Flora and Fauna of Ancient Woodlands
Generally, ancient woodlands contain a greater variety of species than recent woods.
They are also likely to contain rare and localised species.Why do so many woodland herb species survive in ancient woodlands?
The real answer to this is quite complex, but basically:-
-Woodland once covered almost the whole of the country.
-Open ground was found in small isolated pockets, surrounded by woods.
-Nowadays the situation has reversed – woodlands found in isolated pockets.
-Woodland species have not changed, they are poor colonists, unlike species of open ground.
-They tend to get trapped where they originally grew, i.e. in areas of primary woodland.
-These species rarely make the leap across open ground to colonise new woods.
Some species are so strongly confined to ancient woods, they are known as ancient woodland indicators.
Not all ancient woods, however, are so clearly and obviously richer in wildlife than recent ones.
In areas that are more densely wooded (such as Surrey) the differences between ancient and recent woodland will be much less obvious.
Where ancient woodland is close or adjacent to recent woodland and presence of such indicator species as Dogs Mercury (Mercurialis perennis) and Bluebells (Hyacinthoides non-sciptus) may be found in both.
Because ancient woodlands are rich in the original indigenous woodland flora they also tend to be rich in other forms of wildlife – birds, animals, invertebrates, etc.
The Dormouse (Muscardinus avellanarius), which has now become vary rare, is only likely to be found in ancient coppice or coppice with standards woodland.
It should be stressed, therefore, that the presence of one or two indicator species in a wood does not necessarily mean that it is ancient woodland.
Neither does a whole range of indicator species found in woodlands in densely wooded areas.
Normally the presence of a number of indicator species found in an isolated wood is sufficient to call that wood ancient woodland.
To be sure that a wood is ancient other indicators should be looked for:-
-Type of woodland – coppice or wood pasture
-Old (large) coppice stools – coppice
-Old pollards – wood pasture
-Large mature oaks fairly dominant
-Medieval ditch and bank systems particularly around the woodland edge
-Wood is predominately broadleaf with a large number of mature trees of the slower growing species.
Sources of information:-
-Ordinance survey maps 25 inch – mile scale
-Old maps
-Parish records, County Records Offices and libraries
Types of Ancient Woodland
Three main types of ancient woodland:-
-Coppice or coppice with standards
-Woodland pasture
-Broad-leaved high forest
Coppice or Coppice with Standards
Definition of coppice is ‘woodland arising as vegetative shoots from cut stumps’
Trees are cut down and new shoots grow back from the stumps
Animals are excluded from grazing the area
Cutting is done in rotation at interval of 5 to 20 years, depending on the growth rate and use of product
Standards are left to grow to economical maturity and felled for construction timber after 60 to 100 years
Oak is the most common standard with hazel, ash or willow understorey
Coppicing can increase the life of a tree beyond it’s normal span
Wood Pasture
A system where woodland is permanently used for pasture
Trees provide both shelter and wood
It was mainly restricted to deer parks, unenclosed forest woods and commons
Trees were managed by pollarding
-repeated coppicing of trees above the browsing line
-Coppicing at high level
Natural regeneration was confined to periods when grazing was restricted
Established trees often survived for centuries – pollarding also prolongs the life of a tree
Broadleaf High Forest
Own root trees which have developed normal canopy
Little or no form of understorey or coppice
May be planted or naturally regenerated
Produces a timber crop
Originated by (or containing elements of the following):
-previously coppice with standards on ancient sites
-natural regenerated after a previous tree crop has failed
-broadleaf plantations made on ancient sites.