Monks Wood is a National Nature Reserve north-west of

Huntingdon Huntingdon is a market town in the Huntingdonshire district of Cambridgeshire, England. The town was given its town charter by John, King of England, King John in 1205. It was the county town of the historic county of Huntingdonshire. Oliver C ...

Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfor ...

, and a

Nature Conservation Review ''A Nature Conservation Review'' is a two-volume work by Derek Ratcliffe, published by Cambridge University Press in 1977. It set out to identify the most important places for nature conservation in Great Britain. It is often known by the initi ...

site, Grade I. A slightly more extensive area of is the Monks Wood and The Odd Quarter biological

Site of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain, or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland, is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle ...

. The site is described by

Natural England Natural England is a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom sponsored by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. It is responsible for ensuring that England's natural environment, including its land, flora and fauna, ...

as one of Britain's most essential lowland woods. It is mainly of the wet ash-maple type, with a creamy shrub layer that was formerly coppiced. Trees include the rare

wild service tree ''Torminalis'' is a genus of plants in the rose family, Rosaceae. The genus was formerly included within the genus ''Sorbus'' as the section ''Torminaria'', but the simple-leafed species traditionally classified in ''Sorbus'' are now considered ...

, particularly in The Odd Quarter. There is ground flora typical of ancient woodland, together with woodland rides, ponds, streams, and herb-rich grassland. Monks Wood was the site of an experimental biological research station of

The Nature Conservancy The Nature Conservancy (TNC) is a global environmental organization headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, United States. it works via affiliates or branches in 79 countries and territories, as well as across every state in the US. Founded in ...

from 1961 to 2009. The

marsh tit The marsh tit (''Poecile palustris'') is a Eurasian passerine bird in the tit family Paridae and genus ''Poecile'', closely related to the willow tit, Père David's and Songar tits. It is a small bird, around long and weighing , with a black ...

s in the wood have been the subject of several studies. Beginning in 1961, a former barley field next to the station was allowed to naturally regenerate as a

rewilding Rewilding is a form of ecological restoration aimed at increasing biodiversity and restoring natural processes. It differs from other forms of ecological restoration in that rewilding aspires to reduce human influence on ecosystems. It is also d ...

experiment. There is access to Monks Wood from the road, which runs along its southern boundary. The Odd Quarter is private property with no public access.

References

{{SSSIs Cambridgeshire Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Cambridgeshire National nature reserves in England Nature Conservation Review sites Nature conservation in Europe

See also

References