L5 UK Habitats Flashcards
What is a biome and how is it classified
World vegetation formation classified according to structure
What is a habitat
Natural environment in which an organism / group of organisms live / complete their life cycle
On what scale is a biome
Global
On what scale is a habitat
Regional or local
How is vegetation dynamic
Vegetation shows patterns in shapes and colour which can change with ecological succession or disturbance
What is ht vegetation hierarchy (4 levels)
Site
Habitat
Community
Population
What biome is the UK
Temperate woodland biome
Is British flora of recent or ancient origin
Recent
What 2 places to native S Wales species come from
Mediterranean and Arctic
How much of the UK is farmland
52%
How much of the UK is woodland
13%
How much of the UK is mountin, moorland and heath, and what is the trend in this
11% and decreasing
How much of the UK is semi-natural grasslands
10%
What is the UK BAP and when was it established
UK Biodiversity Action Plan
1994
What does the UK BAP entail
Describes biological resources in the UK and provide detailed conservation plans for these resources
Action plans for most threatened species and habitats
What is the name of the second UK government biodiversity plan
UK Post-2010 Biodiversity Framework
4 main habitats of the UK
Woodlands
Grasslands
Heathland
Wetland
What is the canopy of a woodland habitat like
Closed
What is the climax community in the UK
Woodlands
How is woodland structure stratified
It has structural heterogeneity - different species exist at different heights
What effect do temporal variations have on biodiversity
Encourage biodiversity
How much of UK woodland can be considered ancient
2.5%
What are the requirments to be an Ancient Woodland
Continually wooded since 1600AD
Have Ancient woodland indicator species
What does SSSI mean
Sites of Special Scientific Interest
What does SAC mean
Special Area of Conservation
9 types of UK woodland
Traditional orchards
Wood pasture and parkland
Upland oakwood
Lowland beech and yew woodland
Upland mixed ashwood
Wet woodland
Lowland mixed deciduous
Upland birchwood
Native pine
Describe a Traditional orchard
Open grown fruit trees set in herbaceous vegetation
Defined by structure and management
Describe wood pasture and parkland woodland
What maintains these habitats
Mosaic habitat with veteran and ancient trees
Maintained by grazers which diversify ground fungi
Describe an upland oakwood woodland
Where is it found
What type ofweather is preferred
Dominated by (sessile) oak and birch
N and W of UK
Damper weather preferred
What is the history of lowland Beech and Yew woodland
Where is it found
What is the growth of beech like
Historically managed as coppice
S and E UK
Beech is a shaded tree as the leaves don’t drop when they die
Describe the soil in upland mixed ashwood woodland
Where are they found
What is the biodiversity like
What plant species dominates
Base rich soils - limestone, chalk, calcerous (high pH)
N and W
High
Ash
Describe the soil in wet woodland
What trees (3) are present
Poorly drained or seasonally wet soils
Alder, birch and willows
Which woodland habitat is often ancient
Lowland mixed deciduous
What 2 trees are often found in lowland mixed deciduous woodland
Oak and ash
What are the soils like in upland birchwood woodlands
Where are they found
Acidic soils (Birch can tolerate poorer soils and higher altitude)
N of UK, mostly Scotland
What plant species domiates native pine woodland
What is the soil like
What is the diversity like
Name a species that depends on this habitat
Self sown Scots Pine
Infertile leached podzolic soil
Low
Crossbill birds which feed on he pine
What type of plant dominates grassland habitats
Graminoid species
Name 3 graminoid groups
Poaceae - grasses
Cyperaceae - sedges
Juncaceae - rushes
Where in the UK are grasslands most abundant
Wales due to increased rainfall
What would happen to grassland habitats without human impact
They would all become woodlands
How are grasslands considered in conservation and why
Priority - provide home to host of highly speciealised plants and animals
How many grassland habitats are listed in the UK BAP
6
6 types of UK grasslands
Purple moor grass and rush pastures
Lowland dry acid grassland
Lowland calcerous grassland
Lowland meadows
Upland hay meadows
Calaminarian grassland
What is the most abundant type of grassland in the UK
Purple moor grass and rush pastures
What is the soil in purple moor grass and rush pastures like
Where are they found
Poor draining
In the West
