British woodlands suffer large-scale biodiversity loss
ScienceDaily (Aug. 11, 2009) — 21st century British woodlands are less distinctive than those of the early 20th century due to environmental change. Native woodland plants have re-organized over the last 70 years in response to increased soil fertility and loss of light related to increased canopy shading.
The research was carried out by a team from Bournemouth University, Natural England and the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology and will be published online in Proceedings of the Royal Society B (FirstCite website) on 22nd July 2009. Lead author, Sally Keith of Bournemouth University, said: “We have identified the loss of unique communities within British woodlands through a comprehensive large-scale study of woodland plants. The results show that we must monitor biodiversity at the landscape scale, as well as gain a better understanding of processes affecting our native flora, if we are to conserve and restore the character of the traditional British woodland.” The researchers investigated changes in the flora of British woodlands over seven decades with the study providing evidence of a new kind of biodiversity loss, namely a loss of the unique character of individual woods which had developed over centuries in response to local conditions. They found that the woodlands are more similar to each other now, when compared with 70 years ago, even though the number of plant species in each woodland had not fallen. Co-author Professor James Bullock from the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology said: “This study shows that increased pollution and poor countryside management has led to increasing homogenization of biodiversity in British woodlands. These two issues must be addressed in future if we wish to restore the diverse woodland communities of the past.” …
