasurer and Recorder for Mosses all being newly elected at the same time. I am particularly grateful to my predecessor, Rachel Carter, for guiding me through this period to make it as seamless as possible.

Although many ventures were put on hold during 2020, we were able to contract with NatureBureau for the publication of David Holyoak’s excellent European Bryaceae. This was eventually published in February 2021.

As detailed in the Website Editors’ report, contracts were exchanged in 2020 with Castlegate IT to develop a brand new website. At the time of writing, this new website has gone live and is testament to all the tremendous work by that has been put in over a long period by the team, in particular Claire Halpin.

Jeff Scott, March 2021

Field Bryology Editors

The two issues for Field Bryology for 2020 have been published, numbers 123 and 124, although, as was the case last year, the publication of the latter was delayed until early 2021. There was also a similarity to last year in the size of the issues, with a bumper issue (104 pages) being followed by one of more normal length (76 pages), the cumulative total of 180 pages being 12 pages more than in 2019. The content has been similarly varied. Gordon Rothero is now well into his stride with his second article on his favourite hills, and flatter areas of Scotland were not neglected with a study of Orkney arable bryophytes. There were also articles on the bryophytes of Hungary and Greece, taxonomic studies of Sphagnum and Dicranella , a historical article, a number of book reviews and obituaries and the usual items on significant records.

In other respects the year has, of course, been very different to its predecessor. The Field Report on the 2019 ‘Summer’ meeting was published in no. 124 and there will clearly be no more for a while. Less obviously, a couple of items we have been expecting are stuck in the pipeline, and cannot be completed until the authors can return to museums, archives and libraries. Inevitably, we have been worrying whether we will have sufficient material for the next few issues. So far the supply of good articles seems to be holding up, although we might not have a bumper issue in 2021.

We must thank all our authors for their contributions and their rapid and good-natured response to editorial queries and proofs, and our stalwart proof-readers, Agneta Burton, Sue Grahame and Mark Lawley.

Chris D. Preston & Mari Whitelaw, February 2021

Website Editors

Throughout 2020 our focus has been on developing the new website. We hit the ground running in January by drawing up a list of potential developers and contacting them with our requirements specification for quotes.

By March we had a shortlist of 2 preferred developers and – in the nick of time before the national Covid-19 lockdown was imposed – visited both in person to discuss the project and see how we felt about working with them.

One of the developers, Castlegate IT, stood out as by far the best – they were professional and we liked the people. However, their quote was more than our budget. Once more we went back to Council at the Spring meeting, requesting an increase in the budget and justifying our reasons. Fortunately, Council approved the increase and we let all the developers know of our decision.

Work on the new website started within a week of the Council meeting, with the design phase during April and May, moving on to discussing functional requirements in detail during June and July. Once these were both signed off by us, Castlegate began work on the development whilst we reviewed all the content from the current website, organising, updating and adding to it.

Shortly before Christmas, we were given access to the website and the laborious job of uploading all the content we had prepared began.

The project has truly been a collaborative effort, with Castlegate IT and BBS members working closely together to ensure we build a website that fulfils current requirements and provides scope for further developments in the future. We would like to thank the team from Castlegate IT, and all BBS members who have provided help, support and additional content so far. We hope that you won’t have to wait much longer to see the results of all this effort!

With the focus on the new website, the current website has received minimal attention this year, just ensuring that any necessary announcements are made – particularly Covid-related ones – and that the website is available. Once again, we would like to thank RBGE for continuing to host the website and provide support.

Claire Halpin & Ambroise Baker, February 2021

Conservation Officer

2020 has been a quiet year for obvious reasons and no meetings of the Conservation and Recording Committee were possible. One major piece of work under the auspices of the Conservation Committee through the Nomenclature Panel, was the production of a new checklist of bryophytes for Britain and Ireland, a necessary update in view of the considerable amount of taxonomic work, not to say upheaval, since the last checklist was produced. The new British and Irish checklist will be published shortly in the Journal of Bryology , and this will be followed by a new census catalogue.

