• Admin Login
    View Item 
    •   Home
    • Theses and Dissertations
    • Theses and Dissertations
    • View Item
    •   Home
    • Theses and Dissertations
    • Theses and Dissertations
    • View Item
    JavaScript is disabled for your browser. Some features of this site may not work without it.

    Browse

    All of WIRECommunitiesTitleAuthorsIssue DateSubmit DateSubjectsTypesJournalDepartmentPublisherThis CollectionTitleAuthorsIssue DateSubmit DateSubjectsTypesJournalDepartmentPublisher

    Administrators

    Admin Login

    Local Links

    AboutThe University LibraryOpen Access Publications PolicyDeposit LicenceCOREWIRE Copyright and Reuse Information

    Statistics

    Display statistics

    A comparative study of Corynephorus canescens (L.) P.Beauv. communities of inland sand dunes in England and Poland

    • CSV
    • RefMan
    • EndNote
    • BibTex
    • RefWorks
    Thumbnail
    Name:
    A_G_Blunt_2008.pdf
    Size:
    3.161Mb
    Format:
    PDF
    Download
    Authors
    Blunt, Arthur Godfrey
    Advisors
    Trueman, Ian C.
    Harding, D.
    Jurasz, W.
    Issue Date
    2008
    
    Metadata
    Show full item record
    Abstract
    Inland sand dunes supporting Grey Hair-grass Corynephorus canescens are a declining European habitat designated for conservation under the EU’s Habitats Directive. In Britain they are confined to a handful of sites in East Anglia and the West Midlands. This study investigated the relationships of the British populations to each other and to populations on five sites in Poland, where C. canescens is still widespread. It also conducted exploratory investigations into factors relevant to the conservation of this ecosystem, particularly in the West Midlands. Data were collected chiefly from 1m2 quadrat samples and direct sampling, which recorded the plants and animals present together with parameters such as vigour and fecundity in C. canescens, amounts of bare sand and litter, and measures of erosion and grazing. These data were variously analysed including by CANOCO multivariate analysis and, for the vegetation, TWINSPAN analysis. 153 taxa of plants and 251 of invertebrates were identified. Though strongly distributed on a regional basis, both flora and invertebrate fauna showed relationships particularly between Polish and West Midlands sites. Analysis of the vegetation suggested that West Midlands vegetation had some associations with C. canescens habitats in Europe and that East Anglian vegetation had links with British coastal C. canescens habitats. The invertebrate fauna showed some complex community relationships in Poland and the West Midlands but less so in East Anglia, while assemblages of invertebrates were associated with various vegetational and abiotic factors. Rabbits and hares were the only vertebrates regularly exploiting C. canescens habitats, which they grazed and, in the former case, produced sand disturbances for colonisation by C. canescens. Ants and to a lesser degree some other invertebrates also produced sand disturbances. Observations made in a preliminary cultivation study in the West Midlands suggested that C. canescens may have a biennial phenology, high fecundity, low germination rates and limited dispersal powers in that region. A trampling investigation suggested that C. canescens may be very sensitive to heavy uncontrolled trampling and to vegetational succession under protection. Stages in succession of the C. canescens community were identified, and suggestions for further study and the conservation of C. canescens were drawn up.
    Publisher
    University of Wolverhampton
    URI
    http://hdl.handle.net/2436/31434
    Type
    Thesis or dissertation
    Language
    en
    Description
    Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the University of Wolverhampton for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy
    Collections
    Theses and Dissertations

    entitlement

     
    DSpace software (copyright © 2002 - 2023)  DuraSpace
    Quick Guide | Contact Us
    Open Repository is a service operated by 
    Atmire NV
     

    Export search results

    The export option will allow you to export the current search results of the entered query to a file. Different formats are available for download. To export the items, click on the button corresponding with the preferred download format.

    By default, clicking on the export buttons will result in a download of the allowed maximum amount of items.

    To select a subset of the search results, click "Selective Export" button and make a selection of the items you want to export. The amount of items that can be exported at once is similarly restricted as the full export.

    After making a selection, click one of the export format buttons. The amount of items that will be exported is indicated in the bubble next to export format.