BEGIN:VCALENDAR
VERSION:2.0
PRODID:-//Lancaster University Faculty of Science and Technology//NONSGML v1.0//EN
BEGIN:VTIMEZONE
TZID:/Europe/London
X-LIC-LOCATION:Europe/London
BEGIN:DAYLIGHT
TZOFFSETFROM:+0000
TZOFFSETTO:+0100
TZNAME:BST
DTSTART:19700329T010000
RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;INTERVAL=1;BYDAY=-1SU;BYMONTH=3
END:DAYLIGHT
BEGIN:STANDARD
TZOFFSETFROM:+0100
TZOFFSETTO:+0000
TZNAME:GMT
DTSTART:19701025T020000
RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;INTERVAL=1;BYDAY=-1SU;BYMONTH=10
END:STANDARD
END:VTIMEZONE
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:744
SUMMARY:Vegetable vampire or grassland guardian? Understanding the role of the parasitic plant <i>Rhinanthus minor</i> in maintaining grassland biodiversity
DESCRIPTION:Over the last two centuries, parasitic plants, such as the Witchweed (Striga) and broomrape (Orobanche) have devastated crops in agricultural ecosystems around the globe. In the UK, the parasitic plant Rhinanthus minor was once considered a parasitic weed earning the common name 'stealer of bread' due to its devastation of cereal crops cross Europe. An understanding of the fundamental biology of Rhinanthus, the fact that it does not form a persistent seed bank and can therefore be excluded if removed prior to seed set, lead to its eradication as a weed in the early eighteenth century. As such, Rhinanthus is no longer considered as a threat to UK agriculture. This said, Rhinanthus species are still dominant features of agricultural ecosystems, inhabiting temperate hay meadows across the northern hemisphere. In grasslands, Rhinanthus plays a crucial role in the maintenance of biodiversity though the suppression of dominant grasses freeing many forbs species from competitive exclusion. While this phenomenon was first reported in the 1980's, it is only recently that we have come to understand the mechanisms through which Rhinanthus enacts community change allowing us to predict the effects of Rhinanthus introductions for ecosystem restoration and thus enhancing its application as a restoration tool.
DTSTART:20110525T160000
DTEND:20110525T170000
LOCATION:LEC Training Rooms 1 And 2
END:VEVENT
END:VCALENDAR