Management of woodland area.

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Management of woodland area

I am required to draw up a preliminary plan for the management of woodland area. Currently, the woodland area is not open to the public, but will be opened to the public within a year or so. My plan is obviously subject to change after I visit the Epping Forest. The forest has a stream running through it and a few ponds that drain into the stream. The mud around these ponds can be soft and up to a meter deep.  

Task 1

Epping Forest is an ancient forest as it has been around for a very long time. And during this long period many animals and plants became a part of Epping Forest. Also during this period many things changed. Many new species were introduced many old species disappeared. The human factor has been a big impact in Epping Forest ever since the day it was established. But also, physical factors within the forest have caused many changes.

I am going to carry out a survey in order to find out which animals and plants are present within the forest. In the forest there are small animals and big animals, small plants and big plants. Identifying the plants are very easy, big animals will be easy as well as I’ve seen and I can identify deers, rabbits, foxes etc. But identifying small animals such as insects is a bit difficult as they are too small and I’ve not studied anything about insects. To measure big animals I am going to count them even though it is hard to find and get near them, because it is impossible to catch rabbits or foxes. I will only count and identify them from distance. But in my opinion this is not a very accurate way because I can’t go all around forest searching for animals as the forest is has a large area. One method that could work on counting big animals is to try and attract them with food or other sources. I think that with food some animals will be attracted so then I will identify and count each animal I see. For sampling woodland invertebrates as I said will be a bit hard to identify but finding them is easy. To find them I will split the structure into 4 layers.

Soil layer

Leaf layer

Herbifield layer

Shrub layer   

Soil layer

For the soil layer I will use traps like pitfall traps. I will dig 10 of these traps with a depth of 15cm, in random areas for each site, filling them up with washing up liquid and water. I will leave the traps there for a day and a night so during night invertebrates will fall in the pitfall. Unfortunately these animals will die but this is the only easy way of sampling them. Then the next day I will collect all the dead invertebrates, and I will count and identify the animals using the animal recording sheet.

This method is not dangerous for other animals or visitors, as the pitfalls are not very big. But if I don’t cover the holes the next day after I’ve finished then the soil might start eroding and the hole might start getting wider and deeper which then could become dangerous. I must stop this by covering the holes immediately the next day, so no more animals will die and the soil won’t start eroding.

Leaf layer 

For sampling the leaf layer I will use Tulgren funnel and a beaker. I will take 10 random samples of leaf litter and I will place them in funnel. Then I will hang a light bulb on top of the funnel. Insects trying to avoid the strong light will drop in the beaker; after 6 hours I will collect the invertebrates. I will count and try to identify them. Then I record the invertebrates in a woodland animal recording sheet. Again the insects will die. This method is not dangerous at all there are no risks.  

Herbifield layer 

For sampling the Herbifield layer I will use sweep nets in long grass, bracken, bramble etc. Then I will count the number of the invertebrates stuck in the net, again using the animal recording sheet. I will repeat this test in many different places in order to standardise the number of sweeps used during the work. This technique is safe as well as the invertebrates don’t die. And I don’t see any risks while using this method

Shrub layer

For sampling the shrub layer I have to use beating trays. I will do this by holding the tray under the branch of the tree then I shake the branch until invertebrates fall on the tray. And then I count the number of the invertebrates. I will shake each branch of each tree for the same amount of time in order to standardise the amount of time. I will do this to make it a fair test because if do one branch for 30 seconds and I do the next one for 10 seconds then I won’t be a fair test. This is because the longer I shake the branch the more invertebrates will fall, so I will do each branch for about              1 minute. There is no risks using this method but the disadvantage is that while shaking the branches there is a chance of damaging them. If I keep shaking the branches to hard I could damage them or maybe break the thin young ones.

The advantage is that this method is friendly as it doesn’t kill the invertebrates; after I have finished counting them I just drop them on the floor so they can live again.

These animals actually affect the food chain in the ecosystem by causing damages and some even spreading diseases to animals and other animals within the ecosystem but they also a necessary part of the food chain. Animals like rats for example are dangerous actually for the animals of the forest and the visitors that come to visit the forest. Rats carry all sorts of diseases that can be spread to other animals and the humans. If deadly diseases infect the animals then the disease will spread more causing the death of so many animals, which will totally affect the food chain, rats must be controlled. Their population shouldn’t be allowed to increase as it can grow rapidly from human waste food. Other animals like moth caterpillars destroy the leaves of the plants by eating them; they feed mainly on leaves but are predated upon by birds. Basically moth caterpillars are controlled by birds. But if the moth population starts growing rapidly hysterically then they will destroy the plants causing them to die. Caterpillars’ population usually naturally controlled. Wood wasp pupas could be a little harmful in our homes though but are but they are actually useful in the environment feeding upon dead/rotting wood recycling it for reuse in the environment.

 

Measuring the trees

Identifying and measuring the trees is going to be a lot of fun as they are very easy both to identify and measure. To identify the trees I will look at their features such as leaves and trunk of the tree there are not many type of trees in the Forest only 4 so this   is what will make the identification of the trees easy. Based on their sizes I will be able to identify which trees are old and young. Old trees have a big girth and are very tall. I will choose an area of 200m2 and then I will measure the trees. To measure the trees first I will measure my height from feet to eyes and I will record it into the plant record sheets. Then using the gun meter I will a find an angle of 45o degrees aiming it at the top of the tree. When I get the 45 degree angle I will measure the distance from the tree to the spot. Using the tape meter I measure the distance. After measuring the distance I will also measure the girth of the tree. One measurement I can’t get that I need is the height of the tree and to get this I will add my height plus the distance from the spot to the tree.

E.g. 1.75m + 19.5m = 20.8m height of tree

The measurements of all plants will be recorded in the plant recording sheet.

Vegetation

For sampling the vegetation I will use a quadrate. I will throw the quadrate in a random area within my territory (200m2). Looking at the squares in the quadrate I will I will be able to notice if that part is mostly litter grass, moss, bracken, grass, water pepper etc.    

Task 2

I am also going to survey the physical factors affecting the woodland ecosystem. In the forest many plants and animals prefer different conditions compared to others. Factors such as temperature, rainfall have had a big impact in the ecosystem

Temperature

I will measure the temperature in various places like under the shed, near a pond near a tree to see how the temperature varies in different places in the forest. Because during the temperature change many things change in the forest. Animals start mating to reproduce new species, leaves fall etc. Temperature has a big impact in the ecosystem. When the temperature falls plants find it a bit hard to survive as it is too cold and there is not enough light from the sun for photosynthesis to occur. But there are plants, which are adapted, to both to warm and cold temperature like conifers (e.g. Pine tree). Also animals find hard to survive like rabbits, as they are herbivores. If it snows then the grassland is covered so there is not enough vegetation for rabbits to feed. Carnivores will find it easier to survive as they hunt other small animals. Foxes hunt rabbits, rats and other prey, so foxes find easier to survive during winter season. After I’ve measured the temperature then I am going to measure it again after 6 months to see if there are nay changes, then I measure it annually.

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Humidity

Humidity in the forest is needed for the plants. Humidity is the amount of water vapour in the air. It is essential for germination of seeds as they are growing. Plants, which are near ponds, have a lot of humidity around them. Because the water is constantly evaporating so there is more moisture.         

Rainfall

Rainfall is another data, which I need to collect information about; I will measure rainfall using a rain meter. Rainfall is very important for the plants, as water is needed for photosynthesis to occur. If there is drought then the plants are going to ...

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