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Table Of Contents |
Shots of beech woodland at Castle Eden Dene, County Durham. Commentary discusses,
very briefly the eco-system of decomposing leaves on the woodland floor. Shots of
Colin Dickinson and John Anderson looking for soil samples. Shots of Dickinson taking
soil samples with a corer. He bisects one of his cored samples and explains its composition.
Shots of Dickinson in the laboratory. He demonstrates the soil plate technique for
culturing micro-organisms. Dickinson shows incubated soil samples and points out the
various micro-organic cultures found there. Shots of micrographs and film (under magnification)
showing several species of fungi found in the sample. Shots of Dickinson in woodland.
He removes the top layer of leaves and points out the fungal growth beneath. Shots
of beech leaf samples from several layers of woodland floor in various stages of decomposition
being prepared for electron microscopic examination. Shots of beech leaf samples under
the stereo electron microscope. Commentary points out the micro-organisms found there.
Shots of John Anderson in Bagley Wood, Oxfordshire. He demonstrates a technique for
removing chunks of soil in situ. Anderson adds dry CO? to freeze his sample. Anderson
with his frozen sample in the laboratory. He demonstrates a technique which prepares
the sample for examination. Shots of a cample section. Commentary by Anderson points
out its constituent parts. Shots of the following animals found in the sample: Mites;
Millipede; Woodlice. Shots of a woodlouse being dissected to determine gut content.
Micrograph of gut contents shows large, broken up pieces of beech leaf. Shots of springtails
(Collembolla) Commentary describes the animal. Shots of springtail being dissected
to determine gut content. Micrograph of springtail gut content shows main fungi. Shots
of soil mites. Shot of micrograph of soil mite gut contents (Gut content analysis
can determine the position of the animal in the soil). Shots of Collembolla found
in the soil humus layer. Its adaptation to this environment is discussed. Shots of
Enchytraeid worms from the humus layer. Commentary discusses their role in litter
decomposition. Mary Bell, Colin Dickinson, John Anderson with a model of the woodland
decomposition layer. It shows the upper litter layer, and the humus layer. They discuss
the way in which fungi and small animals described above form an ecosystem which effectively
decomposes leaf litter.They use the model to aid their discussion. |