GCSE Geography - Bison to the rescue: How will Bison impact the Blean Wood ecosystem?
In this workshop, learners are invited to our West Blean and Thornden Woods site to investigate the impact that the bison (and our other wilder grazers) are having on the species abundance and diversity.
The workshop will begin with discussion around the process of succession and how the process is important in woodland environments to increase the diversity of plant species, as well as increasing the diversity of habitats within the woodland and therefore the diversity of animals species.
One issue currently facing many woodlands across the UK is that when the whole woodland reaches the climax community it forms one closed canopy forest, which decreases diversity. In a healthy woodland there would be natural disturbance, which removes some of the big trees, creating bare ground and beginning the process of succession again.
Currently, the Blean woods has too little natural disturbance. The aim of the introduction of the bison, long horn cattle and iron age pigs will create natural disturbance and in turn create a healthier woodland.
In this GCSE workshop, learners use a range of investigation techniques, including transects and quadrats, to investigate succession in the Blean, measuring species abundance and analyse the potential impacts of the bison and the other wilder grazers in the Blean.
More information can be found here