Maes-yr-Uchaf Wood

Last updated
Maes-yr-Uchaf Wood
Site of Special Scientific Interest
Monmouthshire UK location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Location within Monmouthshire
Area of Search Monmouthshire
Grid reference SO477088
Coordinates 51°46′34″N2°45′31″W / 51.7760°N 2.7587°W / 51.7760; -2.7587 Coordinates: 51°46′34″N2°45′31″W / 51.7760°N 2.7587°W / 51.7760; -2.7587
Interest Biological
Area 2.5 hectares (0.0250 km2; 0.00965 sq mi)
Notification 1981

Maes-yr-Uchaf Wood is a small woodland and Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), noted for its biological characteristics, in Monmouthshire, south east Wales. [1]

Woodland low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade

A woodland or wood is a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade. Woodlands may support an understory of shrubs and herbaceous plants including grasses. Woodland may form a transition to shrubland under drier conditions or during early stages of primary or secondary succession. Higher density areas of trees with a largely closed canopy that provides extensive and nearly continuous shade are referred to as forests.

Site of Special Scientific Interest Conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom

A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle of Man. SSSI/ASSIs are the basic building block of site-based nature conservation legislation and most other legal nature/geological conservation designations in the United Kingdom are based upon them, including national nature reserves, Ramsar sites, Special Protection Areas, and Special Areas of Conservation. The acronym "SSSI" is often pronounced "triple-S I".

Monmouthshire County

Monmouthshire is a county in south-east Wales. The name derives from the historic county of Monmouthshire of which it covers the eastern 60%. The largest town is Abergavenny. Other towns and large villages are Caldicot, Chepstow, Monmouth, Magor and Usk. It borders Torfaen and Newport to the west; Herefordshire and Gloucestershire to the east; and Powys to the north.

Contents

Geography

The 2.5-hectare (6.2-acre) SSSI, notified in 1981, is located within the community of Mitchel Troy, 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) south-west of the town of Monmouth. [2] [3]

A community is a division of land in Wales that forms the lowest tier of local government in Wales. Welsh communities are analogous to civil parishes in England. In 2016 there were 870 communities in Wales.

Mitchel Troy village in Monmouthshire, Wales

Mitchel Troy is a village and community in Monmouthshire, south east Wales, in the United Kingdom. It is located 3 miles south west of the county town of Monmouth, just off the A40 road leading towards Raglan.

The wood is in private ownership and is not open to the public. [4]

Wildlife and ecology

As with other woodland in the Wye Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, Maes-yr-Uchaf Wood contains many local rare tree species. Maes-yr-Uchaf Wood has an unusual amalgamation of tree species present for Monmouthshire, with ash ( Fraxinus excelsior ), black alder ( Alnus glutinosa ) and field maple ( Acer campestre ) the dominant species. [1]

Wye Valley valley straddling the border between England and Wales

The Wye Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty is an internationally important protected landscape straddling the border between England and Wales. It is one of the most dramatic and scenic landscapes in Britain.

Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty Designated area of countryside in England, Wales or Northern Ireland

An Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) is an area of countryside in England, Wales or Northern Ireland which has been designated for conservation due to its significant landscape value. Areas are designated in recognition of their national importance, by the relevant public body: Natural England, Natural Resources Wales, or the Northern Ireland Environment Agency. In place of AONB, Scotland uses the similar national scenic area (NSA) designation. Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty enjoy levels of protection from development similar to those of UK national parks, but unlike with national parks the responsible bodies do not have their own planning powers. They also differ from national parks in their more limited opportunities for extensive outdoor recreation.

<i>Fraxinus excelsior</i> species of plant

Fraxinus excelsior, known as the ash, or European ash or common ash to distinguish it from other types of ash, is a flowering plant species in the olive family Oleaceae. It is native throughout mainland Europe east to the Caucasus and Alborz mountains. The northernmost location is in the Trondheimsfjord region of Norway. The species is widely cultivated and reportedly naturalised in New Zealand and in scattered locales in the United States and Canada.

Other plant life found in the woodland are dog's mercury ( Mercurialis perennis ), herb paris ( Paris quadrifolia ) and wood-sorrel ( Oxalis acetosella ). [1]

<i>Mercurialis perennis</i> species of plant

Mercurialis perennis, commonly known as dog's mercury, is a poisonous woodland plant found in much of Europe as well as in Algeria, Iran, Turkey, and the Caucasus, but almost absent from Ireland, Orkney and Shetland. A member of the spurge family (Euphorbiaceae), it is a herbaceous, downy perennial with erect stems bearing simple, serrate leaves. The dioecious inflorescences are green, bearing inconspicuous flowers from February to April. It characteristically forms dense, extensive carpets on the floor of woodlands and beneath hedgerows.

<i>Paris quadrifolia</i> species of plant

Paris quadrifolia, the herb-paris or true lover's knot, is a Eurasian species of flowering plant in the family Melanthiaceae, although authorities formerly regarded it as part of the Liliaceae family. It is related to Trillium, with which it can be confused. Trillium, however, is generally 3-merous, whereas Paris quadrifolia is 4-merous.

<i>Oxalis acetosella</i> species of plant

Oxalis acetosella is a rhizomatous flowering plant in the family Oxalidaceae, common in most of Europe and parts of Asia. The specific name is acetosella, refers to its sour taste. The common name wood sorrel is often used for other plants in the genus Oxalis. In much of its range it is the only member of its genus and hence simply known as "the" wood sorrel. While common wood sorrel may be used to differentiate it from most other species of Oxalis, in North America, Oxalis montana is also called common wood sorrel. It is also known as Alleluia because it blossoms between Easter and Pentecost, when the Psalms which end with Hallelujah are sung.

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References

  1. 1 2 3 "Maes-yr-Uchaf Wood" (pdf). Countryside Council for Wales . Retrieved 1 June 2012.
  2. ↑ "Maes-yr-Uchaf Wood map" (pdf). Countryside Council for Wales . Retrieved 1 June 2012.
  3. ↑ Ordnance Survey: Explorer map sheet OL14 Wye Valley & Forest of Dean ISBN   9780319240953
  4. ↑ "Maes-yr-Uchaf Wood". Countryside Council for Wales . Retrieved 1 June 2012.
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