Rethinking Ancient Woodland

'Ancient woodland' is a term widely used in England for long-established semi-natural woods, shaped by centuries of traditional management. As an official designation, it describes woods which have existed since the early seventeenth century, and which today contain a distinctive range of plants which find it hard to colonise more recently wooded ground. Such woods are often assumed to provide a direct link with the natural vegetation of England, as this existed before the virgin forests were fr