Pishill Woods

Also within

Oxfordshire County Chilterns Scenic Area

Condition (Natural England)

Habitats

Ancient woodland, Coppiced woodland

Geology & landscape

Rock Type: Chalk

Description

Area, 42.15 hectares 104.1 ac Description This site consists of two areas of semi natural ancient woodland which contain a range of stand types typically associated with the Chilterns scarp. The ground flora is rich, with over thirty five species associated with ancient woodlands including several species uncommon in the Chilterns. The structure of the two areas reflects contrasting traditional management practices and provides a range of important habitats for invertebrates. The site occupies the north and south facing slopes of a dry valley in the Upper Chalk, with local deposits of clay with flints over the chalk. The soils derived from these geological formations are characterised on well drained silty and clay soils of the Andover 1 and Batcombe associations, thus giving a mixture of calcareous and acidic conditions across the site. Pishill Bank, which is north facing, is dominated by beech and pedunculate oak coppice, providing a good example of this now relict stand type in the Chilterns. The top of the Bank, where soils are more acidic, is dominated by oak in association with silver birch, hazel, honeysuckle, ling Calluna vulgaris, wavy hair grass Deschampsia flexuosa and hairy wood rush Luzula pilosa. Coppiced beech becomes more common downslope with whitebeam, cherry and crab apple. The deepersoils at the foot of the slope support beech, hazel and field maple coppice together with yew, holly, hawthorn and guelderrose. These shelter a rich ground flora including the locally uncommon wood barley Hordelymus europaeus, goldilocks Ranunculus auricomus and early purple orchid Orchis mascula. In contrast the south facing slopes of Shambridge Wood contain beech dominated woodland which has been managedas high forest. Small quantities of pedunculate oak, ash, cherry, whitebeam, yew and wych elm are associated with the beech. More open areas of younger vegetation and mixed woodland have a rich ground flora. Among the more local Chiltern plants are thin spiked wood sedge Carex strigosa, pale St John's wort Hypericum montanum, herb paris Paris quadrifolia, ramsons Allium ursinum and the shrub mezereon Daphne mezereum as well as over thirty plants strongly associated with ancient woodlands. The invertebrate fauna, although poorly known, is typical of a diverse semi natural woodland in the Chilterns. The importance of the dead wood habitats of the site are underlined by the presence of several species associated with such habitats including the longhorn beetle Rutpela maculata, the woodland hoverflies Xylota sylvarum and Cheilosia variabilis and the nationally uncommon hoverfly Volucella inflata.

Species mentioned