SECONDARY WOODLAND

Secondary woodlands are those which have come into existence since about 1600AD. Many have been planted by man, but some have arisen naturally when land is abandoned and left to revert to scrub and thence to woodland.

Although supporting fewer species than ancient woodland, the secondary woods on the Cheshire Plain are also of some nature conservation value. These include game coverts and shelter belts as well as those woods that have colonised former peatlands. Of the region's four great medieval hunting forests, Delamere and Macclesfield have survived to the present day, although much modified and reduced in size.

Broadleaved Woodland
Broadleaved woodland is vegetation dominated by trees, forming a distinct, although sometimes open, canopy containing less than 10% conifers. The distribution of broadleaved woodland in Cheshire becomes sparse in the higher ground of the Peak Park, in the northwest urban fringe of the county and in the lowlands of the Gowy and Dee.

Mixed Woodland
Mixed woodland has a distinctive canopy with between 10% and 90% or broadleaved or coniferous trees. Mixed woodland is well distributed across Macclesfield district and becomes sparse in Warrington, Halton and Ellesmere Port districts. Mixed woodland is a priority for new planting in the Mersey Forest area.

Coniferous Woodland
Coniferous woodland has a canopy containing less than 10% cover of broadleaved trees and is predominately found in the forests of Delamere and Macclesfield. Some planting of coniferous woodland is undertaken as part of restoration schemes, particularly in the Delamere area.

Scrub
Scrub is vegetation dominated by shrubs less than 5m tall, with occasional scattered trees. The distribution of sites is relatively even across the region, except in the urban area of Halton where scrub is sparse. Much of this habitat represents sites which are unmanaged and in the process of natural vegetation succession towards broadleaved woodland.

Lowland Wood Pastures and Parkland
The region is well supplied with parks of all ages, ranging from medieval deer parks, such as Shotwick Park, to the great landscaped parks of the 18th and 19th centuries, for example Tatton Park. Although essentially designed landscapes, parklands are often important for wildlife, containing ancient woodlands and meres as well as relic grasslands and heaths grazed by deer or stock. In addition, their veteran trees, often the most prominent surviving features, are valuable for their associated lichen, fungi and bryophyte flora and deadwood insects.

Parklands and wood pasture may also preserve indigenous tree genotypes.
Much relict parkland remains in the Cheshire region although this has largely been changed to agriculture over time.

Lowland wood pastures and parkland usually consist of large open-grown or high forest trees at variable densities, in a matrix of grazed grassland, heathland and/or woodland floras. Tree management, usually by pollarding, has often helped to produce the characteristic veteran trees, while grazing by domestic livestock, deer or rabbits maintains the vegetation matrix.

These habitats are particularly important for the fungi, lichens, bryophytes and invertebrates associated with veteran trees and decaying timber. Indeed, according to the UK Biodiversity Steering Group Report (1995) UK lowland wood pasture and parkland provides the habitat for 38 species of conservation concern. The fauna of dead wood (saproxylic species) is threatened throughout Europe and Britain is important for this fauna in a European context.