Production Ecology of British Moors and Montane Grasslands (Ecological Studies, 27)

The International Biological Programme (IBP) was a cooperative effort on the part of scientists throughout the world, whose goal was an integrated study of the basic processes of biological productivity. The challenge of meeting the increasing food needs of a growing population demands optimum productivity from natural and managed ecosystems, which has not hitherto appeared to be compatible with the maintenance of environmental quality. The basic problem in natural resource development is how to transfer the high productivity and stability characteristic of natural ecosystems to managed ecosystems whose yield is in more useable form. The IBP studies aimed to investigate the basic production parameters of natural ecosystems, for use as base lines to assess the factors which control agricultural production (Worthington, 1975). It was realised that much was to be gained by close cooperation between the countries within IBP, to describe global patterns of production and to utilise fully the limited financial resources and scientifically qualified personel available in the various disciplines in individual countries. Within the Terrestrial Productivity section (PT) four major habitat types (Biomes) have been recognised-woodland, grassland, aridland and tundra. In each Biome the ecosystem structure and production, the interrelationships of the various components, and the factors influencing the operation of the systems, have been analysed. Front Matter....Pages I-XII Front Matter....Pages 1-1 Introduction and Site Description....Pages 3-16 Field Estimates of Primary Production....Pages 17-37 Physiological Aspects of Bog Production at Moor House....Pages 38-51 Ecology of Moorland Animals....Pages 52-93 Microbial Populations in Peat....Pages 94-112 Nutrient Availability and Other Factors Limiting Microbial Activity in the Blanket Peat....Pages 113-135 A Study of the Rates of Decomposition of Organic Matter....Pages 136-159 A Simulation of Production and Decay in Blanket Bog....Pages 160-186 A Model of Peat Bog Growth....Pages 187-223 The Blanket Bog as Part of a Pennine Moorland....Pages 224-243 Front Matter....Pages 245-245 The Productivity of a Calluna Heathland in Southern England....Pages 247-262 Production in Montane Dwarf Shrub Communities....Pages 263-276 Heather Productivity and Its Relevance to the Regulation of Red Grouse Populations....Pages 277-285 Front Matter....Pages 287-287 Snowdonia Grassland: Introduction, Vegetation and Climate....Pages 289-296 Physiography, Geology and Soils of the Grassland Site at Llyn Llydaw....Pages 297-303 Primary Production, Mineral Nutrients and Litter Decomposition in the Grassland Ecosystem....Pages 304-331 The Role of Slugs in an Agrostis-Festuca Grassland....Pages 332-347 Sheep Population Studies in Relation to the Snowdonian Environment....Pages 348-353 The Grazing Intensity and Productivity of Sheep in the Grassland Ecosystem....Pages 354-374 The Distribution and Transfer of Energy and Nutrients in the Agrostis-Festuca Grassland Ecosystem....Pages 375-395 Back Matter....Pages 397-428