WildCRU > Wytham woods > Introduction

Introduction

Because of their size and the University's guardianship, the Woods are now exceptional in lowland England because they encapsulate the range of habitats both woodland and non-woodland that were formerly common prior to agricultural intensification.

Consequently interactions between and within them can occur which are rarely possible elsewhere, Ever since they were acquired by the University, Wytham Woods have been used for scientific study, ranging from observational to experimental and this is what sets Wytham apart as an SSSI. The extent of the knowledge about the fauna and flora, resulting from five decades of scientific study by members of the University and others is unparalleled.

Approximately one-third of the area is ancient semi-natural woodland, which was historically managed as coppice with standards. Hazel is the most common coppice species and pedunculate oak the most common standard. A characteristic of the Woods is that most of these oaks are large and old. Over the course of the last 100 years coppice management has been largely abandoned. Another third of the area is recent semi-natural woodland that has regenerated naturally on arable, pasture or wood pasture sites in the last two hundred years. Some areas have been coppiced, but most are high forest. The dominant species here are ash and sycamore. The remaining woodland area consists of a variety of plantations, some on ancient woodland sites, some on sites which were formerly open. The oldest plantations date from the period following the Enclosure Act in 1814 and are mostly of beech, many of which are now large veterans.

Most of the rest of the plantations (21% of the Woods by area) are less than 50 years old and the most common species are beech and oak; many conifers were planted as nurse trees, but most of these have now been felled. Elm was common until the late 1970s when all the mature trees were lost due to Dutch Elm Disease; there is currently some regeneration of young trees from root suckers, though the stems are normally attacked again by the disease once they reach about 10 cm diameter.

Apart from woodland, the Woods are important for their grassland habitats, which are situated mainly on the top of the hill. Small plantations of conifers are maintained for research purposes. A variety of marshy patches, small streams and ponds add to the diversity.

Wytham Wood contains a diverse flora with over 500 vascular plants, 170 species of moss and liverwort and 210 fungi species. The insect fauna is extremely diverse. The butterflies and moths recorded total over 800, including more than half of the British species of larger moths. Twenty-eight of the 420 species of larger moth and 34 of butterflies recorded since 1980 have a restricted national distribution. Uncommon butterflies include black hairstreak, brown hairstreak and wood white.

580 species of flies (Diptera) have been recorded from Wytham Wood of which 24 species are listed in the British Red Data Book of invertebrates. Over 900 species of beetle have been identified, approximately one quarter of the British fauna, This includes 13 nationally rare species recorded since the mid- 1940s (some of which are endangered) and 31 species with a restricted national distribution. More than 200 species of spiders are listed, about one third of the British population, together with over 700 species of bees, wasps and ants (Hymenoptera), more than 250 species of true bugs (Hemiptera) and 27 species of earthworms.

Birds which breed or have attempted to breed include nightingale, woodcock, redstart, hobby and firecrest.

Mammals include fallow deer, roe and muntjac (see Mammal Monitoring in Wytham Woods and www.mammalmonitoring.com)

Long-term population studies that have been undertaken at Wytham include: grassland ecology, caterpillar fauna on oak trees, small mammal population dynamics, and behavioral and ecological studies on great tits, foxes and badgers. Wytham is also part of the Environmental Change Network. The ECN monitor a wide range of physical, chemical and biological variables to detect changes in climate and pollution levels and their ecological impacts.