Woodland Plant Communities
Areas of woodland can be found scattered throughout the East Anglian region but there is great variation at the local level in the amount of woodland present and in the plant communities that they support. Little remains of what could be thought of as 'ancient woodland', though there are some very fine examples particularly on the boulder clays of mid-Suffolk and South Norfolk. Natural woodland tends to evolve over long periods of time and is often considered to be 'climax' habitat - the end result of a succession of habitats that develop during prolonged periods of settled climate. By contrast, planted woodland or 'plantations' typically show a uniformity of tree density and height, with a resulting limit to the variety of associated plant species.
Trees dominate woodland and the classification of woodlands is largely based upon the species present. Most obviously different are deciduous versus coniferous woodlands, but subtle differences in soil and aspect can result in different species of deciduous tree coming to dominate and this can result in differences in the ground flora. As well as differences in the species composition, woods can differ in the density of the trees, with older, more natural woodland often having gaps provided by senescent and fallen trees, which can provide open glades, rich in wild flowers.
1. Oak-Ash Woods
This constitutes the primary woodland type in East Anglia and particularly occurs on the boulder clays from South Norfolk to North Essex, but can also be found elsewhere, too. Typically, stands on wetter soils have a higher ash content, while drier soils have more oak. European Ash and Pedunculate Oak are the dominant species and often with European Holly and European Hazel as understorey species. Other tree species are often present in smaller quantity and depending on soil type and can include Sycamore, Small-leaved Lime, Hornbeam, Goat Willow, both Smooth-leaved and Wych Elm and Sweet Chestnut. Some of these (especially the latter) will have been planted, but others can be either planted or occur naturally. Both European Ash and Pedunculate Oak occur widely as hedgerow trees in arable landscapes and these may often be remnants of former woodland.
Oak-Ash woods have long been managed for wood products with the two tree species being left to provide mature timber and the understorey being coppiced on a rotational basis. These management practices produce periodic clearings in the woodland before the understorey regrows and such woods are our most species-rich for wildflowers, with carpets of many species colouring the ground in late spring, especially Common Bluebells, Common Primroses, Ramsons and European Wood Anemone.
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| Unmanaged Oak-Ash woodland can often develop an understorey of Holly, which greatly limits the potential for a rich ground flora. |
Managed Oak-Ash woodland in spring with a rich ground flora emerging. |
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| Managed Oak-Ash woodland with coppiced Hazel, two years after cutting. | Managed Oak-Ash woodland with a well-grown understorey of coppiced Hazel. |
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| Oak-Ash woodland on wetter soils can develop a rich ground layer of ferns and sedges along open rides and glades. |
In East Anglia, the best swathes of Common Bluebells develop in Oak-Ash woodland, especially under hazel coppice or along open woodland rides. |
2. Oak-Birch Woods
Forms of woodland dominated by Pedunculate Oak and Silver or Downy Birch typically develop on acidic, often dry and sandy, soils and most often appear as a succession to heathland where the heath has not been managed. Birches spread prodigeous amounts of seed and birch colonisation of heathland can be a major headache for managed heath reserves. Where a woodland develops, the canoy is typically relatively low (perhaps because of the dry conditions suppressing growth) and both European Holly and Common Rowan are often present. The birches can often grow quite densely, crowding out all but Common Bracken which can form a continuous ground layer.
If the woodland has developed on former heathland, then relics of that habitat may persist where there are gaps in the canopy. Isolated pockets of Common and Bell Heather, Heath Bedstraw and Common or Western Gorse may persist, while Common Honeysuckle can be frequent. Because of the typically dry conditions, ferns (except Bracken) are usually absent.
A version of this woodland type is frequent in Broadland, where the birch is more often Downy Birch. In such wetter places, the groundlayer can contain more species and often has a good layer of ferns and sedges.
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| With a poor groundlayer consisting typically of just Common Bracken, Oak-Birch woodland can look very barren in winter and early spring. |
In Oak-Birch woodland that develops on wetter ground, there can be a good population of Broad Buckler Fern beneath the trees. |
| Some Typical Species
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Species to Look Out For
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Places to Visit
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3. Beechwoods
Classic Beech 'hangers' like those so characteristic of the South Downs and the Chilterns are not known in East Anglia, but the species is widespread, especially on the drier soils in the south-west of the region and in a handful of places on the ridge inland of the North Norfolk Coast, most notably on the Holt-Cromer ridge. Elsewhere, European Beech has been widely planted in the grounds of many a stately home, where individual trees grow large and spreading in the open, parkland environments. The species has also been planted in narrow plantations along several of the roads through Breckland and in full autumn colour or vivid green spring flush, they are a feature of the area.
Beech leaves remain leathery and tanic after falling to the ground and take a long time to break down. Because of this, a ground flora struggles to develop and beech stands typically hold a few mosses and brambles at their feet.
