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In the United Kingdom, ancient woodland is that which has existed continuously since 1600 in England, Wales and Northern Ireland (or 1750 in Scotland). The practice of planting woodland was uncommon before those dates, so a wood present in 1600 is likely to have developed naturally.
In most ancient woods, the trees and shrubs have been felled periodically as part of the management cycle. Providing that the area has remained as woodland, the stand is still considered ancient. Since it may have been cut over many times in the past, ancient woodland does not necessarily contain trees that are particularly old.
For many animal and plant species, ancient woodland sites provide the sole habitat. Furthermore, for many others, the conditions prevailing on these sites are much more suitable than those on other sites. Ancient woodland in the UK, like rainforest in the tropics, serves as a refuge for rare and endangered species. Consequently, ancient woodlands are frequently described as an irreplaceable resource, or 'critical natural capital'. The analogous term used in the United States, Canada and Australia (for woodlands that do contain very old trees) is "old-growth forest".
Ancient woodland is formally defined on maps by Natural England and equivalent bodies. Mapping of ancient woodland has been undertaken in different ways and at different times, resulting in a variable quality and availability of data across regions, although there are some efforts to standardise and update it.
Ancient woodlands also require special consideration when they are affected by planning applications. The National Planning Policy Framework, published in 2012, represents the British government's policy document pertaining to planning decisions affecting ancient woodlands. The irreplaceable nature of ancient woodlands is elucidated in paragraph 118 of the NPPF, which states: ‘Planning permission should be refused for development resulting in the loss or deterioration of irreplaceable habitats, including ancient woodland and the loss of aged or veteran trees found outside ancient woodland, unless the need for, and benefits of, the development in that location clearly outweigh the loss.’
Ancient semi-natural woodland (ASNW) is composed of native tree species that have not obviously been planted. Many of these woods also exhibit features characteristic of ancient woodland, including the presence of wildlife and structures of archaeological interest.
Planted Ancient Woodland Sites (PAWS) are defined as ancient woodland sites where the native species have been partially or wholly replaced with a non-locally native species (usually but not exclusively conifers). These woodlands typically exhibit a plantation structure, characterized by even-aged crops of one or two species planted for commercial purposes. Many of these ancient woodlands were transformed into conifer plantations as a consequence of felling operations conducted during wartime. While PAWS sites may not possess the same high ecological value as ASNW, they often contain remnants of semi-natural species where shading has been less intense. This allows for the gradual restoration of more semi-natural structures through gradual thinning is often possible. Since the ecological and historical values of ancient woodland were recognized, PAWS restoration has been a priority amongst many woodland owners and governmental and non-governmental agencies. Various grant schemes have also supported this endeavor. Some restored PAWS sites are now practically indistinguishable from ASNW. There is no formal method for reclassifying restored PAWS as ASNW, although some woodland managers now use the acronym RPAWS (Restored Planted Ancient Woodland) for a restored site.
Species which are particularly characteristic of ancient woodland sites are called ancient woodland indicator species, such as bluebells, Allium ursinum, wood anemone, yellow archangel and primula vulgaris for example, representing a type of ecological indicator.G. F. Peterken, "A Method for Assessing Woodland Flora for Conservation Using Indicator Species", Biological Conservation 6 (1974:239-245). '', the wood anemone]] The term is more frequently applied to desiccation-sensitive plant species, and particularly and bryophytes, than to animals. This is due to the slower rate at which they colonise planted woodlands, which makes them more reliable indicators of ancient woodland sites. Sequences of Palynology can also serve as indicators of forest continuity.
Lists of ancient woodland indicator species among were developed by the Nature Conservancy Council (now Natural England) for each region of England, with each list containing the hundred most reliable indicators for that region. The methodology entailed the study of plants from known woodland sites, with an analysis of their occurrence patterns to determine which species were most indicative of sites from before 1600. In England this resulted in the first national Ancient Woodland Inventory, produced in the 1980s.
Although ancient woodland indicator species have been recorded in post-1600 woodlands and also in non-woodland sites such as hedgerows, it is uncommon for a site that is not ancient woodland to host a double-figure indicator species total.There have been instances of AWIs occurring in secondary woodland in mild and moist sites in Ireland at Connemara and in the Killarney Valley: Centre for Earth and Environmental Science Research, Kingston University: Dr Michael Grant and Dr Petra Dark, "Re-evaluating the concept of woodland continuity and change in Epping Forest" More recent methodologies also supplement these field observations and ecological measurements with historical data from maps and local records, which were not fully assessed in the original Nature Conservancy Council surveys.
The ancient woods that were situated within forests were frequently designated as Royal Parks. These were afforded special protection against poachers and other interlopers, and subject to tolls and fines where trackways passed through them or when firewood was permitted to be collected or other licenses granted. The forest law was rigorously enforced by a hierarchy of foresters, parkers and woodwards. In English land law, it was illegal to assart any part of a royal forest. This constituted the gravest form of trespass that could be committed in a forest, being considered more egregious than mere waste. While waste involved the felling of trees, which could be replanted, assarting entailed the complete uprooting of trees within the woodland of the afforested area.
Many ancient woods are listed in the Domesday Book of 1086, as well as in the earlier Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. This is indicative of their significant value to early communities as a source of fuel and, moreover, as a source of food for farm animals. The boundaries are frequently described in terms of features such as large trees, streams or tracks, and even for example.
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