Grassland studies.

Abstract

This A-level text provides an introduction to British grassland ecosystems, and gives a key to some common grass species and soil organisms. Background information to field and laboratory work, and descriptions of techniques used in practical exercises (including materials and time required), are provided. Exercises in vegetation analysis are: species listing and use of an abundance scale; determination of optimum quadrat size; percentage cover and species frequency; comparison of trampled and untrampled areas; effects of mowing; species variation; and succession. Exercises in animal analysis are: comparison of species inhabiting long and short grass; study of invertebrate activity; comparison of the faunas of 2 localities; organisms on flower heads; animals of soil and litter; estimation of population size of the froghopper Philaenus spumarius; and small mammals. Other exercises involve decomposition (colonisation and decomposition of cellophane and leaf litter in soil, and the role of earthworms in decomposition); energy flow in the grassland ecosystem; recording climatic factors; and examination of soil features (soil profile, temperature, pH, water content, organic matter, particle size). -P.J.Jarvis