Spring woodland flowers and ancient woodland

I am fortunate to live in an area where there is above average, for the UK, coverage of woodland in the the Forest of Dean and Wye Valley and the arrival of spring signals the end to winters dormancy and the emergence of wildflowers. Spring always arrives late in the Forest of Dean woodland due to a colder microclimate, so the woods in the Lower Wye Valley are always the first visited.

Primrose

Many of the local woods have been identified as ancient and woodland historians have employed a number of strategies to identify the lineage of ancient woods i.e tracing their history through medieval records of charters, perambulations, surveys and pipe rolls; maps and place names; estate and tithe accounts; with field archaeology and the presence of outsize coppice stools and veteran pollarded trees also pointing to a woods age and use. Another strategy employed are ecological surveys of ancient woods and secondary woodland, a comparison of species suggests there is a stark difference in flora and fauna found in ancient woodland and that found in secondary woodland. The flora in particular has been classified as indicator species for ancient or semi natural ancient woodland, there are some regional differences, but there are a number of species which are common to all ancient woodland.

Wood anemones

The more indicator species inhabiting a wood, then the more likely that wood is ancient in origin and as some woods have remained under the radar of historical records, then indicator species are important in establishing a convincing case for a woods designation.  The importance of ancient woodland is their high biodiversity and it is apparent from ecological surveys of secondary woodland adjoining an ancient wood, that it takes centuries to create the habitat of an ancient woodland. It is also suspected that some secondary woods isolated from ancient woods, will never naturally evolve into ancient woodland, which emphasises that ancient woodland is an irreplaceable habitat and why ecologists have concentrated their efforts in identifying this special habitat.

Wood Sorrel

Many woods in the Lower Wye Valley have been identified as ancient or semi natural ancient and are afforded legal protection, with responsible organisations managing the woodland for biodiversity and safeguarding the habitat with suitable management plans.

Beech coppice stool 

So, with much anticipation of photographing the ancient woodland and flora, the recent weather has seen; high to strong winds; powder blue skies and bright sunshine. Which translates into blurred flowers, cool blue shadows and harsh lighting, not an ideal scenario for woodland photography or for any landscape photography I can think of, other than picture postcards.

Toothwort

It is still early spring, so hopefully there is still time for the weather to change to more amenable conditions for wild flower and woodland photography.

Ancient woodland