DORMICE populations across Berkshire are 'steadily decreasing' due to the effects of climate change, a wildlife trust has said.

The Berks, Bucks and Oxon Wildlife Trust (BBOWT), which manages more than 80 nature reserves across the three counties, has highlighted some of these troubling cases in its latest 10-year action plan to mitigate the effects of climate change at the sites it manages.

It comes as the UK prepares to host the COP26 UN climate conference in Glasgow next month.

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BBOWT has revealed how climate change is affecting animals and plants across Berkshire, especially dormice and beech trees.

Slough Observer: A dormouse running up a tree branch. Picture: Terry Whittaker/2020VisionA dormouse running up a tree branch. Picture: Terry Whittaker/2020Vision

Dormice numbers are regularly counted inside next boxes at Bowdown Woods in Berkshrie.

The research shows how the average dormouse count steadily decreased from 2010 to 2018, linking with national surveying which estimates that the species' range in the UK has halved in the last 100 years.

BBOWT believe dormice, which are hibernating animals, often use weather cues to trigger emergence from hibernation, and it is thought that, because of increasingly warm winters, dormice are waking up sooner than normal when there is not enough food around for them to eat.

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Beech trees are also said to be affected by climate change, as they are particularly sensitive to drought.

The wildlife trust believe they are likely to be especially vulnerable to the changes in rainfall and temperature that are projected for the south-east of England in the coming years.

Natural England's Climate Change Adaptation Manual warns that, on some less-suitable soils on southern-facing slopes, beech is likely to decline or disappear entirely.

Debbie Lewis, Head of Ecology at BOWT’s led the research into the effects of climate change in Berkshire.

She said: “We all know that climate change is happening around the world and is likely to get worse in many places, but now we are starting to see it threatening plants and animals in our local area, which is deeply worrying. We are seeing compelling evidence that warmer winters are already disrupting animals’ phenology – the way their life cycles are linked to seasonal weather patterns.

“We can also predict that, if our climate continues to change in the ways that have been predicted, some of our much-loved native species will struggle to survive. BBOWT can’t stop climate change, but by building a picture of its effect on wildlife we can work out which species and habitats might be most at risk and then take steps to protect them.”