The Applied Vegetation Dynamics Laboratory - Research Approaches - Surveys

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Remote Sensing

Field based survey

Selected references

Approaches - Surveys

We use two main survey approaches (remote sensing and field survey) to derive successional sequences of vegetation change. Usually this is done to provide baseline assessments of plant communities or to measure historical vegetation change.

Remote sensing

We have used historical aerial photography to provide historical assessments of vegetation change in Breckland, East Anglia. The main focus of interest here has been the loss of heathland and its transition to bracken, grass and scrub woodland communities. As heathland is a high priority conservation biotope this is viewed as a damaging change.

Vegetation change at Knettishall Heath 1946-76

Vegetation change at Knettishall Heath 1946-76

Map of Dee Estuary in 1999 showing detailed zonation of marsh communities: derived from unsupervised classification of ATM data.

Key	Cover type	Area (ha)
	Unvegetated sediments	1352.3
	Creek Sediments - some algae & sparse vegetation	220.0
	Pioneer/Low Marsh	347.1
	Dry Algae/Mud	40.0
	Mid Marsh	688.9
	High Marsh	1127.1

Graduate students

Jon Huckle 2000. Ecology of Spartina on the Dee estuary
Andrea Britton 1998. Modelling invasions on heathlands.

Contact: Applied Vegetation Dynamics Laboratory, School of Environmental Science, Biosciences Building, Crown Street, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 7ZB

Direct: Professor Marrs +44 (0) 151 795 5172

Lab telephone: +44 (0) 151 795 5173

Fax:+44 (0) 151 795 5171