Species Diversity and Abundance of Ground Flora in Coppices of Different Ages
Introduction: Coppicing is the removal of the canopy layer - such as
hazel, ash and lime to nearly ground level. This provides timber but
also allows the trees to re-grow with many more shoots instead of just
the one trunk. This cycle takes about ten years which gives the ground
layer a chance to flourish.
Hypotheses:There will be less species diversity and abundance in the
old coppice.
Explanation:There are many reasons for my hypotheses which I will try
to scientifically prove. We have to consider all the different factors
involved in the species diversity and abundance especially the key
factor. The key factor is the amount of light. The ground flora is
obviously dependant upon light to photosynthesise. When the canopy
layer is cut back this allows more light to reach the ground level
increasing the abundance of the ground plants as they can
photosynthesise more. Also the acidity of the soil may be different
affecting the species diversity as some plants are better adapted for
acidic soil whilst others may be better suited for alkaline soil. I am
not sure how coppicing will or whether it will affect the acidity of
the soil so I will need to investigate this. Also the moisture content
of the soil will affect the species abundance as water will be a
limiting factor in the growth of plants. There will be higher moisture
content in the new coppice due to its exposure to the elements because
it has to canopy layer. This will mean that there will be higher
species abundance. The aspect will also play a part in the species
abundance and the species diversity. In Britain a southern aspect will
receive more light as it is facing the equator which is facing the
sun. This means that a southern aspect will have a higher abundance
because there is more light available. In a northern aspect there will
also be lower species diversity due to the fact that it will be mostly
Williams, A. B. (1936). The composition and dynamics of a beech-maple climax community. Ecological monographs, 6(3), 317-408.
These are very difficult questions for me personally to answer because I live in the Pacific Northwest, and I have seen the beauty of the old growth forests first-hand.
I am going to identify the plants in each area and count them. I will
Some sources of error in my experiment can be found mainly in my research of the tropical trees. In the tropical zone and temperate zone, most trees were too tall to reach and examine their leaves. Furthermore, it was hard to get the entire tree within our pictures. Therefore, this caused little information about the large trees in the tropical zone, giving our information less variation. This error was also implemented throughout all the zones. Another source of error was with the light shining upon the leaves. During our experimentation, there were moments in time where the sun was hidden and the sun was shining brightly. Therefore, possibly affecting the color of our leaf color. The sunlight may cause our leaf to look lighter than they possibly are. This could cause false information to compare the leaf colors for each biome.
How does the vegetation surface type affect the amount of runoff? Speculate why this happens.
Many old-growth forests across the landscape of northern Lower Peninsula of Michigan contain a mixture of tree species rather than a monoculture. Many researchers have put forward ideas to explain the competition and co-existence of tree species in such communities. A theory explaining competition and co-existence between two species is gap regeneration. Gap regeneration is when a gap is created upon death of a plant individual and a new individual, sometimes of the same species as died and sometimes not dependent on environmental heterogeneity, takes its place (Kenneth Lertzman). Canopy gaps during gap regeneration can be explained by either reciprocal replacement or habitat preference . In a reciprocal replacement, seedlings of one species would be found predominately under large trees ...
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The Western forests are drastically different from what they were like before the European settlement. In pre-European time, the forests were open and park-like with only 25-35 trees per acre surrounded by areas of open grasslands. One could easily ride a horse through the spacious forest. This, however, is not possible in today's forests. Today, for example the Ponderosa pine forests, have over 500 trees per acre, creating thick dense areas of trees, brush, and bushes (President Bush, 4). The pre-European forests were subject to frequent low inte...
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Environmental issues affect every life on this planet from the smallest parasite to the human race. There are many resources that humans and animal needs to survive; some of the most obvious resources come from the forests. Forests make up a large percentage of the globe. The forests have global implications not just on life but on the quality of it. Trees improve the quality of the air that species breath, determine rainfall and replenish the atmosphere. The wood from the forests are used everyday form many useful resources. Moreover, thinning the forests increases the amount of available light, nutrients and water for the remaining trees. Deforestation (forest thinning) is one of the most critical issues of environmental problems that are occurring today.
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Humans depend on plants in numerous ways. One reason we depend on plants is for consumption. Plants have the unique ability of producing their own food through a process called photosynthesis. In this process, plants are able to produce macromolecules such as carbohydrates that cannot be produced in animals or humans. In humans, the only to gain these macromolecules is to consume plant matter, or consume plant-eating animals (herbivores).
Biology is an amazing subject because it is the only thing that explains why and how things are supposed to function in life. This essay is going to identify the terrestrial and the aquatic ecosystem with details of the different organization. Also, it is going to explain the population and community. Lastly it is going to differentiate living from non-living by identifying and stating the characteristics of living.
One of the reasons for loss in biodiversity is alteration of habitats. A habitat is the natural environment in which a species of living organism lives. If the habitat of a species is changed, it will cause the species to die or migrate to other places where it can find its natural habitat. There are many ways in which the habitat of plants and animals can be altered. One of them is land use changes. Since the beginning of human life, human beings have been changing land use for farming. Large areas of forests have been cleared by humans to increase the area of farming to satisfy their growing needs. Many biodiversity-rich landscape characteristics have been lost due to intensive farming (Young, Richards, Fischer, Halada, Kull, Kuzniar, Tartes, Uzunov & Watt, 2007). For example, traditional farming was replaced by private farms in Europe after the First World War causing an immense change in land use patterns. Another major proble...
what happens when one burns and cuts down old forests, one must still plant new