For Natural England, consultants and BBS members Des Callaghan and Sharon Pilkington have been looking at the status and ecology of several species. Micromitrium tenerum has been lost from some historic sites but has colonised new sites with some indication that waterfowl may be involved in the transport of propagules. Philonotis marchica has declined at one Isle of Wight site but another large population has been found. The survey of Fissidens serrulatus shows encouraging results, in particular that the population in the mid-reaches of the River Dart is significantly larger than previously thought.

In Scotland the BBS has become a partner organisation in the Alliance for Scotland’s Rainforest, an organisation managed by Plantlife and the Woodland Trust, which hopes to raise the profile of our temperate rainforest and its internationally important bryophyte communities. In this way it is hoped that it can obtain significant funding for landscape-scale projects to encourage both sustainable management of our existing oceanic woodlands and increase the amount of such woodland in the core area on the west coast of Scotland. There is a similar rainforest woodland project in Wales, through the Celtic Rainforest Life project, clearing rhododendron from protected woodland sites and encouraging better management of these important sites. In addition, oceanic bryophytes have been included as indicator species of nitrogen-sensitive ancient woodland, trying to provide some protection from nitrogen pollution for important wildlife sites as evidence is growing that such pollution even at relatively low levels is detrimental to the bryophyte interest. There is also funding to survey the bryophytes on a number of mine waste sites in Wales.

The new UK bryophyte red list has been stuck with Natural England for some three years now; the problem has been a reluctance to accept the methodology used for assessing bryophyte populations which was not the

standard IUCN method, although the IUCN had accepted the methodology in the recently published European Red List. There is some hope that the new list will be published soon, in time for it to be used as a baseline for the 7th Quinquennial review of the Wildlife and Countryside Act, with the result that, potentially, more bryophytes will appear on Schedule 8 and thus be afforded some legal protection. The society will respond to the QQR7 consultation when it is published in April.

Gordon Rothero

Librarian

Sales:

Census Catalogue (update) 2008 4
BBS_Bulletins_ -
Field Bryology 4
English Names of Bryophytes -
Practical Bryophyte Chromosomes(Newton) 1
Collecting Bryos. in the Tropics(O'Shea) 1
Chinese x20 lenses 3
Chinese x30 lenses -
Idealtek Stainless steel forceps 18
Mini-blade packs 2
Micrometer Eyepiece Scales 1
Loans:
Micrometer calibration slide
 -
Chinese Microscope
 1
Pdfs Microscope techniques 1 & 2 13

There were just 20 sales orders in 2020, down 5 on 2019, which is not unexpected in view of the Covid 19 restrictions on field work. In addition to sales items, 13 people have taken advantage of the free pdfs of Microscope Techniques for Beginners and Bryophyte Microscopy tips during the year. Due to Covid restrictions there has been no progress with maintaining the BBS Library at the Treborth Botanic Garden, Bangor, apart from setting up the insurance. During the year, however, the BBS Photographic Archive collection of facial images of past and present members has been extended to 200 and most of these have been enhanced using an artificial intelligence program. It is available as a pdf on request. We are continuing to exchange Field Bryology for the Belgian Muscillanea and Swiss Meylania and J. Bryol . for various Polish publications.

There was some bad news from Shaun Russell in that, owing to personnel reduction and organizational restructuring imposed by Bangor University, he had voluntarily stepped down as Director of Treborth Botanic Garden. The good news, however, is that he has stayed on a Trustee and Director of the Friends of Treborth Botanic Garden. Therefore, he is still able to carry on looking after the BBS Library and the mini-bryology room in the Rivendell building.

A set of Michael Lüth’s 3-volume set of photographs of Mosses of Europe and a copy of David Holyoak’s European Bryaceae have been acquired for the BBS Library.

Ken Adams, February 2021

Membership Secretary

At the end of 2020, our membership stands at 540 paid up members.

