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Woodland and Scrub are separate habitats with many gradations dependent upon species of tree/shrub and percentage coverage as one grades into the other. Woodland is defined as vegetation dominated by trees more than 5m high when mature, forming a distinct, although sometimes open, canopy. Dominant species should be coded and the understorey and ground layer target noted. Distinct blocks of woodland, whether broadleaved or coniferous, should, during habitat surveys, be mapped separately wherever possible.

Scrub is serial or climax vegetation dominated by locally native shrubs, usually less than 5m tall, occasionally with a few scattered trees.

One of the most important woodland types within the Cheshire region is Ancient Semi-natural Broadleaved Woodland (ASNBW).

What is an Ancient Semi-Natural Woodland?

Ancient semi-natural woodlands (ASNWs) are woods that have persisted in the landscape since the Middle Ages, from a date of approximately 1600AD and continuity of a woodland on a site since around this date determines whether it is classed as ancient.

Some ASNWs may have been felled several times, so species composition and the size of the trees present does not necessarily prove a site to be ancient. In fact some ASNWs may have been replanted with plantations of conifers and may not initially appear to be ancient woodland areas. The date 1600 is taken as an indicator because it marks the time when map evidence began to become more widespread and also when the planting of new woodlands occured more frequently.

Woodland is defined as vegetation dominated by trees more than 5m high when mature, forming a distinct, although sometimes open, canopy. Dominant species should be coded and the understory and ground layer target noted.

The definitions of the main categories are:-

• broadleaved woodland: 10% or less
• conifer in the canopy;
• coniferous woodland: 10% or less
• broadleaved in the canopy;
• mixed woodland: 10-90% of either
• broadleaved or conifer in the canopy.

The approximate proportions of the two types should be target noted. If the cover of trees is less than 30% the area should be shown as scattered trees on the appropriate background colour. Where the cover is higher than 30% but there are sizeable open spaces or rides, these should be target noted to describe the ground flora.

Semi-natural woodland : Semi-natural woodland comprises all stands which do not obviously originate from planting. The distribution of species will generally reflect natural variations in the site and its soil. Both ancient and more recent stands are included. Woodland with both semi-natural and planted trees should be classified as semi-natural if the planted trees account for less than 30% of the canopy composition, but as plantation if more than 30% is planted. In cases where it is doubtful whether or not a wood should be classified as semi-natural, target notes giving details of origin and species composition are essential. For details of ancient woodland sites see Kirby et al. (1984). The following should, amongst others, be included in the semi-natural category:- woods with planted standards in semi-natural coppice; mature plantations (more than abut 120 years old) of native species growing on sites where those species are native and where there are semi-natural woodland ground flora and shrub communities; self-sown secondary stands of exotic species (for example sycamore, pine on southern heaths, holm oak on Isle of Wight); alder carr, and willow carr where the willows are more than 5m tall (although Salix cinerea should always be classified as scrub); well-established sweet-chestnut coppice (that is, over 25 years old); woods which have been completely underplanted, but where the planted trees do not yet contribute to the canopy; stands of young trees or coppice regrowth, even when less than 5m.
 

Plantation woodland: All obviously planted woodland of any age should be included in this category, with the exception of those types mentioned previously. Orchards should be mapped by placing green hatching over the OS symbols (which should be added where missing), and target notes made giving tree species and details of any conservation interest. Ornamental tree gardens and arboreta should be included here, and target noted where necessary.

Why are Ancient Semi-Natural Woodlands important?

ASNW is an important part of our natural heritage, as such areas usually contain a diverse array of animal and plant species, many of which are unique to such sites and which also represent the remaining link to the original 'wildwoods', which once covered most of England.Consequently the variety of woodland structure may be diverse and might incorporate pockets of species rich heathland, grassland and marsh within the overall area of woodland.

How is Ancient Semi-Natural Woodland identified?

There are several ways of determining whether a woodland is likely to be ancient and these include the following:

The name - wood", "dingle", "coppice" and "clough" are some of the key names to look out for.

Map features - Irregular boundaries, sites on parish boundaries or along steep slopes and narrow river tributaries are also good indicators that a wood may be ancient.

Plant species - There are a number of plant species that can indicate whether a site may be ASNW. Some plants are better indicators than others and the more there are in any one wood, the more likely it is to be ancient (click here to view list).

Existing information - Current information, such as the English Nature ancient woodland inventory can be used to identify ASNW sites.

What is the extent of Ancient Semi-Natural Woodland in the Cheshire region?

The Cheshire region has only 4% woodland cover, which includes both ancient and secondary woodland (woodland planted after 1600). This figure is less than half the national average for a typical county. Of the woodland that is present, less than 1% comprises of ASNW.Circa 1920 there was 1,789ha of ancient woodland in the Cheshire region, 424ha of this being plantation (NCC 1988). By 1997 there was 1,681ha of ancient woodland in the Cheshire region, 1,263ha being ancient semi-natural woodland. 102ha has been cleared since c1920 (English Nature 1997). Most sites are less than 10ha and 65% are less than 5ha (NCC 1988).

