Looking at Evidence of Ancient Woodland @Bel's Wood

At least 44% of ancient woodlands were planted with conifers in the 20th century to respond to the shortage of timber (Woodland Trust) and now the UK has only 2.5% ancient woodland. An ancient wood is one that has been continuously wooded for 400 years ie since 1600. One indicator that there may have been an ancient woodland here is the flowers that grow. Bluebells - native English ones - are one of these indicator species. Native bluebells are more delicate than Spanish Bluebells. They have flowers on one side of the plant so drupe and their leaves are narrower. They also have a distinctive scent while non natives do not. Bel's Wood has native bluebells growing there.

      

There is an increased abundance of bluebells this year especially noticeable in open areas. Last year they were more visible under the trees. The site has not been grazed in the last 12 months which will be the first time that has happened for a long time and so last year the plants will have completed their lifecycle and perhaps new plants have propagated. Deer are still present on the land and will be enjoying eating the bluebells this year as they did last year as shown  in the video taken in 2021 below.

This year's crop

         

The book ‘Woodland creation for wildlife and people in a changing climate’ David Blakesley and Peter Buckley 2010 gives a good explanation as to why bluebells indicate the presence of an ancient forest on this land (section 2.2.3). 

‘The species that indicate ancient woodland have specific characteristics including

• poor dispersal ability
• Low fecundity
• Production of few, relatively large seeds, often not forming long-term seed banks
• Tolerant of shade and low nutrient levels
• Vegetative propagation through expansion and fragmentation of the plant by bulbs, rhizomes, stolons or suckers.’

Bluebells show these characteristics. 

Other species named in this book that are indicators of ancient woodland are:-

• Pendulous Sedge
• Yellow archangel
• White helleborine
• Ramsons
• Herb Paris
• Wild daffodil
• Dog’s mercury
• Bastard balm

I have found some of the species identified as being associated with ancient woodland. From the list from this book, in addition to native bluebells, I can claim wild daffodils. I shall look out for others through the year but from having checked photographs from last year I don't recognise these ones.

The woodland trust includes other species as indicative of the presence of ancient woodland which I do have on site. These are photographs taken over the last year.

Hard fern 

Barnacle lichen growing on bark 

Scarlet Elf Cup

https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/trees-woods-and-wildlife/habitats/ancient-woodland/

Other resources include wood sorrel which I have in abundance around the beck

And an abundance of bryophytes and fungi growing on trees also indicate a long established wood and below is a selection from the mature trees on site.

               

      

On their own, plant species are not enough to state that there has been an ancient woodland here and greater expertise than mine would be needed to assert that. These plants have poor dispersal but may be found on adjacent land which could have been an ancient wood. But the presence of these species does show that the woodland that remains has been undisturbed for a long time and will help the newly planted trees to become established as the biome is conducive to sustaining trees. Establishing a new woodland on a more barren field would be a greater challenge. By adding trees now alongside established woodland patches also means that there will be continuity on this land from whatever ancient woodland existed to the newly created one.

Grazed land with hawthorn trees in bloom but no flowers on the ground.

I have investigated the history the land before to establish whether a wood was present in the past. A useful source of information is older maps. The 1895 OS map for Central Westmorland - survey took place between 1845 - 1858 and revised in1895.

The kink in the beck can be seen just below the words 'Foxhole Bank' on the map above and no woodland is shown here. 

An inventory of existing ancient woodlands including those replanted on ancient woodland site, has been made by Natural England with an interactive mapping software package MAGIC Natural England interactive website https://magic.defra.gov.uk

Here is a screen shot of the local area including my land which is in that large white hole in the centre to the left of Underbarrow below Busman Strands. The woods showing on the OS map called Green Bank and to the east of Bulman Strands are not identified on this inventory as Ancient Woodland - and I don't know if that means there weren't ancient woods or that they haven't been documented as such. More research needed but also,  more trees are needed in this area to promote biodiversity. There are a plethora of schemes which are supporting schemes in the area and I shall dig into that further.

 

Filling some of the gaps by planting on Bel's Wood will help with the reforestation goals of Natural England and other organisations.

Below is an aerial shot of Bel's Wood taken in March 2022 and I have drawn a rough green line around the areas currently populated with trees. I have ignored the remaining gorse. The woodland to the east of the marked area is a woodland planted with an early Woodland Creation grant and linking with that help create more of a corridor for wildlife running east to west.

The significant increase in the number of bluebells this year is my first sign of the land regenerating. I am surprised by the increase as I see red and roe deer all the time when I visit and catch them on the cameras but even they have not munched their way through all of the flowers. Last year would have been the first year since grazing was ended that the bluebells will have followed their full life cycle without being grazed. The deer fence will be erected in Autumn this year which means in two years time there may be a further increase.