Bronze Age barrows on the heathlands of southern England: construction, forms and interpretations

The Bronze Age barrows on the downs of southern England have been investigated and discussed for nearly 200 years, but much less attention has been paid to similar structures in the areas of heathland beyond the chalk and river gravels. They were built in a phase of expansion towards the end of the Early Bronze Age, and more were constructed during the Middle Bronze Age. They have a number of distinctive characteristics. This paper considers the interpretation of these monuments and their wider significance in relation to the pattern of settlement. It also discusses the origins of field systems in lowland England.

Modelling habitat suitability of the swamp antechinus (Antechinus minimus maritimus) in the coastal heathlands of southern Victoria, Australia

In recent years, predictive habitat distribution models, derived by combining multivariate statistical analyses with Geographic Information System (GIS) technology, have been recognised for their utility in conservation planning. The size and spatial arrangement of suitable habitat can influence the long-term persistence of some faunal species. In southwestern Victoria, Australia, populations of the rare swamp antechinus (Antechinus minimus maritimus) are threatened by further fragmentation of suitable habitat. In the current study, a spatially explicit habitat suitability model was developed for A. minimus that incorporated a measure of vegetation structure. Models were generated using logistic regression with species presence or absence as the dependent variable and landscape variables, extracted from both GIS data layers and multi-spectral digital imagery, as the predictors. The most parsimonious model, based on the Akaike Information Criterion, was spatially extrapolated in the GIS. Probability of species presence was used as an index of habitat suitability. A negative association between A. minimus presence and both elevation and habitat complexity was evidenced, suggesting a preference for relatively low altitudes and a vegetation structure of low vertical complexity. The predictive performance of the selected model was shown to be high (91%), indicating a good fit of the model to the data. The proportion of the study area predicted as suitable habitat for A. minimus (Probability of occurrence greater-or-equal, slanted0.5) was 11.7%. Habitat suitability maps not only provide baseline information about the spatial arrangement of potentially suitable habitat for a species, but they also help to refine the search for other populations, making them an important conservation tool.

Effects of a fox removal program on small and medium-sized mammal population dynamics within the Anglesea Heathlands, Victoria

This thesis assessed the diet of foxes within the ALCOA lease area of Anglesea to determine which native and introduced species foxes were eating. Results showed that Swamp Wallaby was regularly eaten but many other mammals, birds, insects and reptiles were also consumed. The response of native mammals to seasonal fox removal was also determined.

Camera Botanica 1

Camera Botanica 1 - testing a design process (unrealised buildings). ---------- Sited in a highly biodiverse and bushfire prone heathlands on the South-east coast of Western Australia, Camera Botanica 1 is a test of a new design methodology for achieving ecologically sustainable architecture in biodiverse, bushfire prone landscapes. ---------- The design methods were intensively site-based with the author-designer conducting his own site surveys using high-end professional grade surveying equipment such as: Real Time Kinematic GPS (landform survey); Terrestrial laser scanning (vegetation survey); laser levelling and Total Station surveys (erection of scaffolds and contour lines). ---------- This was the first time, internationally, that terrestrial laser scanning was used to measure vegetation. These precise surveys enabled the construction of highly detailed models and drawings - a facility that has not been available prior to this technology. ---------- Designed for a real client and a real site - Camera Botanica 1 is a hypothetical design outcome which demonstrates the efficacy of a new design methodology and thus expands on knowledge of the applicability of new surveying technologies to the design of ecologically sustainable architecture in biodiverse landscapes.

Camera Botanica 2

Camera Botanica 2 - testing a design process (unrealised building). Sited in a highly biodiverse and bushfire prone heathlands on the South-east coast of Western Australia, Camera Botanica 2 is a test of a new design methodology for achieving ecologically sustainable architecture in biodiverse, bushfire prone landscapes. ---------- The design method was intensively site-based with the author-designer conducting his own site surveys using high-end professional grade surveying equipment such as: Real Time Kinematic GPS (landform survey); Terrestrial laser scanning (vegetation survey); laser levelling and Total Station surveys (erection of scaffolds and contour lines). ---------- This was the first time, internationally, that terrestrial laser scanning was used to measure vegetation. These precise surveys enabled the construction of highly detailed models and drawings - a facility that has not been available prior to this technology. ---------- Designed for a real client and a real site - Camera Botanica 2 is a hypothetical design outcome which demonstrates the efficacy of a new design methodology and thus expands on knowledge of the applicability of new surveying technologies to the design of ecologically sustainable architecture in biodiverse landscapes.