What is the soil type in lowland dry acid grassland
Acid rocks, sand or gravel or heavily leached soil
What does lowland calcerous grassland grow on
how many species are found per square metre
chalk or limestone
40-50
What type of soil are lowland meadows found on
What is their distribution
Neutral soils
Small and isolated fragments
Where are upland hay meadows found
What is its lifecycle
Upland fringes of N England and Scotland
Grazed in Winter by cattle, cattle removed to allow growth over summer, cut to produce hay
What type of soil do calaminarian grasslands form on
Metalliferous soils - soils high in metal (where there has previously been alot of mining)
What kind of soil does heathalnd grow on
Acidic, dry sanfy or wet peaty
What plant symbolises the prescence of heathland
Dwarf-shrubs (arecoid shrubs)
Give some exaples od arecoid / dwarf shrubs
Heather, gorse, bilberry, cowberry and crowberry
Over what time period do heathalnds form
20-25 years
What are the names and time period for each of the 3 heather stages
Pioneer heather ~5 years
Building heather ~ 15 years
Mature heather ~ 25 years
What process is carried out to prevent mature heather forming
Burning of heathland
What is the conservation status of heathland
Priority for nature conservation
Rare and threatened habitat
How is lowland heathland considered in UK BAP
Priority habitat
How many lowland heathland habitats are under UK BAP
7
What percentage of lowland heathland is the UK responsible for out of Europe
20%
How many of the 6 species of UK reptile are found in heathland
All 6
Roughly how many invertebrate species rely on heathland
5000
What are the 7 types of heathland
Dry and humif heath
Eastern continental dry heath
SW oceanic dry heath
Central warm oceanic heath
Upland transitional (sub-montane) cool oceanic heath
Coastal dry heath
Wet heath
What is the soil like in dry and humid heath
Is there gourse
Freely draining, nutrient poor, acidic
Yes
What species dominates in eastern continental dry heath
Is there gourse
Heather
No
Where is SW oceanic dry heath found
What plants are present
SW England and S Wales
Diverse heather species
Where are central warm oceanic heaths found
What plants are found there
Low altitudes in warm oceanic parts of S Britain
Common heather and gorse
Where is uplad transitional cool oceanic heath found
What is its most common type of heath
N and W Britain
Calluna vulgaris-Erica cinerea
Where does coastal dry heath form
How high does the heath grow
Sea cliffs around UK inc. Gower
Low-growing
What is the osil like in wet heath
What sare some of the key species
Acidic, nutrient poor, shallow peat/sandy, impeded drainage
Heather, bilberry, purple moor-grass, Sphagnum spp.
What proportion of the UK is wetlands
1.3%
What is the pH of wetlands, what is the nutrience like
Very acidic and nutrient-poor
What is the difference between bogs and fens
Bogs are only fed by rainwater
What type of soil do fens grow on
Peat - peaty or mineral soils
What water sources are fens fed by
Groundwater and surface run off
What is the biodiversity of fens
High
What is the biggest threat do wetlands
Being drained for development
What are some animals specialised for wetlands
Great crested newt, common toad, water vole, fenraft spider
What are the 4 types of wetland habitat
Lowland raised bog
Lowland fen
Poor fens
Rich fens
What does ombrotrophic mean and which of the wetland habitats does this apply to
Rain-fed
Lowland raised bog
What accumulates in lowland raised bogs
What is the soil like
What plants does this soil type encourage and why
Peat accumulation
Very acidic, nutrient-poor, poorly drained
Carnivorous plants as they can acheive their nitrogen from organic sources
Is a lowland fen always waterlogged
Where do the nutrients come from
How much peat is present and why
Must at least be periodically waterlogged
Ground water and rain water
Little peat as decom[psition rates are high
What water feeds poor fens
What is the fertility
Where are they found
What is the species diversity like, what species is likely present
Acid water (pH <5)
Low to moderate fertility
In uplands or in association with lowland heath
Species-poor, high cover of Sphagnum bog mosses
What water feeds rich fens
Where are they found
What is the diversity of species like
Which plants are likely to be present
Alkaline, mineral enriched, calcerous water (pH >5)
Confined to lowlands
Species-rich
Mosses moxed in with vascular plants - Carex sedges, butterbean and marsh marigold
By what percentage did urban environments increase between 1990-2019
30%
