Woodland origin and 'ancient woodland indicators': a case-study from Sidlings Copse, Oxfordshire, UK

Abstract

A pollen sequence spanning the last c. 9500 years is presented from Sidlings Copse, a wood in Oxfordshire with a large number of vascular plant species generally taken to be indicators of 'ancient' (often assumed to be primary) woodland. The sequence provides evidence that the present woodland is secondary, resulting from regeneration on open land which commenced approximately 1000 years ago. Textual and cartographic evidence is used to shed additional light on the recent history of Sidlings Copse, indicating that it is a remnant of a much larger block of woodland present throughout the mediaeval and early postmediaeval periods up to the late seventeenth or early eighteenth century. The work demonstrates that ancient woodland cannot be assumed to represent relicts of the original post glacial woodland cover and that large assemblages of 'ancient woodland indicator' vascular plants can occur in secondary woodland. It is suggested that such plants tend to be absent from recent secondary woodland because they are slower to colonize new sites than other species.