The NVC Garden

1. Aim
The aim is to help students (and other visitors to the garden) to identify key species that indicate several different woodland communities, based on the National Vegetation Classification (NVC).

These beds demonstrate NVC communities W8,W9, W10, W11, W16 and W17, together with wetland and ancient woodland indicators. Higher plants and fern species of the field layer are included, and representative shrubs (so far as space allows), but not the larger tree species.

2. The National Vegetation Classification System
The National Vegetation Classification (NVC) provides a framework for understanding the diversity of ecological communities within British vegetation. It was developed in the 1970s, based on systematic recording of stands of vegetation that were relatively homogenous in composition and structure. Altogether 263 main vegetation communities are now recognised within the system (ranging from maritime, through grasslands, heaths and forests, up to montane) of which 25 are types of woodland or scrub. There are also sub-communities within many of these communities, though these sub-communities have not been distinguished as separate entities in this Woodland Garden.

3. NVC Woodland Communities represented

a) an overview

These woodland communities were selected to represent a range of soil types from base rich (W8 and W9) through low base status (W10 and W11) to acid soils (W16 and W17), together with climatic zones from the warmer southerly (W8, W10, W16) to contrast with cooler northerly regions (W9, W11, W17).

W8 Fraxinus excelsior – Acer campestre – Mercurialis perennis woodland.
Soil type: rendzinas and brown calcareous earth. Climatic type: warm and dry South-Eastern lowland zone.

W9 Fraxinus excelsior – Sorbus aucuparia – Mercurialis perennis woodland.
Soil type: rendzinas and brown calcareous earth. Climatic type: cool and wet North-Western sub-montane zone.

W10 Quercus robur – Pteridium aquilinum – Rubus fruticosus woodland.
Soil type: brown earths of low base status. Climatic type: warm and dry South-Eastern lowland zone.

W11 Quercus petraea – Betula pubescens – Oxalis acetosella woodland.
Soil type: brown earths of low base status. Climatic type: cool and wet North-Western sub-montane zone.

W16 Quercus spp. – Betula spp. – Deschampsia flexuosa woodland.
Soil type: rankers, brown podzolic soils and podzols. Climatic type: warm and dry South-Eastern lowland zone.

W17 Quercus petraea – Betula pubescens – Dicranum majus woodland.
Soil type: rankers, brown podzolic soils and podzols. Climatic type: cool and wet North-Western sub-montane zone.

Ancient woodlands
Ancient woodland is defined as one that has been under continuous woodland cover for at least 400 years.

b) Species composition typical of each woodland community, apart from major tree species

It should be stressed that the presence or absence of any particular species does not necessarily define a woodland community. Further, to quote Rodwell (1991), “What defines a community as unique (is) rarely just the plants used to name it, but the particular combination of frequency and abundance values for all the species found in the samples”. In other words the lists of species given below must be used with caution: one bluebell does not necessarily indicate an ancient woodland site, but the combination of several species present may possibly do so.

Please note these woodland indicator beds do not include all the species listed, and some species present in the beds do not appear on the list.

W8 Fraxinus excelsior – Acer campestre – Mercurialis perennis woodland

General comments: F. excelsior dominant, with occasional Quercus and other large tree spp. A. campestre and Corylus avellana frequent in understory with occasional Euonymus europaeus. Field layer strongly vernal with Mercurialis perennis, Hyacinthoides non-scripta, Anemone nemorosa or Allium ursinum. Ferns and bryophytes often sparse.

Shrub/small tree layer:

Field layer:

W9 Fraxinus excelsior – Sorbus aucuparia – Mercurialis perennis woodland.

General comments: F. excelsior, S. aucuparia, and Betula pubescens frequent, with occasional other tree spp. Field layer with frequent Oxalis acetosella, Viola riviniana and Athyrium filix-femina.

Shrub/small tree layer:

Field layer:

W10 Quercus robur – Pteridium aquilinum – Rubus fruticosus woodland.

General comments: Q. robur dominant, with frequent Betula pendula and other tree spp. Corylus avellana and Crataegus monogyna the most frequent shrubs. Field layer dominated by diverse mixtures of Rubus fruticosus, Pteridium aquilinum, and Lonicera peryclymenum. Hyacinthoides non-scripta dominant in field layer.