The membership comprised of the following:

Honorary: 12 Ordinary: 475 Concessions: 43 (students/senior) Institutional: 10

In 2020 we gained 9 new members, relating new members with resignations and deaths

In the year we had 48 new members in comparison to 46 in 2019.

Gift aid has been registered by 157 members.

Peter Martin, March 2021

Education and Training Officer

Along with just about all other society activities Education and Training has been severely affected by the Covid Pandemic. We were able to deliver one liverwort workshop, at Manchester Metropolitan University, on 22 February before any restrictions were imposed but other work has either been postponed or carried out on-line.

The liverwort workshop at Treborth has been postponed till 2021. The second-year bryophyte Foundation course, as part of the Plantlife New Generation Botanists joint project in the West Country, was successfully delivered to 24 Devon-based trainees via Zoom followed by several days in the field on Dartmoor in October 2020. The Advanced element of the NGB training, which in 2019 comprised 1 day each of acrocarps, pleurocarps and liverworts and mentoring via local BBS group members, will hopefully resume in May 2021. Although timing is problematic we have also been doing some forward planning on courses for 2021 when we should be able to do the longer liverworts workshop scheduled for 2020 and by request are considering another advanced course on Scapania .

To supplement the Field Guide the committee felt that a beginner/intermediate bryophyte key using microscopic features would be helpful to novices. The keys in Watson, although very useful, are rather out of date and it was felt that something new and of a similar standard was needed. Council agreed the proposal in the spring and Nick Hodgetts undertook to write it. Nick has given us a draft outline which looks very promising.

At the beginning of the year we decided to revisit the “identimoss” project with the FSC. Mags Crittenden volunteered to be our project officer with the FSC as it rapidly became clear that everything would need to be discussed on-line. Things initially looked promising but after a bit of a hiatus it transpired that the FSC had revised their business model quite substantially and were proposing a rather different pattern of training. We haven’t given up, but things are proceeding rather more slowly.

There will be some committee changes at the end of the year as I am standing down as Chair, to be succeeded by Mags Crittenden with Phillipa Thompson filling the vacated post.

Martin Godfrey

Meetings Secretary

The outdoor recording activities and meetings of the Society were severely affected by the Covid 19 pandemic in 2020. Lockdown measures which came into effect in March 2020 meant that the Society had to postpone the Spring Meeting, which was due to take place at Plas Caerdeon, Barmouth, North Wales. This meeting is now scheduled for Autumn 2021.

A Summer Meeting was scheduled to take place in Jura, but this was also postponed given the risk of spreading the virus to the small island community. The Jura meeting will be postponed to a date to be determined.

After consultation with the local organisers, the Autumn indoor meeting, which was due to take place at Teesside University, was also postponed and the AGM was held online. The Society is now planning to hold its Autumn meeting at Teesside University in 2022.

It should be noted that a number of local recording meetings were held, and they were run in accordance with Covid 19 regulations in place at the time.

The Society published guidance on holding meetings during the pandemic on their website. This guidance referred to the frequently-changing Covid 19 regulations and had links to the latest government regulations in the different countries of the UK. The guidance ensured that local meeting organisers would be aware of the latest regulations as they were planning local recording meetings.

Lucia Ruffino March 2021

Recorder for Liverworts

The liverwort year – 2020

Records are slightly up on 2019, with 51 specimens processed. There is little significant difference between numbers in 2019 and 2020, with England and Scotland a bit up, Wales a bit down, and Ireland the same. There were no new vouchers from the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man, and no bracketings or deletions. Rory Hodd contributed 10 vouchers, Sharon Pilkington 4, and Andrew Branson, Jo Denyer, Matt Sutton, Sam Bosanquet and Tristan ap Rheinallt 3 each.

