Ecology of board leaved deciduous woodland Flashcards
What percentage of the UK is wooded?
12%
What are the three types of woodland inUK?
Native, ancient and recent
Describe native woodland
40% in uk, mainly consists of native species
How many native tree/shrub species does uk have?
around 50
Describe ancient woodland
continually wooded since 1600 AD
Describe recent woodland
planted or established naturally, recently
What is primary woodland?
Has survived continuously since ice age
What is secondary woodland?
Planted or established since last ice age
What are plant communities?
possible to detect naturally- recurring species assemblages, similar habitats support a similar range of species
What are the factors that cause communities to occur?
environmental factors and community processes
What are the community processes?
competitive exclusion
co-existence through tolerance
co-existence through complementation
dependence
What is the structure of a woodland and what are the components?
The vertical organisation of plant material within a community, vertical structure, horizontal structure and species abundance
What make up woodland vertical structure?
The stratigraphy, four layers, the ground layer, field layer, shrub layer and tree layer
What makes up the woodland horizontal structure?
is the pattern, the distribution types, either regular (over dispersed), random, or clumped (underdispersed)
What factors affect the distribution pattern shown by a species?
Morphology and growth characteristics
Seed dispersal mechanisms
environmental heterogeneity
Species interactions
What is the species abundance?
The amount a species contributes to the vegetation
How do you measure species abundance?
Guesstimates
Density
Frequency
Cover
How do you measure abundance via guesstimates?
Look at whether species is dominant, Abundant, frequent, occasional or rare
How do you measure abundance via density?
Number of individuals per unit area
How do you measure abundance via frequency
It is the chance of finding a particular species in a sample of vegetation, estimated by looking at area samples
How do you measure abundance via cover?
A % of cover by each species in sample area
What are the two main approaches to survival on the forest floor?
Shade tolerance or complementation
What are the features of shade plants?
have shade leaves, large and thin with a single palisade layer, large SA:Weight ratio
Where is morphological plasticity to shading common?
Plants that are occasionally in shade, unlike plants always in deep shade
Where does deschampsia flexuosa grow and what are its leaves like?
(wavy hair grass) In many environments, not adapted to shade but is evergreen, long bristle like leaves
What is respiration like in shade tolerant plants?
shade leaves respire more slowly, maintained at high and low light intensities
What is complementation?
Plants that grow before the canopy does, occur under what becomes a dense canopy, early flowering
