Planted ancient woodland sites

What are planted ancient woodland sites?

A planted ancient woodland site (PAWS) would have started off its life as ancient semi-natural woodland (ASNW) but the native broadleaved trees have been felled and non-native trees - usually conifers - planted in their place. (Or sometimes, conifers have been planted alongside the existing trees.)

Many ancient woods were planted with non-native conifers in the period after the second World War, when timber stocks were low.  These non-native conifers were planted because they grew more quickly than our native species and so were ideal for timber.

However, because the conifers have dense needles and keep them all year and they have been planted so close together they cast dense shade on everything below their canopy, creating conditions quite unlike those usually found in an ancient semi-natural woodland (ASNW).

This dense shade has a dramatic impact on the woodland's wildlife. Although some wildlife may survive in dense shade, much of our characteristic ancient woodland wildlife does not cope well. So, planted ancient woodland sites are generally poorer in wildlife terms.

Although today, conifers are not often planted in ancient woods, there are many existing planted ancient woodland sites which need restoration.

This restoration is possible because the ancient woodland ecosystem is far more than just the trees and remnants of ancient woodland plant and animal communities have usually survived.  

These may be shrubs, grasses, flowers, mosses, lichens, liverworts, fungi and animal life such as badgers and woodpeckers to the tiniest micro-organisms in the soil - all part of the unique web of life that makes up an ancient wood.

Gradual removal of the conifers enables these species to  recover slowly. This process of PAWS restoration is something that the Woodland Trust has been championing for some time, restoring our own sites and encouraging others to do the same with theirs.