Discover Pamber Forest MARK EMERY
Located just six miles from busy Basingstoke lies a very special ancient woodland. With a unique mix of soil type and 300-year-old oak trees, Pamber Forest Nature Reserve contains an astonishing array of flora and fauna.
MARGARET HOLLAND
Pamber Forest Nature Reserve has a rich history. As a part of the Forest of Windsor, it was a playground for the royals’ favourite pastime of deerstalking. Traditional management practices, such as coppicing, have also heavily influenced the landscape of this ancient woodland. Coppicing is a traditional form of woodland management, which was
Purple emperor 8
originally conceived to create a variety of small woodland products. These were typically used for hurdle making (moveable wooden fence panels used to section off areas for grazing animals) and thatching spas (for thatching roofs). Pamber Forest was particularly known for producing high quality materials. The raw product was sent up to the potteries in Stoke via canals, where it was made into crates, which were then used to safely export pottery around the world. With the onset of the industrial revolution, the need for these materials decreased and so coppicing also declined - the last commercial coppicing took place at Pamber in 1963. This led to a huge loss of wildlife, as many species had adapted to thrive in this form of woodland management. Notably several woodland butterfly species, which prefer open space, declined in numbers. In 1991, Graham Dennis became reserves officer for Pamber and instigated a coppice restoration project, as the
Forest had become very shady. The initial work involved felling a lot of the oak trees to create the open canopy. This work was done in conjunction with Englefield Estate, who own the Forest. We have carried on this cyclical cutting of the coppice ever since. Pamber’s rotation of coppicing now takes place on a ten to 12-year cycle. Every winter, volunteer groups meet every week, completing around 2ha of coppice between September and the end of March. So, if you visit during autumn and winter you can expect to see these coppiced log heaps in the stream valley areas of the reserve.
Connectivity Pamber Forest also features an open ride system. This involves creating open connected spaces so that wildlife can travel from one coppiced area to another. Each year, ride edge coppicing, which involves mowing the edges, takes place. This encourages wildflowers to grow along the edges of the open sunny rides, which in turn provides vital nectar and food sources for a variety of species such as caterpillars.
“Invertebrates fly along open rides without the need to fly through shade or attempt to go over the top.”
Wild Life | Winter 2023
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