The shapes of trees.

Every tree is an individual, whose adult shape reflects the conditions under which it lives. Trees growing close together in a forest are narrower in outline than trees of the same species standing alone in the middle of a park. Winds blowing off the sea make coastal trees grow lop-sided, harsh, mountainous conditions make trees stunted. Young trees put most of their energy into growing upwards, reaching for the light. Later they will broaden to assume the typical adult shape of the species. Pruning also drastically changes the natural shapes of a tree. Coppicing and pollarding are well tried methods for encouraging the growth of new shoots, for firewood, tools or fencing. In coppicing , the tree is cut off at ground level. In pollarding it is cut off higher up the trunk, out of reach of grazing animals. New shoots and branches grow quickly, because there is an excising root system. Trees all grow into different shapes, or managed by humans into different shapes. Here are a few of them, flat topped mainly pines, drooping mainly willows, rounded mainly oaks and ash and beech, up swept mainly cedars, columnar mainly lombardy poplars, triangular mainly western red cedars and lovenge shaped mainly pines and common alders.

Habitats.

Part six life in a beech woodland.

In spring, bluebells and anemones splash beech woods with colour, but in summer the woods are dark and relatively colourless places. Bluebells and wood anemones come up before the beech leaves have fully opened, while enough light is still available for growth. They will continue to grow in heavy shade, while bird`s-nest orchid, which feeds on dead organic matter such as beech leaves, needs no light at all. Beech leaves let little light through the canopy to encourage anything to grow. The leaves are so arranged that all will get some light, but very little filters between them. In the same way, the leaves intercept most of the rain that falls. This lies on the leaves, to be evaporated again after a shower, and does not reach the soil beneath. But the woodland floor, though dry, does provide food for fungi along with small birds and mammals. Wood mice and grey squirrels prize open the beech nuts from the woodland floor. The roots of the beech tree thrive in shallow but fertile soil, spreading laterally just below the surface. Jays are among some of the birds that frequent beech woods to seek fallen beech nuts. Bramblings ,chaffinches and nuthatches are three other birds that take advantage of a beech woodland along with badgers that are looking for a tasty treat, the beech nut.

autumnal colours

this is a great time of year for colours.for me its about all of the different colours on all of the different trees.beech has to be my favourite tree at this time of year because the colours are so diverse its just wonderful to look at a beech tree.