Monks Wood is a National Nature Reserve north-west of

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

Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a county in the East of England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire to the ...

, 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 initial ...

site, Grade I. A slightly more extensive area of is the Monks Wood and The Odd Quarter biological Site of Special Scientific Interest. 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 ''Sorbus torminalis'', with common names wild service tree, chequers, and checker tree, is a species of tree in the mountain ash or rowan genus (''Sorbus'') of the rose family (Rosaceae), that is native to Europe, parts of northern Africa and we ...

, 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. it works via affiliates or branches in 79 countries and territories, as well as across every state in the US. Founded in 1951, The Nat ...

from 1961 to 2009. The marsh tits 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 may refer to: *Rewilding (conservation biology), the return of habitats to a natural state **Rewilding Europe Rewilding Europe is a non-profit organisation based in Nijmegen, Netherlands, working to create rewilded landscapes through ...

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