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Woodland Ecology.
Woodland Habitats in the UK.
Over time, it has been noted that the UK woodlands are more diverse and more vibrant and support more invertebrates than most of the world’s habitats today. The woodland habitats found in the UK vary from one to the other. The variations range from orchards to the lush temperate forests. Each of the different habitats, on the other hand, is characterized by unique soils, complex, and varied geology. The plants and animals that live in these places also vary in the species. Among the different types of woodlands available in the UK are the broadleaved woodland, ancient woodland, native conifer woods, urban trees and woodlands, moorland and heathland, orchards, and grasslands.
The ancient woodlands are believed to be the home legends and myth. Despite only having 2.4% cover remaining for the ancient forests, quite a several wildlife are adopted herein. Other than the ancient woodlands are the broadleaved woodlands found across the UK and host a high number of species (Sharkey, Nova & Bourke, 37). Having the UK being the least wooded country in Europe effort is made to protect these forests for the role they play. The wet woodlands are rare, boggy, transient, and wild. They are among the least wooded habitats. They contain trees like the Birch, alder, and willows. Underneath these plants are ferns, while sedges and mosses (Hall & Smith, 56). Glen and loch sides are blanketed in the Caledonian pine forests. It is in these forests that rare wildlife species are found.
Woodland Diversity.
Plants.
Biodiversity in the woodlands is, in most cases, due to the structure that exists in its diversity. Different plants are evident in the forests. Among them are the woodland wildflowers that cover the ancient woodlands. In spring, these flowers appear as bluebells, while in summer, they are seen as bright meadows that have buttercups. These beautiful flowers also provide nectar for invertebrates that live in the same habitat. Within this habitat, we also have sedges and grasses that belong to various botanical families (Hoban, Kallow & Trivedi, 17). Since all these grasses have almost a similar appearance, they are referred to as graminoids. Mosses that are grouped under bryophytes are also found in the UK woodlands in more than one thousand species. Some of the mosses are said to have a global significance.
Animals.
Trees and woods are known to host more wildlife than any landscape that ever existed. Both native and non-native mammals get their food and shelter from the woodlands in the UK. In these woodlands, they live in their thousands of varied species. On the other hand, bird species have been seen to decrease with a decline in the woodlands tremendously. It is thus necessary that the leafy litter and the lush canopies be protected from destruction should there be a need to host more bird species. Along with the woodland ponds, edges and ditches are home for various species of amphibians and reptiles (Ellis, Eaton & Theodoropoulos, 32). Other animals such as spiders, beetles, crustaceans, centipedes, grasshoppers, wasps, and moths, are also found in the UK woodlands in their thousands.
Quantitative Description.
From the dataset provided by the Woodland survey of Great Britain, it becomes easy to track the numbers of tree species available in the woodlands. The tracking ranges from the native species to the near-native and the non-native species. Abundance data that is of high quality has proven to be time-consuming and expensive to collect. Due to these reasons, this data s never too readily available. However, the importance of abundance distributions cannot be overlooked for they have numerous applications regarding epidemiology and species conservation (Schofield, 10). In ecology, most people aim to have models that can effectively be used for prediction purposes to determine tree species over a large surface area.
As evident in the line graph below, there are more saplings than mature trees. This gives hope for an increased population of the woodland trees over time. Having less mature trees indicates that the woodlands were diminishing, but the high number of saplings is a good indication of rejuvenating the forests. The Sessile oak (Quercus petraea), is the most abundant with an abundance value of seventy-five, followed by Rowan (Sorbus aucuparia). On the other hand, the Japanese larch (Larix kaempferi) is the least in the woodland forests. With such data, it then becomes easy to monitor the tree species that are most endangered. The species with the least mature tree and saplings are then protected to ensure that they don’t become extinct.
Fig.1: Woodland plots tree data.
