Wytham - United Kingdom

The site comprises of 400ha of SSSI designated woodland, and 370ha of organic mixed farmland. The woodland at Wytham can be divided into three broad categories of roughly equal area: ancient, secondary and plantation. The ancient woodland has never to our knowledge been cleared and there has been continuity of tree cover since the prehistoric 'wild wood'. It has however had a long history of management, which for many hundreds of years took the form of coppicing. Although this was abandoned in the early twentieth century, the characteristic growth form is still clearly visible. The secondary woodland has grown up naturally in the last 200 years or so, after the abandonment of wood pasture, pasture or cultivation. The National Vegetation Classification places both ancient and secondary woodland in community W8, Fraxinus excelsior - Acer campestre - Mercurialis perennis woodland. Neither of these woodland types are actively managed today. The oldest plantations are beeches of approximately 200 years old, but most are 50 - 60 years old. Within the woodland there are patches of semi-natural grassland, of both ancient and recent origin, and scrub. The farm is mainly extensive managed grassland, with some arable land, interspersed with hedgerows and some small wetland areas.