On Tuesday 23rd September, Upper College Ecology students set out on a field trip to Westonbirt Arboretum, where they applied classroom theories into practice.
Read an overview of the day from one of our students, below.
The day started with investigating the change in abundance of plantain plants along a belt transect, from shady conditions in a wood to well-lit conditions in open ground. It was quite interesting to see what we learnt demonstrated in real life and how abiotic factors directly impacted biotic growth. Active observation was helpful to my understanding of belt transects, as well as getting familiar with the apparatus.
The second session consisted of talks from professionals, taking us through the fundamental steps of diagnosing a plant disease through a lateral flow test on a beech tree infected with Phytophthora. It was interesting to learn about different ways trees can contract a disease, the symptoms, long-term impacts, and the significance of cross-continental contamination on the tree population in the UK.
UC5 Student
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