| Abstract
| - Changes in the ground flora, relative to undisturbed woodland, were measured in permanent (100 m2 quadrats in a clear fell, group fells and a coppice area in Sheephouse Wood (Buckinghamshire) from 1984 to 1988. Species numbers rose rapidly in the clear and group fells to about twice that in the undisturbed woodland. Species indicative of higher light, moisture and nutrient conditions appeared after felling or coppicing and the flora shifted from one dominated by stress-tolerant species to a flora with more competitive and ruderal species. After two years, in both clear and group fells, the ground flora covered 90-100 per cent of the quadrats (compared with 30-75 per cent in the undisturbed woodland), but species richness started to decline. This was probably because of increased competition associated with the spread of grasses and rushes (Agrostis stolonifera, Deschampsia cespitosa, Holcus mollis and Juncus spp.). Species richness did not increase as much in the coppice area, and bramble (Rubus fruticosus), rather than grasses, became dominant. The subsequent decline in species richness was more gradual in the coppice area than in the clear fells. During this period there were no significant changes in the species richness, total cover or species composition within the undisturbed woodland.
|
