Kingswood: Isle of Wight Woodland Ecology

(Full day or half day study)

Borthwood Copse is an Ancient Woodland. It is currently owned and managed by the National Trust, who have continued with the long tradition of copsing. This leads to an ideal study site for students to compare the flora and fauna within managed and unmanaged areas of oak, sweet chestnut and hazel coppice. The different time cycles used for each tree type means that a comparison may also be made between the ground, field and shrub layers across the woodland. Finally, the species found can be linked to the chemical composition of the soils, analysed using field test kits.

Fieldwork: Soils chemical analysis (pH, nitrate, phosphate, potassium, temperature), soil analysis (sieves), quadrat analysis (grid, random), light intensity, ambient temperature, species identification.

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