THE FOREST - ESSENTIAL TO LIFE....continued

This series of overhead projector transparencies presents plants and animals typical of the various forest types and their margins. The text introduces into the biology of species, informs about various interrelations between plants, animals, and humans in the ecosystem „forest", and explains the vital functions of the forest. Instructive graphs are added. Forest, not only in Central Europe, is threatened by excessive lumbering, demand of agricultural areas, construction of houses, roads, ski-lifts etc., as well as by human-made environmental pollution. As forest means life, it is necessary and vital to give information and knowledge about forest and its problems. The forest as an ecological system. Plants and animals of the wood. The multifarious functions of the forest.

Trees of the Forest - Mixed deciduous forest - Spruce (Picea excelsa) monoculture - Silver fir (Abies alba) - Spruce (Picea excelsa) - Pine (Pinus silvestris) - Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga taxifolia) - European larch (Larix decidua) - Common beech (Fagus silvatica) - Stone oak (Quercus sessilis or petraea) - Winter lime (Tilia ulmifolia) - Black alder (Alnus glutinosa) - Ash (Fraxinus excelsior) - Mountain ash or rowan tree (Sorbus aucuparia) - White or canoe birch (Betula pendula) - European mountain maple (Acer platanoides).

The Layers of the Forest - Moss cushion (Polytrichum) - Moss (Mnium) with capsules - Horsetail (Equisetum sylvaticum) - Horsetail, spores with hapters - Shield fern (Aspidium), leaflets with sori - Fern gametophyte (Prothallium) with antheridia and archegonia - Mushroom (Xerocomus badius) - Mushroom: basidia and basidiospores of ink-cap (Coprinus) - Flowering plants: anemones (Anemone) and woodruff (Asperula) - Wood sorrel (Oxalis): soil indicator - Mezereum (Daphne): soil indicator - Arum (Arum maculatum) - Blueberry (vaccinium myrtillus) - Shrub layer: blackthorn (Prunus spinosa), whitethorn (Crataegus) - Shrub layer: hazel (Corylus avellana), wild rose (Rosa) - Step-shaped forest margin - Layers of the forest, graph - Flat and deep rooting plants, graph - Ladies tresses (Neottia), root with endotrophic mycorrhiza, t.s.

The Forest During the Seasons - Opening bud - Beech seedling - Maple seedling (Acer platanoides) - Seedling of silver fir (Abies alba) and pine (Pinus silvestris) - Male flower of pine - Female flowers of pine - Cones of silver fir and spruce, comparison - Natural regeneration of forest - Summer aspect of forest - Sun- and shade-leaf of beech, t.s. - Annual rings, t.s. of oak stem - Colouring of leaves in autumn - Dispersal of fruits and seeds, graph - Forest in winter: protection of animals.

Animals of the Forest - Life on and in the forest floor - Red wood ant (Formica rufa) - Wood snipe (Scolopax rusticola) - European fir titmouse (Parus ater) - Black woodpecker (Dryocopus martius) - Crossbill (Loxia curvirostra) - Pellets of an owl (Strix aluco) - Spruce engraver- or bark-beetle (Cryphalus picea) imago and larva (pests) - Engraving pattern of spruce engraver-beetle - Gypsi moth (Lymantria monacha), imago (pest) - Roebuck and roe (Capreolus) - Fraying roebuck - Silver fir damaged by roes - Red fox (Vulpes vulpes) - European squirrel (Sciurus vulgaris) - Tree marten (Martes martes).

Functions and Endangering of the Forest - Erosion caused by deforestation - Fireweed (Epilobium angustifolium) growing on clearings - Forest holds the soil on steep slopes - Forest stores water: wood brook - Filter effect of forest, graph - Forest and residential areas, exchange of air, graph - Forests are sound absorbents, graph - Forest improves climate - Forest, a recovering resort - Wild waste disposal at forest margin - Wilful destruction of tree bark - Offence against forest law: improper felling of birches - Destruction of forest by ski-lifts - Effects of environmental pollution: yellowed needles - Effects of sour rain: dying spruces - Dying forest ("waldsterben") due to air pollution - Lichens on trees are bio-indicators for air pollution.