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| Stands of European Beech in Breckland brighten up the scene along roadsides and relieve the darkness of the extensive pine plantations in the area. |
European Beeches planted in parkland habitats are often more openly spaced, allowing a few grasses to form a groundlayer, especially Creeping Soft-grass, which does well in shade. |
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| In some places, European Holly can develop as an understorey, especially in places where smaller stands of Beech are found within mosaics of other woodland types. |
| Some Typical Species
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Species to Look Out For
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Places to Visit
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4. Other Deciduous Woodlands
Smaller but no less important areas of deciduous woodland with either a wider range of dominant tree species, or with different species dominating can be found scattered around the region. Some are the result of plantings, such as Sweet Chestnut stands, while others may be relics of older habitats that are now more scarce in our region. Woodlands of Small-leaved Lime seemed to have declined along with changes in woodland management regimes, while healthy stands of the once-widespread Small-leaved Elm are now a rarity to be cherished if found. Some woods have been deliberately planted (typically either for shooting practices or timber) on private estates and these can have almost untold variety in their tree mixes. If nothing else, they can be great places to sharpen up your tree identification skills!
Many woodland blocks have subtle variations in the soil type and moisture content and this can often produce a mosaic of varying tree associations. Species such as Field Maple, Wild Cherry, Common Rowan and Hornbeam often occur in mixed associations (the latter particularly towards the south of our region and into Epping Forest) while Bird Cherry can be plentiful in some damp, Breckland woods, where it is thought to be at its southernmost limit in the UK.
Sycamore was originally introduced to the UK but has rapidly become a major component of wooded areas, especially where rapid, successional growth has occured on former brownfield sites and other places where the ground has been disturbed. It often has a poor ground flora because of past soil nitrification and/or disutrbance and many stands have a groundlayer dominated by Common Nettle and various brambles. However, there are some interesting stands with a Bluebell groundlayer, which may have evolved over time as a result of removal of former native trees.
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| Unnatural associations of mixed evergreen and deciduous species are common on private estates, but that's not to say they don't harbour interesting understorey and groundlayers, especially where natural senecence and regrowth are allowed to evolve. |
On shooting estates, Rhododendron has been widely planted, along with other evergreens such as Cherry Laurel and both Lawson's and Leyland Cypress, to provide cover for Pheasants. Sadly, this has largely denuded areas of woodland of their ground flora, while the Pheasants themselves have caused damage to native plant populations. Organisations such as the National Trust have worked hard to remove such species on their properties. |
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| A wood with planted Pedunculate Oak, Sweet Chestnut and Beech co-dominant with self-sown Sycamore. A common association in East Anglia in many places. | Coppiced Hornbeam is occasionally seen in our area, especially towards the south-west of the region. |
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| Woodland or copses with mature Smooth-leaved Elm were once a feature of East Anglia but have been all but wiped out by Dutch Elm Disease But a very few stands do remain, such as this one in North-east Essex. |
Looking up into a canopy of elms is something very rare and to be savoured. Elms still survive as suckering growth, especially in hedgerows, but they seldom reach maturity before disease knocks them to the ground again. |
| Some Typical Species
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Species to Look Out For
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Places to Visit
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5. Wet Woodland and Carr
while Oak-Ash woodland can do well on reasonably damp ground, more or less permanently wet ground in valley bottoms and bordering lakes and broads is typically colonised by woodland containg alders and willows. The term 'carr' is used to indicate low-canopy woodland or scrub in wetland habitats, with alder carr being dominated by European Alder and willow carr typically consisting of a range of shrubby willow species, typically Grey Willow in East Anglia but sometimes also including Almond, Purple or Eared Willows. Alder carr can eventually develop into alder woodland.
Extensive alder carr and alder woodland exists throughout the Broads and along the upper reaches of the Little Ouse and Waveney, as well as elsewhere, but is particularly a feature of the Bure and the Yare in Norfolk. A dangerous quagmire of quaking bog or 'hover' can develop around the tree roots and develops interesting plant communities dominated by various sedges and patchy stands of Common Reed. Many wetland plant species find a home in such places and are best viewed by visiting dedicated nature reserves with boardwalks that allow access into the habitats.
In the past, grants were given to landowners to plant up swampy areas with fast-growing, hybrid poplars. A few such stands still survive and are ageing but most have been felled and timber is now more cheaply imported from abroad and such stands are far less common that they were. Larger poplars and willows are sometimes host to the parasitic Purple Toothwort which, though introduced, is an interesting plant and worth keeping an eye out for.
