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This PhD initially set out with a view to examine the feasibility and effectiveness of an acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) intervention for healthcare staff, a highly stressed population. The results of this initial study found that mindfulness levels of staff improved, whilst they reported not engaging with formal mindfulness home practice. This then led to a novel research question, specifically whether formal mindfulness practice is needed in ACT interventions. This question is tested in multiple studies, before culminating in a comparison of ACT with and without mindfulness practice. The results and their implications for practice and theory are discussed throughout. Study 1 of the thesis evaluated the effectiveness of an ACT intervention for hospital staff. The results suggested that participants had improved their general psychological wellbeing, as well as improving engagement in valued living, psychological flexibility and mindfulness skills. In Study 2, the participants of this intervention were interviewed about their experiences, to provide a richer evaluation of the course. One of the findings from this qualitative inquiry was that participants did not seem to engage with formal mindfulness practice. It was therefore questioned how they had improved their mindfulness skills if they had not been formally practicing mindfulness. It was hypothesised that ACT metaphors alone may have improved mindfulness skills. This hypothesis paved the way for Studies 3 and 4, which tested whether ACT metaphors could improve mindfulness skills, relative to formal mindfulness practice. The results suggested that those in the ACT metaphor conditions did indeed improve mindfulness skills. Study 5 aimed to investigate this idea further, by comparing ACT interventions both with (ACT-M) and without (ACT-WM) formal mindfulness practice, with care home staff. This study could not take place due to COVID-19, but a similar study was instead conducted with undergraduate students in Study 6. The results suggested that those in both the ACT-M and ACT-WM interventions recorded improvements in psychological wellbeing, which were mediated by improvements in mindfulness skills. Interestingly, both components of mindfulness, mindful attitude and mindful awareness, mediated outcomes, suggesting that both are important in mindfulness interventions. This thesis details the first attempt to determine whether ACT metaphors can improve mindfulness skills. It also contributes to the mindfulness literature by finding that formal mindfulness practice is not needed to improve mindfulness skills and by researching the importance of mindful attitude versus awareness. Finally, it adds more support to the ACT model as a useful intervention for workplace stress.

The high floristic biodiversity value of ancient woodland is widely acknowledged, as is its status as a fragmented habitat of limited spatial extent. The distinctive vegetation of ancient woodland is an important factor in its conservation. Specifically, Ancient Woodland Indicator (AWI) species have been shown to be poor dispersers and incompatible with a fragmented habitat that is subject to environmental change. In recognition of their ecological importance, both Ancient Semi-Natural Woodland (ASNW) and Ancient Replanted Woodland (ARW) are protected by legislation. This thesis took the novel approach of examining the distinctiveness and community ecology of vegetation communities in all three woodland types of ASNW, ARW, and recent woodland. Importantly, analyses were based on new high-granularity primary vegetation and soil data. To address questions raised in the literature regarding the accuracy of ancient woodland and AWI identification, this research examined the metrics used to distinguish these habitats and species. Increasingly, the literature calls for further understanding of the ecological drivers of ancient woodland vegetation distinctiveness. In response, this research tested for differences in species composition of canopy, shrub, herb layer, AWI, and moss communities across all three woodland types. For AWI species, biotic, abiotic, and biogeographical variables were analysed for their contribution to community distinctiveness. Results highlighted the importance of consistency in metric selection when assessing the distinctiveness of ancient woodland and determining indicator species. In addition to the usual alpha scale measure of distinctiveness, assessing richness and community composition at the beta and gamma scales is recommended to inform conservation. Life traits and dispersal mechanisms were important differentiators for herb layer community composition among the woodland types. AWI richness was equally strongly explained by biogeographical variables as by ASNW, ARW, and recent status. Overall, this thesis supported ecological and biogeographical explanations for the distinctiveness of ancient woodland vegetation.