Monks Wood

Monks Wood National Nature Reserve.

Monks Wood is a woodland in Cambridgeshire, England. It was designated a national nature reserve in 1953[1] and is a Site of Special Scientific Interest.[2] It has been described as "one of the best examples of ancient ash-oak woodland in the East Midlands".[3]

A variety of tree and shrub species are found in Monks Wood. It is notable for its rare wild service trees; other species include field maple, aspen, wayfaring tree, European spindle and common dogwood. Its flora is typical of ancient woodland and common bluebell and wood anemone are two of the more common species to be found in the wood; greater butterfly-orchid, violet helleborine and crested cow-wheat are amongst rarer plants found.[3]

More than 1,000 beetle species have been recorded in Monks Wood and the rare black hairstreak butterfly is also seen there. Birds such as Eurasian woodcock, nightingale and tawny owl breed in Monks Wood;[3] its population of marsh tits was the subject of several studies.[4][5]

The Centre for Ecology and Hydrology's (CEH) research station in the wood was officially opened in 1963. Work there ended on 31 December 2008,[6] after the Natural Environment Research Council's decision to restructure, at a cost of £43 million over four years (saving CEH £7 million per year), and close four of its eight sites.[7]

References

  1. ↑ Monks Wood. Retrieved 25 January 2009
  2. ↑ Natural England - SSSIs: Monk's Wood and the Odd Quarter. Retrieved 25 January 2009
  3. 1 2 3 Natural England - Special Sites: Monks Wood NNR. Retrieved 25 January 2009
  4. ↑ Broughton, R. K., Hinsley, S. A., Bellamy, P. E., Hill, R. A. & Rothery, P (2006). Marsh Tit Poecile palustris territories in a British broad-leaved wood. Ibis, 148. 744-752. doi:10.1111/j.1474-919X.2006.00583.x Retrieved 25 January 2009
  5. ↑ Broughton, R. K., Hinsley, S. A. & Bellamy, P. E. (2008). Separation of Marsh Tit Poecile palustris from Willow Tit Poecile montana using a bill criterion. Ringing and Migration 24, 101–103. British Trust for Ornithology. Retrieved 25 January 2009
  6. ↑ Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Monks Wood. Retrieved 25 January 2009
  7. ↑ NERC - Decision on Centre for Ecology & Hydrology. Retrieved 25 January 2009

Coordinates: 52°24′19″N 0°14′12″W / 52.405298°N 0.236715°W / 52.405298; -0.236715

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