Jon Wyatt Photography - sessile oak forest at Dead Womans Ditch in North Somerset
Sessile Oak Forest, Dead Woman’s Ditch, North Somerset. The county of Somerset has the oldest evidence of coppicing in the UK. This ancient form of woodland management provides sustainable timber and has been carried out since Neolithic times. Over the centuries many species adapted to the increased light on the forest floor which coppicing provides. Since coppicing has ceased in the last 100 years due to decreased demand for timber and charcoal, the forest floor is becoming clogged with undergrowth and many woodland species have died out from loss of habitat.