An early confirmation of interest in taking up these projects is important.
Project on feral wild boar impacts
Boar have been present in the wild for c. 20 yrs and have spread and been translocated. Several issues arise from this, including damage to forest and agricultural fencing and possible impacts on biodiversity. Forest Research in collaboration with Fera have been developing methods to evaluate wild boar impacts on woodland biodiversity including small mammals such as hazel dormice which may be predated by boar.
An early confirmation of interest in taking up this project (below) is important to enable us to prepare and place field equipment on site during early April 2012.
Impact of boar on grey squirrels
Boar and squirrels compete for natural food, specifically tree seeds.
In the same woodland habitats (eg. mature deciduous) grey squirrel populations might be expected to be higher in the absence of boar. The study aims to test this Hypothesis
Work will involve (after training):
- Use field signs to obtain an index of boar population size
- Using baited transects, and other field signs to obtain index of GS population
- Inputting data and analyses.
- Writing (MSc) report
Location - woods used within Sussex boar study.
Driving licence essential.
Happy to work alone in the woods.
Contact: Brenda Mayle brenda.mayle@forestry.gsi.gov.uk
Social science projects
- What do stakeholders think about recently reintroduced species? (e.g. boar and beaver)
- How can communities become even more involved in wildlife management? (e.g. volunteering or biodiversity monitoring?)
- How might increased woodland management in Britain (e.g. for woodfuel) affect wildlife management decisions?
- Why is some wildlife management more controversial than others? (e.g. badgers!)
- How important are certain species for British culture and identity? (e.g. deer in Scotland)
Contact: Norman Dandy if interested norman.dandy@forestry.gsi.gov.uk
Biodiversity in woodlands
Biodiversity implications of climate change adaptation planting strategies in forestry.
Introduction
Forest trees are long-lived, slow-growing species that cannot rapidly adapt to changes in environmental conditions that occur within the lifespan of an individual. Trees planted today will experience the climate in 50 to 100 years. As climates are predicted to change rapidly, many tree species planted today are likely to be poorly adapted to future environmental conditions (Hubert & Cottrell 2007). Trying to mitigate this, a new forest management strategy named ‘climate matching’ is currently being trialled in the UK. By sourcing seeds from geographical locations (or provenances) that today experience the climate predicted for the UK in 50 to 100 years time, climate matching involves replanting areas with imported genotypes adapted to warmer climates (Broadmeadow et al. 2005). In addition, to further increase the resilience of forests to environmental change, the planting of mixed provenance and mixed species stands are being advocated over single species or single provenance plantations. However, although these management strategies are attractive from the perspective of encouraging the growth and productivity of trees, little is known of how large-scale planting of non-native provenances will affect associated biodiversity, including the incidence of pests and diseases. Animal communities are known to be highly sensitive to genetic and phenotypic diversity in keystone trees (Whitham et al. 2008). As such, the large scale replanting of areas with imported genotypes could have considerable knock-on effects on the wider associated community and related ecosystem services.
Aim
This project will examine the impact of the climate change mitigation forest planting strategy of ‘climate matching’ on 1) provenance growth and phenology and 2) the incidence of associated herbivorous insects..
Methods
Provenance trials have been established in Kent, Derbyshire and Staffordshire to examine the performance of different provenances. Planted in 2011 by Forest Research, the ‘climate-matching’ provenance trials consist of several different blocks; 1) single provenance, single species blocks, 2) single species, mixed provenance blocks and 3) mixed species, mixed provenance blocks of 3 year-old wild cherry, ash, oak and sweet chestnut. In this project, one or more of the provenance trials can be used to assess how the incidence of a number of herbivorous insects (e.g. gallers, leaf miners and free feeding caterpillars) is influenced by 1) the growth, form and phenology (e.g. budburst) of the provenance material of differing origin and 2) differences in planting design (e.g. mixed vs. single provenance blocks).
Requirements
The student must have driving licence in order to access the provenance trials and the student should be prepared to make regular visits to trial sites. For example, where phenological assessments (e.g. budburst) are included in assessments, this will require regular (twice weekly) visits.
Supervisors
Dr. Nadia Barsoum (Forest Research - FR) & Dr. Melanie Gibbs (Centre for Ecology & Hydrology - CEH)
Contact: nadia.barsoum@forestry.gsi.gov.uk ; Phone: 01420-526 219
References
Broadmeadow MSJ, Ray D & Samuel CJA. 2005. The future of broadleaved trees in Britain. Forestry 78: 145-161.
Hubert, J. & Cottrell, J. (2007). The role of forest genetic resources in helping British forests respond to climate change (PDF-959K). Information Note 86, Forestry Commission, Edinburgh, UK
Whitham TG et al. (2008). Extending genomics to natural communities and ecosystems. Science 320: 492-495.
1. The diversity and abundance of ectomycorrhizal fungi in plantation monocultures of oak and Scots pine compared with mixed stands of these two tree species.
Location: Thetford Forest; New Forest
Supervisors: Co-supervised by Dr. Nadia Barsoum (Ecologist-Forest Research) and Dr. Martin I. Bidartondo (Mycologist-Imperial College/Kew Gardens)
Training: The work will involve collecting soil samples and processing these in the laboratory at Forest Rsearch and Kew Gardens. Training will be given in the use of molecular genetic techniques for screening of mycorrhizal species diversity and multi-variate statistical analyses of mycorrhizal data in relation to environmental variables.
2. The diversity and abundance of ground beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae) in plantation monocultures of oak and Scots pine compared with adjacent heathland and mixed stands of oak and Scots pine.
Location: Thetford Forest; New Forest; adjacent heathland
Supervisors: Co-supervised by Dr. Nadia Barsoum (Ecologist - Forest Research) and Dr. D. Inward/D. Williams (Entomologist - Forest Research)
Training: The work will involve setting up traps, collecting and identifying ground beetles. Identification work to take place at Forest Research in Franham, Surrey. Training will be given in the identification of ground beetles and multi-variate statistical analyses of beetle data in relation to environmental variables.