Shrub/small tree layer:

Field layer:

W11 Quercus petraea – Betula pubescens – Oxalis acetosella woodland.

General comments: Q. petraea often co-dominant with B. pubescens, and Corylus avellana frequent. Field layer with frequent Hyacinthoides non-scripta, often with underscrub of Rubus fruticosus, Lonicera periclymenum, Dryopteris dilatata and D. affinis.

Shrub/small tree layer:

Field layer:

W16 Quercus spp. – Betula spp. – Deschampsia flexuosa woodland.

General comments: Q. petraea and/or Q. robur, B. pendula and/or B. pubescens dominant, with Sorbus aucuparia occasional to frequent. Deschampsia flexuosa and Pteridium aquilinum frequent in field layer.

Shrub/small tree layer:

Field layer:

W17 Quercus petraea – Betula pubescens – Dicranum majus woodland

General comments: Q. petraea and/or B. pubescens dominant, with Sorbus aucuparia, Corylus avellana and Ilex aquifolium the most frequent associates. Field layer sometimes sparse, but with Deschampsia flexuosa constant, and Pteridium aquilinum, Vaccinium myrtillus and Oxalis acetosella frequent.

Shrub/small tree layer:

Field layer:

Wetland areas of woodland

Shrub/small tree layer:

Field layer:

Angelica sylvestris	angelica	llysiau’r angel
Athyrium filix-femina	lady fern	rhedynen fair
Calamagrostis epigejos	wood small reed	corsen fach y coed
Caltha palustris	marsh marigold	gold y gors
Carex acutiformis	lesser pond-sedge	hesgen y-dwr fach
Carex elata	tufted-sedge	hesgen duswog
Carex paniculata	greater tussock-sedge	hesgen rafunog fawr
Chrysosplenium oppositifolium	opposite-leaved golden saxifrage	eglyn cyferbynddail
Cirsium palustre	marsh thistle	ysgallen y gors
Eupatorium cannabinum	hemp agrimony	byddon chwerw
Filipendula ulmaria	meadowsweet	erwain
Geum rivale	water avens	mapgoll glan y dwr
Iris pseudacorus	yellow flag iris	gellesgen
Lycopus europaeus	gypsywort	llysiau’r sipsiwn
Lysimachia vulgaris	yellow loosestrife	trewyn
Lythrum salicaria	purple loosestrife	llysiau’r milwr coch
Succisa pratensis	devil’s bit scabious	tamaid y cythraul
Thelypteris palustris	marsh fern	redynen y gors
Valeriana officinalis	common valerian	triaglog

Ancient woodland species

General comments: Species indicating ancient woodland vary with soil type and climatic zones; several of those included below are limited in their geographic distribution. (also please see last sentence on p.2)

Shrub/small tree layer:

Field layer:

Allium ursinum	wild garlic	craf y geifr
Anemone nemorosa	wood anemone	blodyn y gwynt
Convallaria majalis	lily of the valley	lili’r dyffrynoedd
Dryopteris aemula	hay-scented buckler fern	marchredynen bêr
Galium odoratum	woodruff	briwydd bêr
Hyacinthoides non-scripta	bluebell	clychau’r gog
Luzula sylvatica	great woodrush	coedfrwynen fawr
Maianthemum bifolium	may lily	lili mai
Melampyrum pratense	common cowwheat	coedfrwynen flewog
Orchis mascula	early purple orchid	tegeirian coch y gwanwyn
Oxalis acetosella	wood sorrel	uran-y-coed
Paris quadrifolia	herb Paris	cwlwm cariad
Polygonatum multiflorum	Solomon’s seal	llysiau’r Solomon
Primula elatior	oxlip	briallen-fair ddi-sawy
Sanicula europaea	wood sanicle	clust y arth

1. Rodwell, J.S. (Ed.) (1991. British Plant Communities. Volume 1. Woodlands and Scrub. Cambridge University Press.

2. These Welsh names are the standard names as given in the reference book “Planhigion Blodeuol, Conwydd a Rhedyn”  published by Cymdeithas Edward Llwyd (2003). ISBN 0 952 22641 3.