2019 2019 2020 2020
England Wales Scotland Ireland England Wales Scotland Ireland
New entries 6 13 5 10 13 6 9 11
Debrackets* 7 - 2 4 6 2 0 3
Persisting - - - - 1 - - -
Bracketings - - - - - - - -
Deletions - - - - - - - -
Totals 13 13 7 14 20 8 9 14

There aren’t many rarities or surprises in this year’s records, but there are a few. Possibly the most significant record has been of Barbilophozia hatcheri from Abbeyford Woods, Okehampton, new to south-west England, which was extracted from one of his old herbarium packets by Mark Pool. This plant is quite common in eastern Scotland, scattered in Wales and northern England, and occasionally turns up elsewhere. One wonders if this represents a chance ‘one off’ occurrence, or is indicative of a persisting local population. Also new to the region is Sam Bosanquet’s Scapania lingulata on the isle of Lundy. Blepharostoma trichophyllum is a rare and infrequently-seen plant in south-west England, so Sharon Pilkington’s record on the banks of the River Dart is very welcome. Andrew Branson proved that even unpromising-sounding sites can be good with his records of Riccia crystallina and Sphaerocarpos michelii from damp sandy soil in a Dorset caravan park. Andy McLay’s record of Marchesinia mackaii in Northumberland is a bit of an outlier from its nearest neighbours, all of which are some distance to the west.

In Wales, Matt Sutton’s Scapania cuspiduligera is particularly satisfying, as he had probably found it the previous year, but the first specimen was too small to be 100% sure: nothing doubtful about the second, though. Equally satisfying is Des Callaghan refinding Cephaloziella massalongi on Parys Mountain in Anglesey, the first record since it was seen there by Paul Richards in 1959. Graham Motley had Tritomaria exsecta on the Blorenge in Monmouthshire, and Sam Bosanquet found Plagiochila exigua on an ash trunk in Glamorgan.. In Scotland, Calypogeia integristipula , collected from a rock face in Perthshire by Rory Whytock, is always nice, and the three Arran records from Tristan ap Rheinallt all useful. Scapania aspera achieves a new northernmost record with Sean O’Leary’s record from Shetland.

In Ireland, as well as his more run-of-the-mill records from SE Galway, Rory Hodd’s records of Adelanthus decipiens from that county and Co. Clare are satisfying, in that they plug a conspicuous gap in the known occurrence of that species in Ireland. Plagiochila spinulosa in SE Galway also fills a small hole. Jo Denyer’s Moerckia flotoviana from Co. Leitrim is also notable – this species is probably still under-recorded.

Lophocolea semiteres continues to increase, with no fewer than seven new county records widely distributed across England, Scotland and Wales. Finally, Des Callaghan found Lophocolea muricata on a tree fern in Somerset. A common plant in the tropics, this is the first time it has been found (outside a greenhouse) in Europe, and the latest to be added to those other ‘tropical tree fern’ species.

Nick Hodgetts

Recorder for Mosses

In a difficult and unprecedented year for bryologists, there were 193 additions and amendments to the Census Catalogue, excluding a revision of the Dicranella howei / varia complex by Tom Blockeel. Remarkably, given the inevitable cancellation of Spring and Summer BBS field meetings, the numbers are almost the same as in 2019 (Table 1).

Table 1. Analysis of amendments to the Census Catalogue for 2020

2020 2020 2019 2019
England Wales Scotland Ireland England Wales Scotland Ireland
New entries 70 32 27 25 55 30 20 47
Debrackets* 18 7 4 8 13 1 7 19
Reinstated - - - - - - - -
Bracketings* 1 - - - - - - -
Deletions - - 1 - 3 - 1 -
Totals 89 39 **32 ** 33 71 **31 ** 28 66

*Debrackets are existing vice-county entries for which a post-1960 record has been vouched. Bracketings are existing entries for which the post-1960 records are unconfirmed, or erroneous but older record(s) are known or thought to be valid. New records include persisting introductions.