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| Patches of transitional wet woodland can develop around seepages and streams in Oak-Ash woodland. Such sites often contain Sycamore and the first European Alders and an interesting ground flora can develop in the wet mud, including various sedges and ferns and patches of both Opposite-leaved and Alternate-leaved Golden-saxifrage. |
Typical wet willow carr in winter. |
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| Nature reserves with purpose-built boardwalks offer the safest way to visit swampy ground for botanising, as here, through typical willow carr. | Alder carr in spring, with a good range of sedges dominating the groundlayer. |
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| Mature, mixed alder and willow carr and alder woodland can hold a very diverse groundlayer. Species here include Yellow Iris, Red Currant, Bittersweet, Remote Sedge, Common Honeysuckle and many others. |
Mature alder woodland borders a number of the larger Norfolk Broads along sections of the Bure and Ant and have enough channels into them to make them accessible by boat. |
| Some Typical Species
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Species to Look Out For
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Places to Visit
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6. Wood Pastures and Parkland
Wood pasture refers to a suite of open woodland types that largely evolved through the human use of woodland. Woods were transformed by prolonged periods of livestock grazing, the result of which was to produce a range of habitats from open woodland to parkland. Grazing reduced the quantity of woody plants, including sapling trees and allowed more light in, opening the habitat up to colonisation by grassland species. Where tree cover remained more dense, brambles and Bracken typically became dominant.
Though some parklands around stately homes were created by planting up open ground, others evolved into parkland through grazing by sheep and herds of Fallow Deer. Wood pasture was probably a dominant habitat type in lowland Britain in the past, particularly before enclosure laws. However, most wood pasture has now been lost, either reverting back to denser woodland, or becoming arable land according to later land use.
The plant communities that might develop in wood pastures is dependent on levels of shade and soil type. The communities are highly variable and effectively represent a gradient from woodland flora to grassland flora.
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| Wood pasture dominated by Pedunculate Oak and Silver Birch, suggesting this area developed from Oak-Birch woodland. Sweet Chestnut has also been introduced. The groundlayer is dominated by grasses tolerant of heavy grazing, with patches of bramble developing, too. |
Parkland on the larger private estates typically is more open, with scattered specimen trees of Pedunculate Oak (and often Cedar of Lebanon and Holm Oak). Replacement plantings for lost specimens are protected from browsing livestock when young. |
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| The effects of livestock on trees can clearly be seen by the browse line on these Holm Oaks. Heavy grazing pressure and high nutrification from droppings can also result in extensive colonies of Common Nettle developing. |
| Some Typical Species
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Species to Look Out For
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Places to Visit
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7. Coniferous Woods
Britain has only three, native conifer species - Scots Pine, European Yew and Common Juniper. All are thought to have been native in East Anglia at some time in the past, but native distributions - if they even still exist - have been blurred or lost to interpretation by widespread planting of these three species throughout the region. While native, coniferous habitats have been lost, there has been extensive planting of non-native conifers since as early as the late 17th Century and much planting was carried out in the 20th Century, both on Forestry Commission land and as private enterprises.
East Anglia's generally drier climate does not suit many of the conifers from western North America that have been so widely planted in the British uplands and most plantings have been of Scots and Corsian Pine, though there are plantations of European and Hybrid Larch, Douglas Fir and Western Red Cedar, too. In addition to plantations, introduced conifers have been planted to stabilise coastal dunes and as shelter belts in cropped areas. Specimen plantings of iconic species such as Giant Redwood and Monkey-puzzle have also been widespread on private estates and in parks.
The plant communities that develop in conifer plantations are greatly reduced by the lack of light under the trees. The dense, evergreen foliage of conifers shades out a high percentage of the light and this is even more the case in plantation forestry, where the trees tend to be planted particularly close together. Plant communities tend to reflect those that were present at the time of planting, though in a greatly reduced form, while the dense mat of shed conifer needles can not only reduce the groundlayer further, it also serves to acidify the ground, again affecting the plant species that can survive. Most plantation conifers do best on acid soils and this is reflected in where they are planted (as well as the fact that heathland was not farmable and therefore ripe for plantation use). Thus, plant communities tend to be those of acid grassland and this is readily demonstrable along the more open forest rides and trackways through Breckland. Extensive conifer plantation covers huge areas of Breckland and parts of the Suffolk Sandlings, that otherwise would have been heathland, while smaller scale plantings are scattered on more neutral soils throught the region.
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| The typical gloom under a dense planting of Douglas Fir and Grand Fir. Firs, hemlock-spruces and cypresses have even denser foliage than do pines and many plantations can have virtually no groundlayer of plants. | The ground beneath this plantation of Lawson's Cypress, Western Hemlock-spruce and Western Red Cedar is dominated by a carpet of germinating conifer seedlings from the parent trees, further reducing any opportunity for natural plant cover. |
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| A typical plantation of mixed Corsican and Scots Pine on acid soil. Bracken has either colonised from neighbouring ground during the young growth stage of the plantation, or remains as the only survivor of a previous plant community. |
A few evergreens can sometimes form a shrub layer in conifer plantations, though they are often non-native such species such as Common Oregon-grape in Breckland or (as here) European Rhododendron on private estates. |
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| Plantations or shelter belts of larch trees can be more open due to the deciduous nature of the trees and this can aid the development (or retention) of a more species-rich groundlayer of plants. | Open pinewoods that have self-seeded from nearby plantings have developed on coastal dunes in North Norfolk. These have created a much more natural conifer wood habitat, with a rich shrub layer and ground flora, including such rare species as Yellow Bird's-nest and Creeping Lady's-tresses. |
| Some Typical Species
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Species to Look Out For
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Places to Visit
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