Holly Woo will be giving a talk on:

“Using historic records to identify changes in ancient woodland flora in a new urban landscape”

Ancient woodlands are irreplaceable habitats that are protected in the planning process. However, as urban development expands, they can become islands within an urban matrix. In this context, woodland plant communities may be affected by pollutants, soil compaction, changing hydrology, invasive species, habitat fragmentation and isolation. I am using historic data to investigate how the flora of three ancient woodlands in Milton Keynes has changed over the last 50 years as the “new town” developed. Data from these urban ancient woodlands and rural comparator sites will be used to understand more about the impacts of urbanisation on ancient woodlands.

Holly is a PhD student at The Open University. Her course is “Understanding the Impacts of Urbanisation on Ancient Woodland”.

Holly Woo

Her Twitter handle is @Gaoandlove

Read more about the other NBN Conference speakers