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River Affric
Glen Affric () is a glen south-west of the village of Cannich in the Highland region of Scotland, some west of Loch Ness. The River Affric runs along its length, passing through Loch Affric and Loch Beinn a' Mheadhoin. A minor public road reaches as far as the end of Loch Beinn a' Mheadhoin, but beyond that point only rough tracks and footpaths continue along the glen.Ordnance Survey 1:50000 Landranger Sheet 25, ''Glen Carron and Glen Affric.'' Often described as the most beautiful glen in Scotland, Glen Affric contains the third largest area of ancient Caledonian pinewoods in Scotland, as well as lochs, moorland and mountains. The area is a Caledonian Forest Reserve, a national scenic area and a national nature reserve, as well as holding several other conservation designations. The forests and open landscapes of the glen, and the mountains on either side, are a popular destination for hikers, climbers and mountain bikers. Flora and fauna Glen Affric is listed in the Ca ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cannich
Cannich (Gaelic: ''Canaich'') is a village at the southern end of Strathglass, in the Highlands of Scotland, about west of the city of Inverness. It is at the furthest point of the A831 that loops around the Aird from Beauly to Drumnadrochit. It is home to Strathglass Shinty Club, one of the oldest organised shinty clubs in the world. There is a camping and caravan park, a river-side chalet park, a well stocked village store & post office, a public house and many B & B's or self catering accommodation options to choose from. There are many opportunities for hill mountain and glen walking in the local area, and for other outdoor activities, including fishing, cycling and canoeing. The surrounding area is very remote and unspoilt, and has limited facilities. Cannich is at the confluence of two rivers, the River Cannich and the River Affric, which combine on the east side of the village to become the River Glass. History The game of shinty and the Strathglass club owe m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Birch
A birch is a thin-leaved deciduous hardwood tree of the genus ''Betula'' (), in the family Betulaceae, which also includes alders, hazels, and hornbeams. It is closely related to the beech- oak family Fagaceae. The genus ''Betula'' contains 30 to 60 known taxa of which 11 are on the IUCN 2011 Red List of Threatened Species. They are typically short-lived pioneer species and are widespread in the Northern Hemisphere, particularly in northern areas of temperate climates and in boreal climates. Birch wood is used for a wide range of purposes. Description Birch species are generally small to medium-sized trees or shrubs, mostly of northern temperate and boreal climates. The simple leaves are alternate, singly or doubly serrate, feather-veined, petiolate and stipulate. They often appear in pairs, but these pairs are really borne on spur-like, two-leaved, lateral branchlets. The fruit is a small samara, although the wings may be obscure in some species. They differ from t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sitka Spruce
''Picea sitchensis'', the Sitka spruce, is a large, coniferous, evergreen tree growing to just over tall, with a trunk diameter at breast height that can exceed 5 m (16 ft). It is by far the largest species of spruce and the fifth-largest conifer in the world (behind giant sequoia, coast redwood, kauri, and western red cedar), and the third-tallest conifer species (after coast redwood and South Tibetan cypress). The Sitka spruce is one of only five species documented to exceed in height. Its name is derived from the community of Sitka in southeast Alaska, where it is prevalent. Its range hugs the western coast of Canada and the US and continues south into northern California. Description The bark is thin and scaly, flaking off in small, circular plates across. The inner bark is reddish-brown. The crown is broad conic in young trees, becoming cylindric in older trees; old trees may not have branches lower than . The shoots are very pale buff-brown, almost w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tree Felling
Felling is the process of cutting down trees,"Feller" def. 2. and "Felling", def. 1. ''Oxford English Dictionary'' 2nd ed. via CD-ROM (v. 4.0) © Oxford University Press. 2009. an element of the task of logging. The person cutting the trees is a lumberjack. A feller buncher is a machine capable of felling a single large tree or grouping and felling several small ones simultaneously. Methods Hand felling In hand felling, an axe, saw, or chainsaw is used to fell a tree, followed up by limbing and bucking in traditional applications. In the modern commercial logging industry, felling is typically followed by limbing and skidding. Feller buncher A feller-buncher is a motorized vehicle with an attachment which rapidly cuts and gathers several trees in the process of felling them. In cut-to-length logging a harvester performs the tasks of a feller-buncher, additionally doing the delimbing and bucking. When harvesting wood from a felled tree, the recommended methods should be ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lichen
A lichen ( , ) is a hybrid colony (biology), colony of algae or cyanobacteria living symbiotically among hypha, filaments of multiple fungus species, along with yeasts and bacteria embedded in the cortex or "skin", in a mutualism (biology), mutualistic relationship.Introduction to Lichens – An Alliance between Kingdoms . University of California Museum of Paleontology. . Lichens are the lifeform that first brought the term symbiosis (as ''Symbiotismus'') into biological context. Lichens have since been recognized as important actors in nutrient cycling and producers which many higher trophic feeders feed on, such as reindeer, gastropods, nematodes, mites, and springtails. Lichens have properties different from those of their component organisms. They come in man ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wintergreen
