23. Water

Can you see the small pond and stream?

Any water within a woodland, such as streams and ponds, will provide a habitat for different species. Such as frogs, toads, newts, fish, and invertebrates that lay their eggs in water. This increases the overall biodiversity (the number of different spe-cies present) of the woodland.

Biodiversity often increases in the area where hab-itats transition from one type to another as there is a greater variance in resources to take ad-vantage of. This is known as the edge effect.

The banks of water courses are a good example of this. They allow more light to reach lower layers and increase available ground water.