Great Crabbles Wood

Also within

Kent County

Condition (Natural England)

Habitats

Bracken scrub, Coppiced woodland

Geology & landscape

Rock Type: Chalk

Description

Area, 32.9 ha. 81.4 ac. Description This site is representative of woods on North West Kent Tertiary sediments; these comprise a succession of strata over Upper Chalk ranging from Blackheath gravels to Woolwich loams and Thanet sands, which give rise to a range of soil types. Most of the woodland is mixed coppice under oak standards, with sweet chestnut as the dominant species. A number of scarce plants occur, including lady orchid Orchis purpurea and man orchid Orchis anthorpophora. Acidic Blackheath gravels form a ridge in the northern part of the wood; this slopes away gradually to the south east, with neutral Woolwich loams on the upper slope and calcareous Thanet sands underlying the southern half of the wood. Chalk outcrops in the south east corner. The succession of soils is reflected in the species composition of the tree canopy, shrub layer and ground flora. Dry, open oak birch woodland with a ground flora of bracken and bramble on the Blackheath gravels merges with sweet chestnut coppice under oak standards on the damper Woolwich loams. The oak standards are chiefly pedunculate oak, although sessile oak also occurs, especially on the ridge. Other coppice species present include hornbeam, ash, field maple and hazel and the ground flora is dominated by dog's mercury Mercurialis perennis and bramble. The woodland on the calcareous Thanet sands is similar to that on the loams, but the scarce plant bird's foot Ornithopus perpusillus has also been recorded. A strip of woodland along the southern boundary is dominated by hazel and ash coppice, with some field maple, sweet chestnut and hornbeam coppice under pedunculate oak standards. The shrub layer is varied and includes spindle, wayfaring tree and traveller's joy, which are all characteristic of the calcareous soils. The diverse ground flora is dominated by dog's mercury with ivy Hedera helix and several scarce species are present. These include lady orchid, man orchid, white hellebor Cephalanthera damasonium, bird's nest orchid Neottia nidus-avis, wild liquorice Astragalus glycyphyllos and spurge laurel Daphne laureola.

Species mentioned

Plant communities