Impacts of experimental warming and fire on phenology of subalpine open-heath species

The present study examined experimentally the phenological responses of a range of plant species to rises in temperature. We used the climate-change field protocol of the International Tundra Experiment (ITEX), which measures plant responses to warming of 1 to 2°C inside small open-topped chambers. The field study was established on the Bogong High Plains, Australia, in subalpine open heathlands; the most common treeless plant community on the Bogong High Plains. The study included areas burnt by fire in 2003, and therefore considers the interactive effects of warming and fire, which have rarely been studied in high mountain environments. From November 2003 to March 2006, various phenological phases were monitored inside and outside chambers during the snow-free periods. Warming resulted in earlier occurrence of key phenological events in 7 of the 14 species studied. Burning altered phenology in 9 of 10 species studied, with both earlier and later phenological changes depending on the species. There were no common phenological responses to warming or burning among species of the same family, growth form or flowering type (i.e. early or late-flowering species), when all phenological events were examined. The proportion of plants that formed flower buds was influenced by fire in half of the species studied. The findings support previous findings of ITEX and other warming experiments; that is, species respond individualistically to experimental warming. The inter-year variation in phenological response, the idiosyncratic nature of the responses to experimental warming among species, and an inherent resilience to fire, may result in community resilience to short-term climate change. In the first 3 years of experimental warming, phenological responses do not appear to be driving community-level change. Our findings emphasise the value of examining multiple species in climate-change studies.

Extreme architecture : can architects future proof us against fire and flood.

In the face of Australia’s disaster-prone environment, architects Ian Weir and James Davidson are reconceptualising how our residential buildings might become more resilient to fire, flood and cyclone. With their first-hand experience of natural disasters, James, director of Emergency Architects Australia (EAA), and Ian, one of Australia’s few ‘bushfire architects’, discuss the ways we can design with disaster in mind. Dr Ian Weir is one of Australia’s few ‘bushfire architects’. Exploring a holistic ‘ground up’ approach to bushfire where landscape, building design and habitation patterns are orchestrated to respond to site-specific fire characteristics. Ian’s research is developed through design studio teaching at QUT and through built works in Western Australia’s fire prone forests and heathlands.

Floristic notes of Sierra del Rincón Biosphere Reserve (Spain, Madrid province)

New records of vascular plants from Sierra del Rincón Biosphere Reserve and surroundings (Spain, Madrid province) are provided. It is noteworthy the presence of atlantic flora in this continental area and the different shrubby communities in different sectors with different litology: in areas with gneiss they are dominated by leguminous genisteae; where it is schistous, shale or quartzite they are heathlands.

Nota sobre los brezales de la provincia de Burgos

larazona, 1. & Zaldívar, P.: Notes un beathland nf provínce of Burgos. Wc have studied o this paper <he heathlands in the Cántahro-Euska[dún. CastellanoCantábrico and Ibérico-Soriano ehorological sectors of Burgos. Twu new subasociations are described Dai,eeria- lil/retum ga/// erir-etesuro letra/iris- and Dabaecie- <Iliecturo gal// ardes-íapby-leíun~ rras.sífo//ae. A new provisional cominunitie of Gen/ide//a jr/dentata and Arrtt:,stapiules -rass/Ji1/ce is alse described.

