What Is The Factors That Affect The Forest
Light and nutrients.
Light is the key abiotic factor which controls the growth of woodland. It controls the spacing of the trees, shape of the trees and the shape and structure of the shrub and ground layers. If a trees branch does not receive enough light it will die. Irelands native woodlands are deciduous so there is a dramatic variation of the amount of light which reaches the forest floor through the seasons. In spring when the leaves have yet to grow and the temperature has begun to rise the flowers of the woodland make the most of the available light and bloom. The woods become carpet with bluebells (Hyacithoides non-scripta), wild garlic (Allium ursinum), lesser celandine (Rannunculus ficaria), wood anemone and primroses. These flowers …show more content…
Many of the visited woodlands are totally planted. Ireland today has about six percent woodland and only about one percent of the land area is covered in deciduous woodland. This woodland is the natural vegetation in Ireland and was dominated by oak. Poor or a lack of management practices decimated the ancient forests to provide timber for house and boat construction, railways and fuel for industries such as iron works. It is thought that todays woodlands survived because of inaccessibility or poor quality timber. Because of the management history i.e. the removal of generation after generation of the best trees this leaves poorer trees to produce the next generation. These ‘poor’ trees are from a human perspective though, ones producing tall straight trees may not be suited to our climatic conditions and do not supply as many habitats for the epiphytes.
Elm was once abundant in our forests and declined with the arrival of the Neolithic farmers 6,000 years ago. Another source of the decline is Dutch elm disease, a fungal disease (Ophiostoma novo-ulmi) carried out by beetles (Scolytus scolytus) which bore holes in the bark and lay eggs. The grubs then eat the under bark of the tree. The beetles only lay their eggs in larger trees. The result is that the trees are kept permanently as a shrub never reaching flowering age so no seeds are produced and no genetic variation
Light is the key abiotic factor which controls the growth of woodland. It controls the spacing of the trees, shape of the trees and the shape and structure of the shrub and ground layers. If a trees branch does not receive enough light it will die. Irelands native woodlands are deciduous so there is a dramatic variation of the amount of light which reaches the forest floor through the seasons. In spring when the leaves have yet to grow and the temperature has begun to rise the flowers of the woodland make the most of the available light and bloom. The woods become carpet with bluebells (Hyacithoides non-scripta), wild garlic (Allium ursinum), lesser celandine (Rannunculus ficaria), wood anemone and primroses. These flowers …show more content…
Many of the visited woodlands are totally planted. Ireland today has about six percent woodland and only about one percent of the land area is covered in deciduous woodland. This woodland is the natural vegetation in Ireland and was dominated by oak. Poor or a lack of management practices decimated the ancient forests to provide timber for house and boat construction, railways and fuel for industries such as iron works. It is thought that todays woodlands survived because of inaccessibility or poor quality timber. Because of the management history i.e. the removal of generation after generation of the best trees this leaves poorer trees to produce the next generation. These ‘poor’ trees are from a human perspective though, ones producing tall straight trees may not be suited to our climatic conditions and do not supply as many habitats for the epiphytes.
Elm was once abundant in our forests and declined with the arrival of the Neolithic farmers 6,000 years ago. Another source of the decline is Dutch elm disease, a fungal disease (Ophiostoma novo-ulmi) carried out by beetles (Scolytus scolytus) which bore holes in the bark and lay eggs. The grubs then eat the under bark of the tree. The beetles only lay their eggs in larger trees. The result is that the trees are kept permanently as a shrub never reaching flowering age so no seeds are produced and no genetic variation