Wet woodland

Last updated
A wet woodland in Firebeacon, Devon Wet woodlandfire beacon.JPG
A wet woodland in Firebeacon, Devon

A wet woodland is a type of plant community. It is a biodiversity habitat in the United Kingdom as part of the British National Vegetation Classification system.

Contents

Wet woodlands occurs on poorly drained or seasonally wet soils. They may occur in river valleys, the surroundings of mires and raised bog, the transition zones between open water and drier ground, and beside small winding streams.

British National Vegetation Classification

Within the British National Vegetation Classification, seven types of wet woodland are recognised as part of the Woodland and scrub communities in the British National Vegetation Classification system:

Ecology

In the UK, alder, birches and willows are the characteristic trees found in this type of habitat, as they are able to extract oxygen from the water saturated habitat. The UK contains between 50–70,000 hectares (120–172,970 acres) of wet woodlands.

Wet woodland supports many types of species. E.g. the humidity favours bryophytes (mosses). The shrub and tree community supports many invertebrates: the beetles Melanopion minimum and Rhynchaenus testaceus, the craneflies Lipsothrix errans, Lipsothrix nervosa, and mammals such as Eurasian otters.

In the UK Woodland Maintenance and Restoration grants are available to protect this type of Woodland under Natural England's Environmental Stewardship Scheme.

Condition assessment and ideal management

The term 'recent' in this context means less than five years.

Example Wet Woodland sites

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Askham Bog</span> Protected site and nature reserve in York, England

Askham Bog is small area of peat bog and Site of Special Scientific Interest situated within the Vale of York in North Yorkshire, England. It lies to the south-west of York, north of Copmanthorpe and near Askham Richard and Askham Bryan. It is regarded as one of the most ecologically diverse sites in Northern England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Willow warbler</span> Species of bird

The willow warbler is a very common and widespread leaf warbler which breeds throughout northern and temperate Europe and the Palearctic, from Ireland east to the Anadyr River basin in eastern Siberia. It is strongly migratory, with almost all of the population wintering in sub-Saharan Africa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aspen parkland</span> Temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands ecoregion of Canada and the United States

Aspen parkland refers to a very large area of transitional biome between prairie and boreal forest in two sections, namely the Peace River Country of northwestern Alberta crossing the border into British Columbia, and a much larger area stretching from central Alberta, all across central Saskatchewan to south central Manitoba and continuing into small parts of the US states of Minnesota and North Dakota. Aspen parkland consists of groves of aspen, poplar and spruce, interspersed with areas of prairie grasslands, also intersected by large stream and river valleys lined with aspen-spruce forests and dense shrubbery. This is the largest boreal-grassland transition zone in the world and is a zone of constant competition and tension as prairie and woodlands struggle to overtake each other within the parkland.

This article gives an overview of the woodland and scrub communities in the British National Vegetation Classification system.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sandbach Flashes</span>

Sandbach Flashes are a group of 14 wetlands west of Sandbach in Cheshire, England. The flashes were designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest in 1963, with a total area of 1.53 km2. There are a number of individual flashes including Bottom's Flash, Crabmill Flash, Elton Hall Flash, Fodens Flash, Groby's Flash, Ilse Pool, Moston Flashes, Pump House Flash, Railway Flash, Red Lane Tip and Pool, and Watch Lane Flash.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hydrosere</span>

A hydrosere is a plant succession which occurs in an area of fresh water such as in oxbow lakes and kettle lakes. In time, an area of open freshwater will naturally dry out, ultimately becoming woodland. During this change, a range of different landtypes such as swamp and marsh will succeed each other.

NVC community W2 is one of the woodland communities in the British National Vegetation Classification system. It is one of seven woodland communities in the NVC classed as "wet woodlands".

Ashford Green Corridor is a green space that runs through the town of Ashford in Kent, England. The Green Corridor is made up of parks, recreation grounds and other green spaces alongside the rivers that flow through Ashford. It is a Local Nature Reserve.

NVC community W3 is one of the woodland communities in the British National Vegetation Classification system.

Lowland heath is a Biodiversity Action Plan habitat as it is a type of ancient wild landscape. Natural England's Environmental Stewardship scheme describes lowland heath as containing dry heath, wet heath and valley mire communities, usually below 250 metres (820 ft) in altitude, on acidic soils and shallow peat, typically comprising heathers, gorses, fine grasses, wild flowers and lichens in a complex mosaic. Heathers and other dwarf shrubs usually account for at least 25% of the ground cover. By contrast, upland heath, which is above 300 metres (980 ft) in altitude, is called moorland, Dartmoor being an example.

NVC community W7 is one of the woodland communities in the British National Vegetation Classification system; it is one of seven woodland communities in the NVC classed as "wet woodlands".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Wilderness SSSI, Isle of Wight</span> Site of Special scientic Interest in the Isle of Wight, England

The Biebrza Marshes are a wetland complex, located on the Biebrza river valley, in Suwałki, Łomża in the northeast of Poland. The area encompasses river channels, lakes, extensive marshes with wooded areas on higher ground, such as alder carrs, and well-preserved peat bogs that occupy around 1,000 km2. The area shows a clear succession of habitats from riverside fen through to raised bogs, grading into wet woodland. Because of this unique succession, the area supports a wide diversity of wildlife with large numbers of birds and mammals. Over 250 species of birds have been recorded including more than 80% of the Polish avifauna. Starting in the early spring mating birds attract birdwatchers from around the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flora of Ireland</span>

Ireland is in the Atlantic European Province of the Circumboreal Region, a floristic region within the Holarctic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Llyn Bedydd</span> Lake near Wrexham, Wales

Llyn Bedydd is a small lake in Wrexham County Borough, in northeastern Wales, near the border with England. It is 7 kilometres (4.3 mi) south west of Whitchurch. The lake and the surrounding woodland are designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest.

<i>Salix arbusculoides</i> Species of flowering plant

Salix arbusculoides is a species of flowering plant in the willow family known by the common name little tree willow. It is native to northern North America, where its distribution extends across Alaska and most of Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Craigellachie National Nature Reserve</span>

Craigellachie is a hill lying to the west of the village of Aviemore in Strathspey, in the central Highlands of Scotland. Craigellachie was declared a national nature reserve (NNR) in 1961, and is managed by NatureScot through a lease from Reidhaven Estate. The reserve covers 257 hectares on the eastern slopes of the Monadhliath range of hills, lying between 225 and 535 m above sea level. It is dominated by birkwood, being one of the largest remaining areas of this type of habitat on Speyside, and is also of national importance due to the variety of moths present on the reserve. In addition to the birkwoods, the reserve encompasses a variety of other habitats, such as rocky crags, lochans and open heath with blaeberry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mar Field Fen</span> Site of Special Scientific Interest in North Yorkshire, England

Mar Field Fen is a Site of Special Scientific Interest, or SSSI, north of Masham, North Yorkshire, England, in a rural area known as Marfield. It is situated on land containing woodland carr, fen, spring-fed marshy grassland and drier calcareous grassland, between the River Ure to the east and Marfield Wetland nature reserve to the west. As "one of the best examples of fen habitat in the Vale of York," it is a protected habitat for a variety of plants, including the common butterwort, a carnivorous plant. There is no public access to this site.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grīņu Nature Reserve</span> Protected area in Latvia

Grīņu Nature Reserve is a nature reserve, located in Saka Parish, South Kurzeme Municipality in the Courland region of Latvia. Founded in 1936, it belongs to the European Conservation Network Natura 2000. 1,505 hectares of natural habitat are under protection. The Grīņu Reserve is subordinated to the Regional Council for Nature Conservation Courland.

References