Over time it has been noted that the woodland area is on the decrease in the UK. The woodlands cover approximately 1.5 million acres in Great Britain, according to the NFI report. This is a significant decline from the over five million acres that were under forest cover. Models have been developed to track tree species and area coverage (Vauhkonen & Packalen, 46). Tracking is done on nine hundred and eight thousand hectares for mixed deciduous woodlands, one hundred and twenty-four hectares of native pine, and one hundred and two hectares that contains upland Oakwood. These areas are then divided into plots for easier tracking and survey. The results are as shown in the figure below:
Fig 2: Woodland Condition and statistics.
Discussion of Significant Observations.
Dominant species.
From the data provided, it is evident that the broadleaved species are the most dominant in the UK woodlands. Another statistic indicated that the Birch, accounts for about eighteen percent of the forests, oak takes sixteen percent and twelve percent is occupied by ash. The provided data shows that the Sessile oak (Quercus petraea) is the most dominating with the highest number of mature trees and saplings (Smart et al., 25). The Rowan (Sorbus aucuparia) and the Downy Birch (Betula pubescens) are also available though not in high numbers.
Invasive species.
The invasive species can be referred to as the non-native plants, could either be introduced into the habitat inadvertently or deliberately. In most cases, these species are capable of outcompeting the native species in places where they are in the same ecological niche (Moyano, Mariano & Nunez, 19). Among those available in the UK woodlands according to the provided data are the rhododendron (Rhododendron ponticum), Japanese knotweed (Fallopia japonica), and Himalayan balsam (Impatiens glandulifera) (Urquhart et al., 56). These plants have been marked as a significant threat to the habitats and flora.
Indicator species.
Indicator species have existed in the habitat for the longest time possible and can be traced back to 1600. They are these species that form part of the ancient woodlands (Thomas et al., 31). Among the indicator species available in the UK woodlands are the Sitka Spruce (Picea sitchensis), Hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna), and the sessile oak (Quercus petraea).
Species of conservational concern.
The species that are of conservation concern are those that are almost extinct. The few mature trees and saplings are jealously guarded to ensure that the trees continue to exist. These species from the provided data include the beech (Fagus slyvatica), the grey willow (Salix cinerea), and the elm (Ulmus minor var. vulgaris).
Work Cited.
Sharkey, Nova, Mike Jones, and David Bourke. “Climate change impacts on woodland species: Implications for the conservation of woodland habitats in Ireland.” Biology and Environment: Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy. Royal Irish Academy, 2013.
Hall, Jane, and Ron Smith. “Trends in critical load exceedances in the UK.” (2015).
Hoban, Sean, Simon Kallow, and Clare Trivedi. “Implementing a new approach to effective conservation of genetic diversity, with ash (Fraxinus excelsior) in the UK as a case study.” Biological Conservation 225 (2018): 10-21.
Ellis, C., S. Eaton, and M. Theodoropoulos. “Managing epiphytic diversity in British woodlands: a scenarios toolkit.” Quarterly Journal of Forestry 108.4 (2014): 262-266.
Smart, Simon M., et al. “Quantifying the impact of an extreme climate event on species diversity in fragmented temperate forests: the effect of the October 1987 storm on British broadleaved woodlands.” Journal of Ecology 102.5 (2014): 1273-1287.
Schofield, LUCY ANASTASIA. Quantifying structural change in UK woodland canopies with a dual-wavelength full-waveform terrestrial laser scanner. Diss. University of Salford, 2016.
Urquhart, Julie, et al. “Awareness, concern, and willingness to adopt biosecure behaviors: public perceptions of invasive tree pests and pathogens in the UK.” Biological Invasions 19.9 (2017): 2567-2582.
Moyano, Jaime, Mariano A. Rodriguez‐Cabal, and Martin A. Nuñez. “Highly invasive tree species are more dependent on mutualisms.” Ecology 101.5 (2020): e02997.
Thomas, Evert, et al. “Genetic considerations in ecosystem restoration using native tree species.” Forest Ecology and Management 333 (2014): 66-75.
Vauhkonen, Jari, and Tuula Packalen. “A Markov Chain Model for simulating wood supply from any-aged forest management based on national forest inventory (NFI) data.” Forests 8.9 (2017): 307.