Introduction to Grasses
Tuesday 10 June 2008
Location: Settle, Yorkshire
Participant Standard: Beginner
Tutor(s): Judith Allinson
Survey work often includes the requirement to identify grasses, a group which many find difficult. Some basic plant Identification skills will be assumed, but no previous knowledge of grasses is required. By the end of the workshop, participants should be familiar with parts of the grass flower, types of grass inflorescence and vegetative features helpful in keying out grasses. There will be practice in keying out grasses in calcareous and neutral grassland habitats. We will look at the distribution of the different species of grass found in relation to rock and soil type and farm management.
Further details about the workshop
A morning introductory classroom session will enable us to learn about grass structure and features helpful for identifying grasses. At lunch and In the afternoon we will visit fields in a Dales farm with limestone grassland, neutral meadows and other habitats, find the grasses in situ and key out some of the species.
Aims:
1. To enable participants to become familiar with the terminology used in describing the vegetative and flowering parts of grasses.
2. To introduce participants to grass keys, and to become more efficient in using them.
a) by explaining some of the words used in describing different parts of a grass;
b) by practicing using keys; and
c) by learning the diagnostic features of a few easily distinguishable grasses.
3. To learn to recognise some grasses, including a few examples each of
a) some easily recognisable distinctive grasses;
b) some grasses which are indicators of certain habitats and soil conditions; and
c) some grasses which are “Constant Species” in some of the NVC types we’ll visit.
4. To learn to associate certain indicator species with habitats that we visit.
The Indoor work in the morning will take place at St John’s Methodist Church Hall and there will be a short period of indoor work in the late afternoon at Lower Winskill Farm, two miles from Settle. We will have lunch and spend the early afternoon looking at the plants in the limestone pasture grassland and neutral meadows and verge species at this farm.
Who should attend this workshop?
Environmental consultants and also anyone who wants to be able to identify grasses, for teaching, botanical surveys or interest.
Anything participants need to know/read before coming on the training event, or need to have with them?
Bring with you:
- Packed Lunch
- Notebook* and pencil
- Waterproofs and strong footwear
- A hand lens* (at least x 8 magnification ). If you have not got a hand lens I recommend a Swiss army penknife: Explorer version
- 3 large plastic bags for specimens*. (carrier bag size)
- Two grass specimens that grow near you, each with half a dozen shoots. A copy of “Grasses” by Hubbard if you have one: (Any edition)
- Stace or any other flora if you have one
* = the tutor will bring spare notebooks, lenses and bags for those who don’t have them
What will participants learn from the workshop (learning outcomes)?
- How to recognise vegetative features needed for identifying grasses
- How to recognise flowering features needed for identifying grasses state
- How to use the keys in “Grasses” by Hubbard
- To learn to recognize some grasses, including a few examples each of
- some easily recognizable distinctive grasses
- some grasses which are indicators of certain habitats and soil conditions
some grasses which are “Constant Species” in some of the NVC types we’ll visit. - Learn something of the ecology of some of the plants we find. Learn some of the indicator species for the different grassland habitats we visit.
Programme:
Before the course:
1. Please have a look at the material which should have been emailed to you – i.e. the glossary of vegetative parts of a grass and use it to help you fill in the three very easy worksheets on Agrostis capillaris, Poa trivialis andArrhenatherum elatius.
2. If you wish and have time, please look for two grass specimens near where you live and bring them. Make sure you bring the base of the plant with a few roots attached and some vegetative shoots attached, and wash off excess soil, and number the plant with a sticky label.
09.30 Early arrivers welcome at St John’s Methodist Church Hall (Grid Ref: SD 817639) for coffee. Leave cars here. Coffee and informal examination of labelled sample specimens brought in by tutor and specimens brought in by participants
10.00 Very short walk for local plants.
10.30 Formal Session: “Introduction to the structure of the flowers and vegetative parts of grasses”
11.30 Coffee Break
11.40 More Classroom work looking at grasses
12.30 Proceed to main fieldwork site, 3.5 km away. (we will share cars) This is at Lower Winskill Farm which is owned by Mr Tom Lord. (Grid ref: SD 826665) His land includes limestone pastures, some of which he manages very sympathetically for nature conservation, and neutral meadows. (It includes NVC types: CG9 CG2, CG10, U4, MG3 and MG6.) There is a small purpose built room/visitor centre at the farm which we will use as a base for further lab work, take more tea/coffee etc. The rest of the day will include fieldwork, further examination of specimens found in the field, practice in use of keys. Mr Lord, if available, will give a short talk on how he manages the land.
16.00 Return to farm classroom for debrief.
16.30 Collect feedback forms and give out CPD certificates
17.00 It is aimed to finish the workshop at c.17.00 and return to Settle by 17.30, but arrangements can easily be made for participants who need to leave earlier. (say 16.00) since we will be quite close to those cars that have been taken up to Winskill
Cost: £60 IEEM members, £120 non-members.