Facility
Old Lodge catchment

Old Lodge is a stream site within a catchment of 240 ha in Ashdown Forest, SE England. The altitude of the catchment ranges between 94 m and 198 m. The underlying geology comprises Ashdown sands (Hastings beds) and the catchment soils are typically podsolic. Approximately 15% of the catchment is deciduous woodland, principally around the sampling site. Conifers occupy less than 5% of the catchment, with the remainder classified as heathland vegetation dominated by Calluna (heather) and Erica (bell heather), with abundant stands of Pteridium (bracken). There has been no land use disturbance in the catchment for the past 200 years, although the severe wind-throw affected many trees after the storms of October 1987. Old Lodge is classified as having moderate-to-high acid deposition. The catchment has been the focus of research into the relationship of acid stream chemistry and biological, particularly invertebrate, populations.