Species diversity and abundance of terrestrial flora in coppice forests of different agesIntroduction: Coppicing is the removal of the canopy layer - such as axe, ash and the silt almost to ground level. This provides timber but also allows the trees to regrow with many more shoots instead of just one trunk. This cycle lasts about ten years, which gives the subfloor a chance to thrive. Hypothesis: There will be less diversity and abundance of species in old coppice. Explanation: There are many reasons behind my hypotheses that I will try to demonstrate scientifically. We need to consider all the different factors involved in species diversity and abundance, especially the key factor. The key factor is the amount of light. Terrestrial flora obviously depends on light for photosynthesis. When the canopy layer is reduced, this allows more light to reach ground level, increasing the abundance of land plants as they can photosynthesize more. Soil acidity can also be different, affecting species diversity as some plants are more suited to acidic soils while others may be more suited to alkaline soils. I'm not sure how coppice will work or if it will affect the acidity of the soil, so I'll have to look into that. Soil moisture content will also influence species abundance as water will be a limiting factor in plant growth. There will be a higher moisture content in the new coppice due to its exposure to the elements because it must have a cover layer. This will mean there will be a greater abundance of species. Appearance will also play a role in species abundance and diversity. In Britain the southern aspect will receive more light as it faces the equator, which faces the sun. This means that a southern exposure will have a higher abundance because there is more light available. In the northern aspect there will also be less species diversity because it will predominantly be present