When you step into your garden during the Spring or Summer months, you might be aware of the scent of honeysuckle, lavender or indeed an old fashioned rose.  Similarly, in a woodland the scent of pine or other conifers may permeate the air.  These various scents often involve a group of compounds known as the terpenes.  The resin that exudes from pine bark is rich in terpenes. Terpenes are used in the building of many complex organic molecules and contribute to the make-up of volatile, organic compounds [VOCs] - produced by many plants.  The scents released from nectaries or other parts of flowering plants are often associated with attracting pollinating insects, but they can serve other functions.  For example, some VOCs released by a plant may warn surrounding plants of attack by insects. However, as you walk down the street, the air is rarely filled with these pleasant, natural scents. Instead the fumes of traffic, factories and industry assail us.  They are the exhaust emissions from cars, lorries, buses etc, plus the various bits and pieces [particulates] that are released from the ‘rubber’ of car tyres, brake pads etc.  The damaging effects of particulates are now well documented.  The effects include lung disease such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and reduced lung function.   Particulates help create the concoction of substances that we inhale; sadly our air is often polluted with many different compounds. Scientists from Oxford University and Kew recently investigated air quality in different locations around Oxford.  The locations varied from the centre of the town, where the Botanic Garden is found, out to the University’s Wytham Woods.  Wytham is one of the most intensively studied woodland areas in the world.  The wood ‘holds’ 500 plus plant species and 800 or more butterfly and moth species. Records of bird populations go back some sixty or more years (largely due to the work of David Lack and others).   The air samples that the scientists collected were subjected to detailed chemical analysis using the technique of gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Some 245 different compounds were identified in the various air samples, with each of the six different sites haveing their own signature collection of chemicals.  Sites near to busy roads contained high levels of benzene and toluene, which are traffic-related chemicals.  The tree rich areas naturally showed a greater presence of plant chemicals (VOCs).  Unsurprisingly, when they sampled the air in the Botanic Garden (over the course of a year), they found the highest levels of these plant compounds.  Warmer weather increased the levels of these VOCs / plant derived chemicals, which have been associated with improved mood and stress reduction. Full details of the Oxford study here : https://nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ppp3.70191

A woodland bank can refer to various structures but usually it refers to a raised earth structure found in a woodland or on the edge of a woodland.  Such banks are usually man-made, though banks can be natural formations. Sometimes, besides the bank there is a ditch, formed where the soil for the bank was excavated.  Banks may date back hundreds of years, possibly even to mediaeval times.  They are found in the U.K and Europe.   Such banks were created to Contain deer or livestock or Mark the boundary of an area of land Woodland banks may support ancient woodland species, such as dog’s mercury, bluebells and wood anemone.  Indeed, they can be biodiversity hotspots, or corridors that help the spread of species.  In some parts of the country, there are ‘hedgebanks’,  these are raised banks which support trees and shrubs on their top surfaces.  Over the years, these may have become field boundaries. Some of the UK’s best known woodlands contain banks, for example, Epping Forest, where the banks delineate old coppicing and former deer / livestock enclosures.  The area was managed by the Royal Foresters.  Wytham Wood is probably the most intensively studied wood in the country as it is owned by the university of Oxford and used for long term ecological research.  It has several wood banks (that support indicator species) with ditches that date back to mediaeval times.  Banks and ditches are also found in Sherwood Forest, which were used to ‘control’ deer in the royal hunting ground. [caption id="attachment_42471" align="aligncenter" width="675"] Woodland ban with mature trees.[/caption] If you wish to investigate woodland banks further, there some digital resources that might be useful - for example The Magic map at DEFRA.   This can many different different features of the landscape e.g. historic boundaries, designated ancient woodland, land use etc. You zoom into your area of interest, and then make use of different layers superimposed on the detailed map of the U.K.  https://magic.defra.gov.uk/home.htm The Ancient Tree Inventory, organised by the woodland trust.  Again, this is an interactive map of ancient and veteran trees.  Woodland banks and ancient trees often ‘coincide’ as trees often marked boundaries / divisions.    https://ati.woodlandtrust.org.uk Thanks to Stuart for images. Stuart is woodlands.co.uk manager for Devon. He holds a degree in Environmental Protection and is passionate about woodlands. He enjoys the hands-on approach that working with Woodlands.co.uk affords him, clearing tracks, putting up gates and fences and getting people started with their woodland. Stuart teaches conservation to NVQ level and is very involved in practical conservation work, carrying out bat surveys, dormouse surveys and building artificial badger sets.  

Ecology is concerned with understanding the relationships between organisms, and their relationship with their environment.  This can involve how climate and soil influence the growth and development of organisms. Ecological studies may focus on a particular organism (autecology) or specific areas. One area that has been intensely studied is Wytham Wood, which lies just outside Oxford.   The area includes ancient semi-natural woodland, secondary woodland, grassland and ponds. It is a designated SSSI, where some 500+ plant species and 800+ lepidopteran (butterfly and moth) species have been recorded. Records of bird populations go back some sixty or more years (with the work of David Lack and others); other ecological studies with long-term data include those on badgers,  and also work on climate change. Wytham Wood belongs to Oxford University. Historically speaking, it is possibly the most intensely studied woodland in the world.  Read more...

In early October,  BBC4 screened a 90-minute documentary capturing every aspect of life in an ancient English oak over an entire year  "Oak Tree: Nature's Greatest Survivor" focuses on a single tree in Wytham Woods, just outside Oxford, a site acquired by Oxford University in 1942 for woodland research.   The film, presented by zoologist, entomologist and broadcaster George McGavin, opens with an high-tech assessment of the tree's condition. By firing laser pulses, forestry scientists create a 3-D virtual image of the oak so they can track its size and shape over the 12 months. At the outset, in late August, it's 19 metres tall and 30 metres wide and carries an estimated 700,000 leaves. Read more...

In the early 1970’s, Professor Barry Commoner (Washington University) said that ‘the first law of ecology’ could be stated as “Everything is connected to everything else”. That is, there is one ecosystem for all living organisms and what affects one – affects all. He was much concerned with the interactions of organisms, and the concept of sustainability. Traditionally, connectedness in ecology is concerned with how one organism affects another, or how an organism affects the environment or how a change in an environmental factor affects the organisms in the ecosystem. Read more...