ENGLISH LOWLANDS BEECH FORESTS

The term 'English Lowlands beech forests' refers to a terrestrial ecoregion, as defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and the European Environment Agency (EEA). Part of the Temperate broadleaf and mixed forests biome in the Palaearctic ecozone, it covers 45,600 km² (17,600 square miles) of southern England, approximately as far as the border with Devon and south Wales in the west, into the Severn valley in the north-west, into the East Midlands in the north, and up to the border of Norfolk in the north-east of its range. To the west, south-west and north lies the similar Celtic broadleaf forests ecoregion, which covers most of the rest of the British Isles.
The difference between the two lies in the fact that south-eastern England is comparatively drier and warmer in climate, and lower-lying in terms of topography. Geologically, something of the distinction can be found in the dominance of the Southern England Chalk Formation in this ecoregion, and the Tees-Exe line, which divides the island of Great Britain into a sedimentary south-east, and a metamorphic and igneous north-west. However, it should be noted that the Hungarian biologist Miklos Udvardy lumped the two together into just one biogeographic province in the Palearctic Realm, which he termed 'British Islands'.^[1]

Contents

Characteristics

History

See also

External links

Reference

Characteristics

Historically, much of this lowland and submontane region was covered with high-canopy forests dominated by beech (''Fagus sylvatica''), but also including other species of tree, including oak, ash, rowan and yew. In summer, the forests are generally cool and dark, because the beech produces a dense canopy, and thus restricts the growth of other species of tree and wild flowers. In the spring, however, thick carpets of bluebells can be found, flourishing before the beech leaf-cover becomes too thick.
River systems, the most significant of which is the Thames, were historically host to lower-canopy riverine forests dominated by Black Alder, and this can still be encountered occasionally today. Also included in this ecoregion are the distinctive ecosystems associated with the rivers themselves, as well as their flood-meadows and estuaries. The soils are largely based on limestone, and the climate is temperate with steady amounts of rainfall. Temperatures can fall below freezing in the winter.

History

Nowadays, much of this ecoregion has been given over to agriculture - with the growing of wheat, barley and rapeseed particularly common - as well as to the raising of livestock, especially cattle and sheep. In places it is very heavily populated, with towns, suburbs and villages found nearly everywhere - although the plateau of Salisbury Plain remains largely wild. The most significant centre of population is London, at the head of the Thames estuary, one of the largest cities in the world. Due to the high population density, this forest ecoregion can be considered endangered. Air pollution may also be leading to a reduction in beech numbers, through increased susceptibility to disease.

At the end of the last glaciation, about 10,000 years ago, the area's ecosystem was characterised by a largely treeless tundra. Pollen studies have shown that this was replaced by a taiga of pine and birch, before their replacement in turn (c. 4500 BC) by most of the species of tree encountered today - including the beech, which was introduced from mainland Europe. This was used as a source of flour, ground from the triangular nutlets contained in the "mast", or fruit of the beech, after its tannins had been leached out by soaking. Clearance of forests also began about this time with the introduction of farming, particularly in the higher-lying parts of the country, like the South Downs. At this time, the whole region, apart from upland areas under plough, and marshy areas (e.g. Romney Marsh in Kent and much of Somerset), was heavily forested, with woodland stretching nearly everywhere.
Notable surviving examples include:

★ Selwood Forest (Somerset)

★ Savernake Forest (Wiltshire)

★ Morfe Forest (south Shropshire)

★ Wyre Forest (on the border of Worcestershire and Shropshire)

★ The Forest of Arden (Warwickshire)

★ Kinver Forest (a remnant of the Mercian forest in south Staffordshire)

★ Wychwood (Oxfordshire)

★ The Chilterns (on the heights running from Oxfordshire to Buckinghamshire and Bedfordshire)

★ Burnham Beeches (Buckinghamshire)

★ Epping Forest (on the border of north-east Greater London and Essex)

★ The Weald (Kent)
All of these were once far more extensive than they are today. For example, according to a late 9th century writer, the Weald (from the Anglo-Saxon word ''weald'' = "forest") once stretched from Kent to Hampshire, and was 120 miles long by 30 broad.^[2] The New Forest remains the largest intact forested area in this ecoregion, although the extensive hedgerow system, which separates fields from lanes and also from other fields, can also serve as an important habitat for otherwise displaced woodland fauna. Some examples of these date back at least 700 years, if not 1000. For many species of bird, significant estuarine habitats include the Thames and Severn estuaries, and the mid-Essex coast.
The Great Storm of 1987 was responsible for the uprooting of some 15 million trees in this area.

See also

★ Biodiversity Action Plan

★ Bioregionalism

★ Community Forests in England

★ Geology of England

★ List of ecoregions

★ List of forests in the United Kingdom

★ List of topics relating to the natural environment of the UK

★ National Nature Reserves in England

★ National parks of England and Wales - New Forest and South Downs

★ Protected areas of the United Kingdom

★ Royal forest

★ Trees of Britain and Ireland

External links

★ World Wide Fund for Nature: Conservation Science - Ecoregions

★ World Wide Fund for Nature: Ecoregion Full Report

★ European Environment Agency: Digital Map of European Ecological Regions

Reference

1. Udvardy, M.D.F., "A Classification of the Biogeographical Provinces of the World", International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Occasional Paper No. 18, Morges, Switzerland, 1975
2. Whitelock, Dorothy, "The Beginnings of English Society" (Pelican History of England, vol. 2), Harmondsworth, 1952, p.14