A1 Woodland Description

Woodland is defined as vegetation dominated by trees more than 5m high when mature, forming a distinct, although sometimes open, canopy. Dominant species should be coded and the understory and ground layer target noted. Distinct blocks of woodland, whether broadleaved or coniferous, should be mapped separately wherever possible.The definitions of the main categories are:- broadleaved woodland: 10% or less conifer in the canopy; coniferous woodland: 10% or less broadleaved in the canopy; mixed woodland: 10-90% of either broadleaved or conifer in the canopy. The approximate proportions of the two types should be target noted.
If the cover of trees is less than 30% the area should be shown as scattered trees on the appropriate background colour. Where the cover is higher than 30% but there are sizeable open spaces or rides, these should be target noted to describe the ground flora.
 

• A1.1 Broadleaved woodland Description - Woodland is defined as vegetation dominated by trees more than 5m high when mature, forming a distinct, although sometimes open, canopy. Dominant species should be coded and the understory and ground layer target noted. Distinct blocks of woodland, whether broadleaved or coniferous, should be mapped separately wherever possible.The definitions of the main categories are:- broadleaved woodland: 10% or less conifer in the canopy; coniferous woodland: 10% or less broadleaved in the canopy; mixed woodland: 10-90% of either broadleaved or conifer in the canopy. The approximate proportions of the two types should be target noted.If the cover of trees is less than 30% the area should be shown as scattered trees on the appropriate background colour. Where the cover is higher than 30% but there are sizeable open spaces or rides, these should be target noted to describe the ground flora.

• A1.2 Coniferous woodland Description - Woodland is defined as vegetation dominated by trees more than 5m high when mature, forming a distinct, although sometimes open, canopy. Dominant species should be coded and the understory and ground layer target noted. Distinct blocks of woodland, whether broadleaved or coniferous, should be mapped separately wherever possible. The definitions of the main categories are:- broadleaved woodland: 10% or less conifer in the canopy; coniferous woodland: 10% or less broadleaved in the canopy; mixed woodland: 10-90% of either broadleaved or conifer in the canopy. The approximate proportions of the two types should be target noted.If the cover of trees is less than 30% the area should be shown as scattered trees on the appropriate background colour. Where the cover is higher than 30% but there are sizeable open spaces or rides, these should be target noted to describe the ground flora. 

• A1.3 Mixed woodland Description - Woodland is defined as vegetation dominated by trees more than 5m high when mature, forming a distinct, although sometimes open, canopy. Dominant species should be coded and the understory and ground layer target noted. Distinct blocks of woodland, whether broadleaved or coniferous, should be mapped separately wherever possible.The definitions of the main categories are:- broadleaved woodland: 10% or less conifer in the canopy; coniferous woodland: 10% or less broadleaved in the canopy; mixed woodland: 10-90% of either broadleaved or conifer in the canopy. The approximate proportions of the two types should be target noted. If the cover of trees is less than 30% the area should be shown as scattered trees on the appropriate background colour. Where the cover is higher than 30% but there are sizeable open spaces or rides, these should be target noted to describe the ground flora.
   

A2 Scrub Description

Scrub is seral or climax vegetation dominated by locally native shrubs, usually less than 5m tall, occasionally with a few scattered trees. Dominant species should always be coded. The ground flora under scattered scrub should be coded or target noted.The following should, amongst others, be included in this category:- Ulex europaeus, Cytisus scoparius and Juniperus communis scrub; stands of Rubus fruticosus and Rosa canina montane scrub with Salix lapponum, S. lanata, S. myrsinites, S. arbuscula or S. phylicifolia; stands of mature Crataegus monogyna, Prunus spinosa or Salix cinerea, even if more than 5m tall; all willow carr less than 5m tall; all Salix cinerea carr; stands of Myrica gale more than 1.5m tall.
The following should not be included in this category:- very low Salix herbacea (see heathland, D), Salix repens (see dune slack, H6.4) or Myrica gale (see mire, E); Ulex gallii or Ulex minor (see Heathland D); hedges (see J2); stands of young trees or stump regrowth less than 5m height, where these represent more than 50% of the immature canopy cover; stands of introduced shrub species (see J1.4); scrub on dunes (see H6.7).

A3 Parkland and scattered trees Description

Tree cover must be less than 30% to warrant inclusion in this category. For scattered trees over pasture (as in parkland), or over heath, bog, limestone, pavement, etc., the green dot symbol should be superimposed on the appropriate habitat colour. The density of dots should be varied in proportion to the density of trees. Dominant species should be coded. Exotic trees should be target noted. Lines of trees forming windbreaks or avenues should be marked at a series of dots with the dominant species code.

A4 Recently-felled woodland Description

(* This Phase 1 alphanumeric reference code differs from that used in either the 1984 NCC/RSNC classification or the 1982 SSSI mapping system.) - The only areas of felled trees should be included in this category are those whose future land use is uncertain, for instance when it is not clear whether they are to be replanted or used for crops. The dominant species which have been felled should be coded and the codes placed in parentheses.