The four types of management strategies are:
Habitat: Involves taking care of the woodlands, and managing them for a particular reason.
Estate: Involves looking after the whole area, and making sure its safe for visitors and animals.
Recreational: Looking after and providing a enjoyable, and safe environment for visitors.
Educational and community: Educating the community about woodlands and wildlife.
There are only two types of management used in the coniferous woodland. They are habitat and estate management.
Habitat:
Walking through the coniferous woodland, I noticed the method Brushing/felling was used, to let more sunlight reach the ground, through spaced out branches. Brushing/felling causes a lot of pine needles to fall; this is why leaf litter found in the coniferous wood was 95% more than the leaf litter found in the deciduous woodland. Spaced out branches lets more rain reach the ground, leaving the soil damp, enabling 32% moss to grow on the ground.
Estate:
In the coniferous woodland there were warning signs, to prevent visitors from entering unsafe areas. There were also fences surrounding the park to prevent people littering, and to stop animals from escaping onto dangerous roads.
Recreational:
No signs of recreational management were found. This is because the park doesn’t want to attract visitors to the coniferous woodland, as they may cause damage. If the trees get damaged then less trees will be manufactured, this means the park will earn less money.
All four management strategies are used in the deciduous woodland.
Habitat:
Deciduous trees are planted randomly to attract wildlife and people. Deciduous trees usually have a bigger canopy; this allows less rain to fall through. Due to this the soil was less moist in the deciduous woodland than the coniferous woodland, resulting to 30% less plants growing in the deciduous wood. I also saw birdhouses, to provide shelter for the birds.
Estate:
There were gates, to prevent cars from going in the woodland. There was car park, so people won’t have to bring their cars in the woodland, and harm animals. I noticed height restrictions, to prevent big vehicles like lories from destroying animal habitat. Height restrictions also prevent people from dumping rubbish in the park.
Recreational:
Around the park were litterbins, for visitors to dispose their rubbish in. there where benches and tables for visitors to relax and have picnics on. There was also a play area for children to play in; this keeps them away from getting lost in the woods and getting hurt on roads.
Educational and community:
Around the park there wear big boards for the community, with maps of the park and educational information about specific wildlife and trees in the park.
Coniferous woodlands are easier to maintain than deciduous woodlands.
The different ways woodlands are managed, affects the amount of light and rain that reaches the floor. This also affects temperature, soil ph and soil moisture. All of these affect growth of trees and plants. So therefore looking at what I have found out I conclude, that I agree with the hypothesis, “Differences in woodland ecosystems are the result of different management strategies.”
