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The article offers information about the British Ecological Society' spring meeting held in Cambridge, England from March 27-29, 1957. The section reports on various papers presented at the event, including information on several sessions held during the meeting. Nearly fifty members and guests gathered for the meeting.

Presents information on an international symposium on ecology to de held from July 7 to July 9, 1970 at the University of East Anglia in East Anglia, England. Subjects for which organizers of the symposium invited papers; Details of post-symposium tours organized by the British Ecological Society.

Information about the annual general meeting of the British Ecological Society held on January 2-3, 1964 at the Belford College Department of Botany in London, England, is presented. Topics discussed include the description of the boundaries and productivity of spartina plants as well as the effects of fire on the nutrient content and developments of plants. The meeting was attended by several ecologists and professors which include J. B. Kenworthy, M. A. Turner and R. W. Edwards.

Water samples collected weekly from the rivers Yare, Tud, Wensum and Tas in Norfolk, England, displayed marked depletions in the spring and summer of the concentration of dissolved silicon. These were unconnected with any hydrological event and were assumed to be due to the assimilation of silicon by diatoms. Equilibrium concentrations were maintained in the Yare and Tud during the weeks prior to and following the spring bloom. It was estimated that 35 Mg (51 %) of the predicted load were removed from the Yare during the 11 weeks of this depletion and 6.0 Mg (45%) from the Tud. The lowest observed concentration (0.4 mg/l) occurred during the first week in May when over 90% of the silicon had been removed. However, the maximum amount of removal and hence maximum diatom productivity occurred earlier at a time of higher water discharge. A similar pattern was observed in the Yare during the spring of 1971. Two small blooms occurred later in the summer of 1970 in the Yare and Tud. It was estimated that 15% of the Yare's dissolved silicon load of 263 Mg was in the assimilated form and 12.5%of the Tud's output of 56.6 Mg. The weathering of silicate minerals was probably the source of almost all the silicon and the outputs represented a silicon erosion rate of 1.15 Mg/km²/year for the Yare and 0.77 Mg/km²/year for the Tud. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a study about the grassland vegetation of the Sheffield region. This study investigated the ecology of flowering plants in the Sheffield region in Britain which makes an excellent center for study for its location between highland and lowland areas of the country offering access to the climatic and biological expressions in each zone. Geological strata, altitude and land-use were important factors for this experiment. Diverse and intense biotic pressures were also recorded. Environmental variations and topography also helped in establishing the information needed for this study.

The article highlights a study which provides a contrast in that the grassland and tall herb communities, on the Carboniferous Limestone of Derbyshire, examined all occur on soils containing free calcium carbonate. It mentions that the changes in the nutrient status of the plant-soil system after fire have been studied by estimating losses in the smoke, deposition in the ash, retention of soluble nutrients in the soil and by monitoring the nutrient content of vegetation at intervals after a fire. It concludes that the effects of fire in respect of plant nutrition are unimportant in the ecology of these communities relative to damage caused to the plants and alterations in the physical environment.

Information about the British Ecological Society Winter and Annual General Meeting, held at the University of Cambridge on January 2 to 4, 1968, is presented. Topics includes The background of quaternary climatic and vegetational change, the pleistocene environments of Western Europe, and the Quaternary plant records from the Pays Basque. The meeting featured notable people in the ecology field which includes H. Godwin, P. W. Richards, and R. G. West.

Information about the Autumn Meeting of the Tropical Group of the British Ecological Society, that was held in the Department of Botany, University College London, on October 30, 1967 is presented. Topic includes the virus ecology in the Amazon forest, the ecology of the rodent reservoir of Leishmania in British Honduras, and the aspects of mosquito ecology in South-East Asia. Several notable researchers were featured in the meeting including L. J. Webb, J. P. Woodwall, and R. H. L. Disney.

The article presents an environmental investigation on the heaths of the cornish serpentine at the Lizard Peninsula in England. It is stated that the area consist of features that contributes to the ecological importance of the place. Understanding these features will lead to the determination of the characteristics of drainage, soil and vegetation. The area consists of rocky forms, treeless scenery and boulder-strewn with its plateau a mantle of weathered materials that cover most of the underlying rocks while some just scatter across.

The article presents a study that investigates on the role of bryophytes in the formation of calcareous fens in Oxford, England. The study was conducted by assessing the different types of water accumulated in calcareous peat wherein its essence depend on the content level of oxygen and nitrate. The study reveals that bryophytes assume an essential role in the succession of open water carried though the calcareous fens in the district as well as the formation of phanerogamic seedlings in different stages of soil. It also discusses the zonation characteristics of tussocks and the procedure in the establishment of fens.

The article presents a study that investigates on the structure of the root system of beech that grows in woodland soil in Oxford, England. The study was carried out through qualitative observations and analyzes on the different elemental values found in the leaves and buds as well as nitrogen content and root concentrations of minerals. The study reveals that beech grow in different types and ranges of soil and the root condition depend on the availability of microorganisms. In addition, the author notes that beech that grows in escarpment soils presents higher rates of nitrogen content and mobilization with less mycorrhizal roots.

The article discusses the ecological surveys in the region of Wicken Fen and the processes of bush establishment and the development of scrub or fen carr found in the region. It explains the establishment of Rhamnus frangula and R. Catharticus and the evidences of the progress of bush colonisation. Along with the establishment and mechanism of Rhamnus frangula and R. Catharticus, the author also explains its ecological importance at Wicken Fen. Several plant species and communities in the greater part of Wicken pen are also included in the article.

The article presents study on the preliminary account of vegetation in the River Itchen near Cheriton in Kent, South of England. The general survey of the vegetation was first observed by the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries Freshwater Station as preliminary to the full biological survey of the river system. This project aims to record the biological conditions of unpolluted rivers. These were compared with the biological conditions of polluted rivers. Organisms are noted and compared, ecological conditions, phytoplanktons and algal vegetation were also reviewed. This study is part of a program that focused on the ecology of smaller streams which were not as popular as the studies devised for bigger rivers.

The article presents descriptions of the vegetation of Radipole Lake in the town of Weymouth. The first feature in the vegetation of the drained estuary mentioned is the extent of colonization. It indicates that the bounding vegetation spread inwards a little way only on the extreme border where the conditions are changed. While second feature is the reciprocal relation between the amount of salt in the substratum and the vegetation at distinct points. It also mentions that the comparative amounts of salt in the substratum can be measured by the type of vegetation it holds.

The article focuses on the study of the plant communities of Oxshott Heath and Esher Common, Surrey. It indicates that the communities of the area are considered as representing various phase in a succession from original heath vegetation to woodland. The Grass Heath and Ulicetum are modifications of natural communities as cited in the study because of the influence of man and the remaining communities are capable to undergo transition to more neutral types of the adjacent London Clay. The study deliberates the probability of Pteridium as an interruption to the succession to woodland, thus maintaining the heath vegetation stage.

The article deals with the ecology of the vegetation of Breckland or Breck County, which lies in the north-west corner of Suffolk and the south-west corner of Norfolk, beyond the eastern border of the Fenland region in England. Breck Country has an area of about 400 square miles and an altitude varying from 20 to 150 feet above sea level. Breckland, also known as the heath district, which lies in the low rainfall area of East Anglia, has sandy and porous soil, and it presents the nearest approach to continental steppe conditions to be found in Great Britain. It notes, however, that the dominance of heather Calluna vulgaris, a plant of oceanic and suboceanic climates, separates the vegetation sharply from that of a true continental steppe.