Woodland types : Wet woodlands
by Chris, 29 May, 2015, 3 comments
After the last ice age, the melt water from glaciers and ice sheets created areas of open and wet habitat. It was a ‘fertile time’ for pioneer species such as willow, birch and alder. Nowadays, wet woodland is scattered throughout the U.K. and Ireland, though western areas with greater rainfall are more likely locations. Such woodland is associated with poorly drained or seasonally flooded areas, for example, the flood plains of rivers, or the edges of lakes, bogs and fens. Estimates of the area covered by wet woodland vary – but the Forestry Commission gives a conservative figure of 25 to 35,000 hectares. Much of it is relatively inaccessible and of little economic value. In consequence, it is often subject to drainage and/or clearance. Read more...