Xanthoria parietina as a biomonitor of airborne heavy metal pollution in forest sites in the North East of Morocco

Xanthoria parietina, common foliose lichen, growing in its natural habitat, was analysed for the concentration of five heavy metals (Fe, Cr, Zn, Pb and Cu) from different forest sites of North East of Morocco (Kenitra, Sidi Boughaba, Mkhinza, Ceinture Verte near Temara city, Skhirate, Bouznika and Mohammedia). The quantification was carried out by inductively coupled plasma - atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES). Results were highly significant p<0,001. The concentration of metals is correlated with the vehicular activity and urbanization. The total metal concentration is highest at the Kenitra area, followed by Ceinture Verte site near Temara city, which experience heavy traffic throughout the year. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) of particulate matter on lichen of Xanthoria parietina was assessed as a complementary technique to wet chemical analysis for source apportionment of airborne contaminant. Analysis revealed high level of Cu, Cr, Zn and Pb in samples near roads.  

Soil resource supply influences faunal size-specific distributions in natural food webs

The large range of body-mass values of soil organisms provides a tool to assess the ecological organization of soil communities. The goal of this paper is to identify graphical and quantitative indicators of soil community composition and ecosystem functioning, and to illustrate their application to real soil food webs. The relationships between log-transformed mass and abundance of soil organisms in 20 Dutch meadows and heathlands were investigated. Using principles of allometry, maximal use can be made of ecological theory to build and explain food webs. The aggregate contribution of small invertebrates such as nematodes to the entire community is high under low soil phosphorus content and causes shifts in the mass-abundance relationships and in the trophic structures. We show for the first time that the average of the trophic link lengths is a reliable predictor for assessing soil fertility responses. Ordered trophic link pairs suggest a self-organizing structure of food webs according to resource availability and can predict environmental shifts in ecologically meaningful ways.

The role of the seed bank in recovery of temperate heath and blanket bog following wildfires

Questions - Are the germinable seed banks of upland heath and blanket bog reduced following wildfires? Are some species at particular risk? Do the impacts of wildfires on seed banks differ between heathlands and blanket bog?

Location - Northern Ireland, United Kingdom.

Methods - Vegetation surveys and seed bank sampling were conducted in 2012 at burned and unburned areas within six upland sites where large wildfires had occurred during spring 2011. Differences in seedling abundance, species richness and Jaccard similarity indices between burned and unburned areas were compared using GLMMs. Differences in the community composition were examined using pRDA.

Results - In total, 24 of the 51 species in the vegetation were detected in the germinable seed bank. Species richness and the abundance of seedlings other than Calluna vulgaris were lower in areas where wildfires had occurred. Species composition of both germinable seed banks and vegetation differed between burned and unburned areas within sites; with negative associations between burned areas and some key indicator species including Drosera rotundifolia, Eriophorum vaginatum, Empetrum nigrum, Narthecium ossifragum and Trichophorum germanicum. We did not find any evidence of significant interactions between burning and habitat, suggesting that wildfires had similar impacts on each species regardless of the habitat in which they occurred.

Conclusions - This study differs from other UK studies in that it examines impacts of wildfires at sites that have not been previously intensively managed by burning. In particular, we highlight potential impacts on N. ossifragum and D. rotundifolia, which are key components of the upland flora and, to our knowledge, were not present in previous UK studies.

Replicability of data collected for empirical estimation of relative pollen productivity

The effects of repeated survey and fieldwork timing on data derived from a recently proposed standard field methodology for empirical estimation of Relative Pollen Productivity have been tested. Seasonal variations in vegetation and associated pollen assemblages were studied in three contrasting cultural habitat types; semi-natural ancient woodlands, lowland heaths, and unimproved, traditionally managed hay meadows. Results show that in woodlands and heathlands the standard method generates vegetation data with a reasonable degree of similarity throughout the field season, though in some instances additional recording of woodland canopy cover should be undertaken, and differences were greater for woodland understorey taxa than for arboreal taxa. Large differences in vegetation cover were observed over the field season in the grassland community, and matching the phenological timing of surveys within and between studies is clearly important if RPP estimates from these sites are to be comparable. Pollen assemblages from closely co-located moss polsters collected on different visits are shown to be variable in all communities, to a greater degree than can be explained by the sampling error associated with pollen counting, and further study of moss polsters as pollen traps is recommended.