A significant number of the year’s finds came from people making the most of lockdown time to review their herbaria. New sites for rarities discovered this way included Dicranum spadiceum and Orthotrichum obtusifolium . Unusually, a relatively large number were also generated by a few self-employed individuals undertaking ecological survey contracts. Overall, the new records were distributed across 71 of the 153 British and Irish vice-counties, and 54 individuals were involved in contributing them (as the first-named recorder on a voucher).

Two new species were added to the British and Irish list through revisions of herbarium specimens. Dicranella howei , a moss with a primarily Mediterranean distribution, has long been thought present in these islands and has been confirmed by Tom Blockeel. Racomitrium obtusum has long been the source of considerable taxonomic confusion in Britain and Ireland and Tom Ottley’s review indicates that it may in fact be more common in some regions than R. heterostichum . Microhypnum sauteri has also been added to the British list, following Gordon Rothero’s discovery at Inchnadamph, West Sutherland.

Some outstanding new records of rare or threatened bryophytes were made in 2020. In Galway, Rory Hodd’s Sphagnum majus was new to Ireland. Other significant Irish records include Tortula wilsonii from Co. Dublin, restoring this rare coastal pioneer to the Republic’s list. Although Irish submissions were half the number of 2019, this is to be expected without any recording meetings.

Welsh submissions were higher than the previous year thanks to the determined efforts of a few recorders. Matt Sutton found new sites for Weissia multicapsularis and Tortula cuneifolia in Cardiganshire , and Tom Ottley found Campylopus setifolius . In Breconshire, Claire Halpin did much to stimulate local recording effort, resulting in nine additions and debracketings, including Hennediella macrophylla , new to Wales. Claire also photographed many of her finds, and her excellent images now feature on our new website.

In West Lancashire, Joshua Styles discovered Sphagnum subnitens var. ferrugineum new to England. Other outstanding English records included Orthotrichum schimperi in Buckinghamshire and Ephemerum cohaerens in West Kent. A new site for Campylostelium saxicola was found by Mark Lawley in Herefordshire. North of the border, Nick Hodgetts’ Leptotheca gaudichaudii in a West Ross garden was new to Scotland and a fourth British site. Rory Whytock found the rare, elusive and tiny Aongstroemia longipes in Kintyre whilst Sphagnum divinum in West Perthshire was a second site for Scotland.

Sharon Pilkington

Recording Secretary’s Report for 2020

Around 50 datasets were received directly in 2020; these are currently being processed in anticipation of a new official census catalogue in 2021. Records received via iRecord (www.brc.ac.uk/irecord) number over 7,400 for the same period; as I have noted before in my reports, Regional Recorders not reviewing incoming data through this platform are clearly missing an opportunity to engage new bryologists and support other enthusiasts. There were around 40 direct requests for the Society’s raw data or summaries this year; requests supported individual recorders, bryological consultants, and the planning of BBS field meetings, e.g. through the provision of vice-county “wants” lists. As usual, the number of direct requests to the Recording Secretary does not capture the numerous downloads of BBS data from the NBN or GBIF. Other work this year has included another edition of ‘Rare and Interesting’ for Field Bryology , more work on improving the UK Species Inventory for bryophytes (the UKSI is the taxonomic dictionary underlying the NBN Atlas and iRecord), and work in preparation for the production of the new official census catalogue.

Three new Regional Recorders were appointed in 2020: Pete Howarth replaced Howard Wallis in v.c. 17 (Surrey); Gail Quartly-Bishop replaced John Lowell in v.c. 58 (Cheshire); and Anthony Gregory replaced John Lowell in v.c. 59 (South Lancs.). On behalf of the BBS, I thank the new Recorders for taking on their duties, and the previous Recorders for their dedication. Regional recorder details for each vice-county (kept up-todate with assistance from the website editors) can now be viewed under the relevant vice-county page on the new BBS website (see https://www.britishbryologicalsociety.org.uk/recording/vice-county-maps).

As usual, I thank staff at BRC, particularly Steph Rorke, for supporting me and the BBS in various ways, and Ambroise Baker and Claire Halpin for website updates.

Oliver L. Pescott, 15th March 2021