Monks Wood Re-Wilding Experiment

The purpose of the Monks Wood Re-Wilding Experiment is to study natural processes of plant succession and colonisation that regenerate woodland from former farmland. Since 1961 fields of arable farmland and grassland, next to an ancient woodland, have been taken out of farming production and allowed to return to woodland by natural succession with no management or chemical inputs. The whole process of plant succession has been scientifically monitored for 60+ years. With the growing interest in rewilding, and government policy to expand woodland cover in Britain, the results of the Monks Wood Re-Wilding Experiment provide valuable information for the timescales, patterns and processes of natural woodland regeneration on former farmland.
Category
Field research platforms
Capabilities
UKCEH controls the Re-Wilding site on former farmland adjacent to the ancient woodland of Monks Wood National Nature Reserve. In 2021 the experimental plots (1.5-4 ha each) are currently at 25, 35 and 60 years since rewilding started, providing an ideal chronosequence to study woodland regeneration. We are also able to study the balance over time between colonisation from the adjacent woodland seed source and inhibition of woodland regeneration by grazing herbivores. The study plots have been regularly surveyed at 1m resolution using ground-based fieldwork and remote sensing (LiDAR, drone) to map vegetation changes over time. Environmental process measurements include biodiversity and carbon capture potential (estimated by analysing carbon in the standing stock of trees, shrubs and soil). The re-wilding study plots can be compared with: adjacent ancient woodland; grassland; arable farmland; and potentially we have access to woodland colonisation sites in Suffolk & Yorkshire with different trajectories. https://assist.ceh.ac.uk/monks-wood-rewilding
Lifecycle
Monks Wood Re-Wilding commenced in the 1960s. NERC ownership of the site by NERC, with a long-term lease to UKCEH, means the study has no fixed end date.
Uniqueness
The Monks Wood Re-wilding chronosequence is globally unique.
Partners
UKCEH's partner for the Re-wilding Experiment is Natural England.
Access
The Monks Wood Re-Wilding Experiment may be available for use by other research organisations, usually in collaboration with UKCEH: initial enquiries via Richard Pywell, UKCEH Wallingford. Users can access the data via the UKCEH Environmental Information Data Centre (EIDC).
Location
The Re-Wilding study site is adjacent to Monks Wood National Nature Reserve, Cambridgeshire, eastern England.
Funding sources
The Re-Wilding Experiment is primarily funded through the UKRI-NERC National Capability (LTSM): ASSIST programme.
Users
Users of the Re-Wilding Experiment include: UKCEH researchers and PhD students; other UK and international researchers; Defra policy.
Scale
Area, city, farm, habitat
Map
Contact
Rich Broughton
UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology