User:PaleCloudedWhite/sandbox

Area

 * Area of all the districts and unitary authorities
 * 1974 changes?

Geology

 * Geological history
 * Chalk
 * Hampshire Basin / clays / sands / gravels (also see main article - Hampshire Basin)
 * North of the chalk - clay / limestone bands, plus greensand / gault
 * Portland
 * Purbeck monocline (also see main article - Purbeck Monocline)
 * Rest of coast - fossils etc
 * West Dorset - faults

Hills / vales / lowlands
(Connect to geology / geomorphology)

West Dorset

Needs adding

Natural resources
Oil

Dorset possesses an onshore oil field in the southeast of the county, at Wytch Farm between the Purbeck Hills and Poole Harbour. The Purbeck Monocline defines the field's southern limit. Wytch Farm has been producing oil since 1979. A few miles to the southwest at Kimmeridge, a nodding donkey has also been pumping up oil from beneath the shale cliffs there since the late 1950s, although yields are declining.

Portland stone

The Isle of Portland has been extensively quarried for Portland stone for centuries. Portland stone is an oolitic limestone that is greatly valued as a building stone because it has an attractive appearance, is easy to work, and resists weathering. It has long been used in the construction of important buildings both in the UK and around the world.

Purbeck limestone

Purbeck limestone is a building stone which is quarried on a small scale in the Isle of Purbeck. Purbeck marble, a particular type of Purbeck limestone, used to be quarried there but is now only occasionally extracted in small amounts for particular renovation projects. Purbeck ball clay

Purbeck ball clay is composed of kaolinite, mica and quartz. It is of sedimentary origin and is found on the northern half of the Isle of Purbeck, to the north of the Purbeck Hills. It is used in the production of fine pottery. It has been quarried on a large scale since the middle of the 18th century; Dorset's first railway was constructed in 1806 in order to transport the excavated material. It is still being excavated today.


 * Chalk (quarries)?

Land use / habitats
Arable agriculture

Lowland pasture

Downland

Heathlands

Forest

Water meadows

SSSIs

AONBs

53% of the county is within the Dorset AONB, which includes most of the Downs, Blackmore Vale, Purbecks, the Chesil Beach and Fleet SSSI and Poole Harbour. [NB: Does this figure include the Cranborne Chase AONB?]

Demographics

 * Table?
 * Density - map?
 * Second homes etc.

Political geography

 * County council
 * Unitary authorities
 * Districts
 * Parishes
 * 1974 changes?

Economic geography

 * Primary industry - agriculture / quarrying / oil / (fishing?) etc
 * Manufacturing
 * Tertiary sector - tourism etc.

Environment
(could be subsumed into either physical or human geography section)

Current concerns

 * Tourism pressure
 * Coastal erosion
 * Population growth / affordable housing
 * Oil exploration?
 * Water supply?
 * Rising sea-level in low-lying areas?
 * Congestion / by-passes etc

Tulipa fosteriana
Tulipa fosteriana is a species of tulip that grows in central Asia, particularly in the mountains south of Samarkand in Uzbekistan. It is a bulbous perennial that grows up to 50cm high on a pubescent, pink-tinged single stem. Its 3 to 5 glaucous leaves are broadly ovate, sometimes nearly as broad as long. Flower buds acute, flowers fiery red, opening flat or cup-like in form. Blotch at the base varies from round to multiangular and in colour from black to yellow, with margin or without. Anthers dark violet, 2-2.5 times as long as stamens

Text copied from another editor's 'article for creation' (for work later): "Seed stratification to their germination (botany)"
Stratification is the process of pretreating seeds to simulate natural winter conditions that a seed must endure before germination. Seeds of many species undergo an embryonic dormancy phase, and generally will not sprout until this dormancy is broken. The time taken to stratify seeds depends on species and conditions; though in many cases two months is sufficient.

Description
Stratification is an old and simple practice of stimulating seed to germinate by placing alternate layers of a moist media and seed. The modern method is to thoroughly mix seeds in moist media like peat moss, vermiculite, perlite, composted bark, sawdust, or potting media to simulate the natural conditions it would normally receive from its native environment. The mixture is stored in sealed containers such as polyethylene bags. The bags are simply stored at room temperature to provide the moist warm treatment. They can be placed in the household refrigerator if a moist cold treatment is required.

