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The conservation of lower plants in woodland 1996

Abstract

Woods have long been valued for their flowers and birds, and of course for the trees themselves, yet one of the major biological attributes of British semi-natural woodlands lies in their wealth of 'lower' plants, such as bryophytes (mosses and liverworts), lichens and fungi.

With an increased interest in the lower plants of woodland has come a desire among conservationists, and many others involved in woodland management, to manage woodland positively for lower plants, or at least in a way sympathetic to them. Lower plant conservation has suffered from a lack of precise experimental research on which advice can be biased. There is now a substantial and growing body of observational and circumstantial data that should be made available to woodland managers who wish to take lower plants into account.

This resource aims to present some of this information with a view to broadening the discussion on woodland management.

Fungi (including lichens), although not now generally considered plants, are treated as 'honorary plants' for the purposes of this resource.

Please note that this resource has been produced from a scan of an original document. You may therefore experience fluctuations in quality.

Resource type Publication

Topic category Environment

Reference date 1996··

Citation
Hodgetts, N.G. (1996) The conservation of lower plants in woodland. JNCC, Peterborough, ISBN 1-86107-435-2.

Lineage
This resource describes the importance of lower plants in woodland in Britain and the steps being taken to conserve them.

Responsible organisation
Communications, JNCC publisher

Limitations on public access No limitations

Use constraints Available under the Open Government Licence 3.0

Metadata date 2026·05·20

Metadata point of contact
Communications, JNCC

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