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The Woodland Education Centre
The Heathland Restoration Project
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Ecological Survey 2000

These descriptions build upon the descriptions of the sections given in the 1999 ecological survey and should be read in conjunction for maximum benefit.
Control Section 1999

Section 5 (Control)

Observations 1999 - 2000

Section 5 - well over head height. Section 5 was a dense tangled mass of gorse, much of it now 2.5 to 3 metres tall, intertwined with brambles and some Raspberry.

Raspberry had become a dominant species in this section.

 

Young cherry tree in section 5. Tree saplings were well established amongst the gorse, with the main species being birch, cherry (left) , Hazel and willow.

In places, the birch and willow were beginning to overtop the gorse.

 

Soft Rush Soft Rush (left) became a dominant   species in this section, while Compact Rush had decreased.

Grasses had also decreased in abundance. Yorkshire Fog was no longer a dominant species and Common Bent had more than halved in extent.

 

Yellow Pimpernel Yellow Pimpernel (left) had become a dominant species in the ground layer. Violets increased in abundance, while Bugle declined.

Eurhynchium praelongum also substantially increased as part of the ground flora and on the lower part of the trunks of gorse and tree saplings.

 

Dominant Plants in Section 5 in 2000
with figures from 1999 for comparison.

Characteristic heath species are in bold print

Species Overall % frequency Mean % Cover (all quadrats)
2000 1999 2000 1999
Bramble 94 92 57 47
Eurhynchium praelongum 88 42 42 13
Common Dog-violet 69 67 16 10
Silver Birch 60 79 27 32
European Gorse 63 67 60 44
Thuidium tamarascinum 41 29 26 10
Bugle 35 46 4 8
Soft Rush 32 4 11 15
Common Bent 28 67 6 16
Raspberry 26 0 11 0
Yellow Pimpernel 26 21 2 3
Percentage frequency = the percentage of the total number of quadrats sampled over the whole site which contain the species. For example, a percentage frequency of 100%, means that the species was found in all quadrats sampled.

 

>> Continue to Grass Charts

 

Ecological Survey 2000
Contents