In nature
In nature, seed dormancy is usually overcome by the seed spending time in the ground through a winter period and having its hard seed coat softened by frost and weathering action. This is a natural form of "stratification" or pretreatment. This cold moist period triggers the seed's embryo, its growth and subsequent expansion eventually break through the softened seed coat in its search for sun and nutrients.

Types of stratification
There are many differents types of stratification, depending on what seeds would normally experience in nature.

• Warm-wet. Seeds that require a warm moist treatment to induce germination can be stored at a room temperature, Keep out of the sun!

• Cool-wet. Seeds that require a cold moist treatment. Can be stored in the vegetable compartment of the refrigerator for four to twelve weeks.

• Warm-cool-warm-wet. Depending on the species, some need a combination of warm and cool treatments followed by a warm to germinate.

• Warm-cool-warm, wet and dry Some other specie need a combination of warm- cool in moist medium followed by a period in which the medium and seed are allowed to dry for one to a few month repeating this cycle for the necessary number of treatments followed by a warm to germínate.

Natural method
If you don't want to stratify in the 'fridge, then you can always use the nature's way and sow in the autumn planting the seeds directly into a nursery bed or pot for germination the following spring usually satisfies a seed's requirement for cold stratification. This means you can skip all the above outlined pre-treatment in your refrigerator as the over-wintering of the seeds in the earth accomplishes the same thing.

Controlled method
A) Necessary items before beginning: Seeds Sterile medium (peat moss, vermiculite, perlite, or potting media) Water Plastic labels and waterproof pen Sterile Plastic Zip Lock freezer bags or plastic containers with tight fitting lids.

B) Label Label both the containers and plastic stakes with a waterproof pen. Include the stratification date started and when they are due to be removed from stratification.

C) Scarification. Some seeds have a mechanical barrier to water, which is required for germination. These may requirescarification.

D) Soaking Further, some seeds have a hormonal or chemical inibition to germination. These may require soaking.

E) Mixing the stratification medium. Use 10-20 times the volume of medium vs. seed volume. Your stratification medium should be moist to the touch, but not soaking wet. Moisture is obviously a key factor in the stratification process. High moisture levels in the sealed containers, however, causes fungus growth that can harm the seed, mixing a fungicide in the medium is a good prevention

F) Stratify Make note on your calendar when you place your seeds into stratification and when to remove them. Place the sealed containers into the proper cold or warm stratification environment. Seed should not stay in stratification many months past its recommended stratification time as it will use up its energy reserves and die. Even at low moisture levels some of the seeds might  germinate in the sealed containers; these seeds will grow normally, if they are planted carefully

J) Remove and Sow After the required time period (or after germination is noticed), remove the seed and sow.

Fungicide use
Use of a fungicide to moisten your stratifying vermiculite will help prevent fungal diseases. Chinosol (8-hydroxyquinoline sulfate), primarily a disinfectant and often recommended for growing succulents from seed prone to mold, is one such fungicide. Different seeds should be placed in different bags rather than putting them all into one bag, and large quantities are also best split into several small bags. That way any fungal outbreak will be restricted to only some seeds. If no fungicide is used, a close check should be kept on the seeds, removing any which show signs of mould or become soft and with a decaying smell. If an outbreak of fungus occurs, remove the seeds and re-apply fungicide, then place them in a new bag with new slightly moistenedvermiculite. Always keep the bag sealed. The stratifying seeds should be checked on a regular basis for either fungus or germination. If any seeds germinate while in the refrigerator, they should be removed and sown.

Landscape refs

 * Reference to artistic landscape being used to reinforce human identity along lines of nationality
 * Example of assigning landscape types to a small (county) area
 * Another...
 * Another local analysis of landscape types
 * Some things to consider when trying to define 'a landscape'
 * Brief history of designed aesthetic landscapes (parks and gardens) in England

Text saved for reworking
Microphyll can refer to:


 * A leaf that is not necessarily physically small, with a particular type of vascular structure. See microphyll.
 * In ecology - a plant, or vegetation, that has microphyll leaves
 * In ecology - a leaf that it not structurally a microphyll but has a blade with surface area 225-2025 mm2. (Compare macrophyll, mesophyll (disambiguation), megaphyll (disambiguation), nanophyll, notophyll)

Gunstones Bakery
Gunstones Bakery is a food-production factory operated by 2 Sisters Food Group in Dronfield, Derbyshire, England. It was founded in 1862 and is one of the longest established bakeries in the region. It employs more than 1,000 people, with over 1,400 employed in 2013.