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- Deciduous woodlands: how they work
Deciduous woodlands: how they work
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Deciduous woodland is the UK's natural vegetation. It changes dramatically with the seasons.
Abiotic characteristics
Climate: four seasons, with mild summers, cool winters and rain spread throughout the year.
Soils: fertile brown earths. Leaves fall each autumn and decompose into rich humus.
Layers: canopy (oak, ash, beech), sub-canopy (holly, hazel), shrub layer (brambles) and ground layer (ferns, bluebells).
Soils: fertile brown earths. Leaves fall each autumn and decompose into rich humus.
Layers: canopy (oak, ash, beech), sub-canopy (holly, hazel), shrub layer (brambles) and ground layer (ferns, bluebells).
The nutrient cycle
Nutrients are stored in biomass, litter and soil.
Compared with a rainforest, decomposition is slower because it is cooler, so the litter store is larger, and the fertile soil store is much larger.
Most nutrients return to the soil in autumn when leaves fall.
Compared with a rainforest, decomposition is slower because it is cooler, so the litter store is larger, and the fertile soil store is much larger.
Most nutrients return to the soil in autumn when leaves fall.
Biodiversity and adaptations
Biodiversity is moderate: lower than in rainforests because of cold winters and a shorter growing season.
Plants: trees have broad, thin leaves to catch light in summer and drop their leaves in winter to save water when the ground may be frozen. Bluebells flower in early spring, before the canopy closes.
Animals: hibernation (hedgehogs, dormice), migration (swallows fly south for winter) and food storage (squirrels bury nuts).
Plants: trees have broad, thin leaves to catch light in summer and drop their leaves in winter to save water when the ground may be frozen. Bluebells flower in early spring, before the canopy closes.
Animals: hibernation (hedgehogs, dormice), migration (swallows fly south for winter) and food storage (squirrels bury nuts).
Explain why deciduous trees lose their leaves in winter.
- In winter there is less light and it is colder, so photosynthesis is slow.
- Water may be frozen in the ground and hard to take up.
- Dropping leaves reduces water loss and stops damage from frost and wind.
Answer: To save water and energy when growth is not possible.
Deciduous woodland: four seasons, fertile brown earth soils and layered structure. Slower decomposition than rainforest, so larger litter and soil stores. Moderate biodiversity. Adaptations: broad leaves shed in winter, spring flowering; hibernation, migration and food storage.
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