A 2-day seminar looking at managing landscape change and future ecologies addressing critical issues of wilding or re-wilding and the implications for nature and heritage conservation.
Valuing ecosystem services for river and floodplain restoration and natural flood risk schemes
Best practice river restoration design: getting to grips with the links between hydromorphology and ecology
Setting project and monitoring objectives to demonstrate where and why river restoration or management has had multiple benefits.
Working with natural river and floodplain processes to achieve sustainable flood risk and other benefits
An introductory day looking at habitat management in woodland with a view to improving biodiversity.
Learn how to identify wild flower, grass, sedge and fern species which are typical indicators of ancient woodlands. We will consider what other conditions woodland flora can indicate such as pH, nutrient enrichment and presence of water sources and how to manage or improve woodland for its flora. Methods of introducing ground flora to new woods will also be considered.
The morning session will be spent identifying woodland flora in the Forest of Falkland where broadleaved, coniferous and felled/disturbed habitats can be compared. The afternoon site visit to Formonthills Forest, Glenrothes, will offer the opportunity to see woodland wildflower introduction trials stretching back to 1998. We will also discuss woodland ecology and management over the course of the day.
The course aims to raise awareness about two Scottish predators, pine martens and wildcats.
The theme for the International Day for Biological Diversity on 22nd May 2014 is Islands and Biodiversity.