 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
| ||||||||||
| | |||||||||
GEOLOGY The rocks consist
of alternating bands of shale and sandstone, with shales generally being
dominant. The main watercourse in the Gleadless Valley, the Meers Brook, runs in a westerly direction through the northern part of the wood. This is joined by a tributary stream which flows northwards through a narrow side valley and which is in turn fed by another smaller stream originating close to the woodland's eastern edge. In common with most
of the other streams in the Gleadless Valley, those in Rollestone Wood
are generally shallow. They range from 0.5 to 3 metres in width and mainly
have stony beds, with occasional silt and mud patches. In places within
Rollestone Wood, the streams have very steep banks, some of which can
be up to 4 metres high. Where steeply sloping bands of sandstone cross
the streams, the beds of these have some lengths of exposed bedrock often
associated with small cascades. SOILS Thin dry 'acidic soils' occur over sandstone, particularly on higher ground, as well as over shales on steep slopes. The depth and acidity of the soils is strongly affected by slope, with the thinnest and most acid soils being found on steeply sloping sites. Deeper and less acidic soils occur on flatter ground, even over sandstone. Neutral soils are mainly found on flat to moderately sloping ground over shales. They vary in depth and clay content and also from dry to seasonally wet, the wettest areas being on stream banks, in valley bottoms and by springs and wet nutrient rich areas known as flushes. Waterlogged soils
are found in association with streams, springs and flushes. They occur
mainly over shale, particularly where this meets sandstone strata. These
conditions occur on the valley slopes as well as in the valley bottoms
and by streams. Some of the springs are wet all year round but the flushes
are more seasonal. |
