Wood Pasture and Parkland

Defining features

• Open grassland or heathland ground vegetation with widely spaced ancient and veteran trees.
• Grazing animals are present; their dung contributes to invertebrate and fungal diversity, and grazing maintains the semi-open structure of the habitat.
• A range of micro-habitats, including hollow trees, rot holes, decaying wood, aging bark, sap runs and fallen but regenerating trees.
• Very long-lived individual trees and a continuity of management that may span several centuries.

Importance for wildlife

Wood pasture and parkland supports an exceptionally wide range of wildlife. The veteran trees are the keystone feature: a single ancient oak in good condition can support over 2,000 invertebrate species, and the specialist communities that depend on progressive wood decay, bark habitats and tree cavities cannot establish themselves except over very long timescales. Saproxylic beetles – species whose larvae develop within decaying wood – are among the most demanding inhabitants, with different species requiring particular forms of decay such as red rot, sap runs and water-filled holes.

Hole-nesting birds benefit from the cavities that develop in old trees, with Woodpeckers, Spotted Flycatcher, tit species and Tree Sparrow all making use of this habitat. Bats roost and breed in crevices and hollows and forage extensively across the open ground and woodland edge; parkland and wood pasture support a greater diversity of bat species than almost any other lowland habitat type. The dung of grazing animals provides a further specialist niche, supporting communities of dung beetles, flies and fungi that have declined steeply with the widespread use of veterinary drugs in livestock.

Important associated species

Species marked * are Suffolk Priority species. Species marked ** are Priority – Research Only: common and widespread, but rapidly declining.

Beetles

Stag Beetle

Birds

Dunnock, Tree Sparrow, Starling, Cuckoo, Hawfinch, Bullfinch, Marsh Tit, Spotted Flycatcher, Turtle Dove, Linnet, Barn Owl *

Flies

Golden Hoverfly

Fungi and Slime Moulds

Bearded Tooth, Coral Tooth, Orange Chanterelle, Oak Polypore

Lichens

Anaptychia ciliaris subsp. ciliaris, Bacidia incompta (mainly on elm), Orange-fruited Elm Lichen, Pyrenula nitida

Mammals

Barbastelle *, Brandt's Bat *, Brown Long-eared Bat, Daubenton's Bat *, Leisler's Bat *, Lesser Horseshoe Bat, Nathusius' Pipistrelle *, Natterer's Bat *, Whiskered Bat *, Common Pipistrelle *, Soprano Pipistrelle, Noctule, Serotine

Moths

Goat Moth, Knot Grass **, Brown-spot Pinion **, Large Nutmeg **, Dusky Brocade **, Oak Lutestring **, September Thorn **, August Thorn **, Dusky Lemon Sallow **

Factors affecting this habitat in Suffolk

• Inappropriate management leading to the loss of structural and age diversity – in particular, over-tidiness, the removal of deadwood, and intensive grazing that damages tree root zones and suppresses flowering plants.
• The use of veterinary drugs in livestock has caused a significant decline in the invertebrates associated with dung.
• Agricultural practices include ploughing too close to trees, drainage, the application of fertilisers and fungicides to the grassland component, and the destruction of heathland ground vegetation.
• Tree diseases, notably Acute Oak Decline, Ash Dieback and Phytophthora infections, which threaten the veteran tree resource.
• Reduction in nectar-producing shrubs such as Hawthorn, which provide food for emerging insects.
• Fragmentation of habitat and isolation from similar sites limit the movement of specialist species between locations.
• Intensification of neighbouring agriculture, increasing pressure on habitat margins.

Habitat management advice

• Create age diversity through enrichment planting using locally sourced trees appropriate to the site.
• Avoid over-tidying: retain standing and fallen deadwood, sap runs, rot holes, red-rot tree hollows, scrub patches, and leaf-litter cover. These features provide breeding and foraging habitat for specialist beetles, flies and fungi.
• Maintain a suitable but not intensive grazing regime – sufficient to control invasive scrub and sustain a dung supply for invertebrates, but light enough to allow flowering plants and shrubs to persist.
• Retain open, sunny, sheltered areas with nectar-producing plants and shrubs to support invertebrates.
• Manage any waterways or ponds on the site to ensure deadwood is retained within and around them.
• Monitor trees for signs of Acute Oak Decline and report suspected cases, including records of the beetle Agrilus biguttatus, to the relevant authorities.
• Note that felling of wood pasture or parkland trees may require approval from the Forestry Commission.

Vision for Suffolk

The following priorities reflect the strategic goals for wood pasture and parkland in Suffolk, drawing on both the Biodiversity Action Plan framework and the Local Nature Recovery Strategy.

1. Improve knowledge of the extent and condition of wood pasture and parkland across the county.
2. Maintain the existing extent of wood pasture and parkland to ensure no net loss.
3. Re-create wood pasture and parkland where opportunities arise, particularly in association with existing veteran tree populations.
4. Encourage the restoration and improvement of degraded sites, prioritising those with the greatest potential for veteran tree development.

Further information

• Buglife – Advice on managing lowland wood pastures and parklands
• Buglife – Notable invertebrates associated with lowland wood pasture (PDF)
• JNCC – Habitat description: Wood Pasture and Parkland (PDF)
• MAGIC – Interactive mapping including designations
• Suffolk Wildlife Trust – Habitats Explorer
• Making Space for Nature – Lawton Review, Defra, 2010 (PDF, historical reference)
• The Natural Choice: Securing the Value of Nature – Natural Environment White Paper, 2011 (PDF, historical reference)