Wintergreen is a group of aromatic plants. The term ''wintergreen'' once commonly referred to plants that remain green (continue photosynthesis) throughout the winter. The term ''evergreen'' is now more commonly used for this characteristic. Most species of the shrub genus ''Gaultheria'' demonstrate this characteristic and are called wintergreens in North America, the most common generally being the American wintergreen ('' Gaultheria procumbens''). Wintergreens in the genus ''Gaultheria'' contain an aromatic compound, methyl salicylate, and are used as a mintlike flavoring. Uses The berries of most species can be eaten raw or used in pies. Wintergreen is a common flavoring in American products ranging from chewing gum, mints, and candies to smokeless tobacco such as dipping tobacco (American "dip" snuff) and snus. It is a common flavoring for dental hygiene products such as mouthwash and toothpaste. It is often a component of root beer, which originated in the United St ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Linnaea Borealis
''Linnaea borealis'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Caprifoliaceae (the honeysuckle family). It is the only species in the genus ''Linnaea''. It is a boreal to subarctic woodland subshrub, commonly known as twinflower (sometimes written twin flower). This plant was a favourite of Carl Linnaeus, founder of the modern system of binomial nomenclature, after whom the genus was named. Description The perennial stems of ''Linnaea borealis'' are slender, pubescent, and prostrate, growing to long, with opposite evergreen rounded oval leaves long and broad. The flowering stems curve erect, to tall, and are leafless except at the base. The flowers are paired, pendulous, long, with a five-lobed, pale pink corolla. ''L. borealis'' is self-incompatible, requiring cross-pollination to produce viable seeds; since pollen dispersal is usually not far, individuals and clonal colonies can become reproductively isolated. Regardless of seed production, ''Linnaea'' plants in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Listera Cordata
''Neottia cordata'', the lesser twayblade or heartleaf twayblade, is an orchid of upland bogs and mires that rarely exceeds in height. It was formerly placed in the genus '' Listera'', but molecular phylogenetic studies have shown that ''Neottia nidus-avis'', the bird's-nest orchid, evolved within the same group., p. 864 It is never very common but may be frequently overlooked because of its small size and a tendency to grow underneath heather on sphagnum moss. The single erect flower-stem is often tinged red and is clasped near the base by a pair or ovate- orbicular glossy green leaves. The small flowers which look deceptively simple in structure for an orchid, are purple-green in colour with a somewhat swollen calyx. Distribution It has a circumpolar distribution being found in Europe, Asia and large parts of North America. In the United Kingdom its distribution is largely western and northern, becoming most common in the western Highlands of Scotland, Snowdonia in Wales, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Goodyera Repens
''Goodyera repens'', an orchid in the genus ''Goodyera'', is called by the common name creeping lady's-tresses in Anglophone Europe and dwarf rattlesnake plantain or lesser rattlesnake plantain in North America. It is a green underground creeper that sends out occasional skinny stems above the surface. During the summer, these stems bear flowers arranged in a spiral. These flowers twist themselves to face toward the sun. ''Goodyera repens'' is found in isolated spots in the forests and bogs of Europe. It is a rare plant, but it is the most common orchid in Scandinavia. The species is widespread across much of Europe, Asia and North America including Russia, China, Germany, Poland, the United Kingdom, Canada and the United States, though never very common in any of these places. ''Goodyera repens'' is a protected species throughout most of its range. It does not survive fire, and does not soon reenter an area after fire or logging. It is generally found only in forests at le ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Forest Floor
The forest floor, also called detritus or wikt:duff#Noun 2, duff, is the part of a forest ecosystem that mediates between the living, aboveground portion of the forest and the mineral soil, principally composed of dead and decaying plant matter such as rotting wood and shed leaf, leaves. In some countries, like Canada, forest floor refers to L, F and H organic horizons. It hosts a wide variety of decomposers and predators, including invertebrates, fungi, algae, bacteria, and archaea. The forest floor serves as a bridge between the above ground living vegetation and the soil, and thus is a crucial component in nutrient transfer through the biogeochemical cycle. Leaf litter and other plant litter transmits nutrients from plants to the soil. The plant litter of the forest floor (or L horizon) prevents erosion, conserves moisture, and provides nutrients to the entire ecosystem. The F horizon consists of plant material in which decomposition is apparent, but the origins of plant res ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alder
Alders are trees of the genus ''Alnus'' in the birch family Betulaceae. The genus includes about 35 species of monoecious trees and shrubs, a few reaching a large size, distributed throughout the north temperate zone with a few species extending into Central America, as well as the northern and southern Andes. Description With a few exceptions, alders are deciduous, and the leaves are alternate, simple, and serrated. The flowers are catkins with elongate male catkins on the same plant as shorter female catkins, often before leaves appear; they are mainly wind-pollinated, but also visited by bees to a small extent. These trees differ from the birches (''Betula'', another genus in the family) in that the female catkins are woody and do not disintegrate at maturity, opening to release the seeds in a similar manner to many conifer cones. The largest species are red alder (''A. rubra'') on the west coast of North America, and black alder (''A. glutinosa''), native to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
