ECEC - 2

Question 1

what percentage of the UK is woodland?

Answer 1

12%

Question 2

what are the 3 main types of stem-natural woodland?

Answer 2

1) native
2) ancient
3) recent

Question 3

what percentage of UK woodlands are native and what do they consist of?

Answer 3

40%

- consist of native trees that have grown in the UK since the ice age

Question 4

what defines an ancient woodland?

Answer 4

woodland consistently wooded since 1600 AD

Question 5

what defines recent woodland?

Answer 5

• planted or established naturally

Question 6

whats the difference between primary and secondary woodland?

Answer 6

primary - survived continually since the ice age

secondary - planted or established since last ice age

Question 7

what are 2 reasons communities occur?

Answer 7

1) environmental factors

2) community processes

Question 8

what is the definition of structure and its 3 components

Answer 8

the spatial organisation of plant material within a community

1) vertical structure (stratification)
2) horizontal structure (pattern)
3) species abundance

Question 9

what are the 4 layers of a woodlands vertical structure?

Answer 9

1) ground layer
2) field layer (tall herbs and undershrubs) + ( layer of low herbs)
3) shrub layer
4) tree layer

Question 10

what are the 3 main types of horizontal structure?

Answer 10

1) regular
2) random
3) clumped

Question 11

what are the 4 things that determine a pattern shown by a species?

Answer 11

1) morphology and growth characteristics
2) seed dispersal mechanisms
3) environmental heterogeneity
4) species interactions

Question 12

what are 4 ways species abundance can be measured?

Answer 12

1) guesstimates DAFOR: Dominant, Abundant, Frequent, Occasional, Rare
2) density - number of individuals per unit area
3) frequency - Chance of finding a particular species in a sample of vegetation
4) cover - expressed as a percentage - can be over 100% if vegetation overlaps

Question 13

what are the 2 main approaches to survival on the forest floor?

Answer 13

1) shade tolerance

2) complementation - growing when the light intensity is relatively high

Question 14

what is a way shade tolerance plants are adapted to survival

Answer 14

• often have large, thin leaves
• leaves with a single palisade layer
• large surface area to weight ratio
• they respire more slowly

Question 15

what is complementation and examples of 2 species?

Answer 15

when woodland floor plants grow before the main development of tree canopy with early growth and flowering
examples: 1) wood anemone 2) dogs mercury

Question 16

what is phenology?

Answer 16

the study of the seasonal periodicity and timing of plant growth

Question 17

what are the 4 classifications for time of year plants grow in?

Answer 17

1) vernal = spring
2) Aestival = summer
3) Autumnal = autumn
4) hiemal = winter

Question 18

what is the difference between brown forest soil and podzol soil?

Answer 18

• Podzol soil is more acidic
• brown forest soil is actively mixed by organisms
• podzol soil has sharp boundaries between layers and isn’t mixed

Question 19

how many species of native trees and shrubs does the UK have?

Answer 19

50

Question 20

what are examples of community processes?

Answer 20

• competitive exclusion
  – co-existence through tolerance
  – co-existence through complementation
  – dependence

Question 21

what is the definition of species abundance and what is it useful for?

Answer 21

• the amount a species contributes to the vegetation

Important in vegetation descriptions, naming and classifying communities

Question 22

when is morphological plasticity of shading most likely to occur?

Answer 22

• more typically of plants of little-shaded conditions

- Less so for species in consistently in deep shade

Question 23

describe the leaves of Deschampsia flexuosa, (grass)?

Answer 23

• doesnt have the leaves of normal plants which grow in shaded environments
• has narrow, bristle-like leaves
• tolerates “temporary shade” because
  evergreen

Question 24

what does ever green mean?

Answer 24

plants which keep their green leaves all year round

Question 25

what tree dominates many relict oakwoods on acid soils in northern and western Britain?

Answer 25

Quercus petraea (sessile oak)

Question 26

describe the Coed Cymerau study?

Answer 26

• an upland oakwood with little evidence for oak regeneration
• Many acorns produced with high viability
• BUT 99% wastage of fallen acorns - rodent predation
• HOWEVER, sufficient acorns persisted to ensure regeneration

Question 27

the coed cymerau study showed there to be a sufficient amount of acorns to ensure regeneration why isnt there?

Answer 27

D. flexuosa - a poor trap of oak leaf litter (blown out of woods)
– Loss of important medium for acorn germination
– Loss of important cover to reduce rodent predation of acorns