Apart from these rare and notable species, the Forest provides a home to thousands of other species
of animal and plant. Table 2 (below) lists the numbers of species recorded in the Forest from each
group. In a few cases some records have been included from just outside the Forest sensu stricto; these
are indicated by (E.F. area).
Table 2.
FAUNA
Annelida
Oligochaeta 11
Hirudinea 7
Mollusca 47
Crustacea
Entomostraca 114
Isopoda 8
'Myriapods'
Diplopoda 7
Chilopoda 5
Insecta
Collembola 20
Orthoptera 12
Odonata 33 (22 recent)
Hemiptera 227
Lepidoptera 9S9 (525 recent) *
Coleoptera 1337
Hymenoptera
Aculeata 105
Diptera c.890
Arachnida
Araneae 231
Opiliones 14
Pseudoscorpiones 8
Vertebrata
Pisces 16
Amphibia and Reptilia 12 (inc. 3 introductions)
Aves c. 200 (E.F. area)
Mammalia 38 (24 recent)
FLORA
Fungi (inc. Mycetozoa) 1192
Lichens (Corticolous species) 145 (41 recent)
Bryophyta c. 225 (E.F. area)
Higher Plants c. 650 (inc. introductions)
(Ferns, Conifers and Flowering Plants)
* see Emmet (1979)
Management
In previous chapters I have outlined how variations in the Forest's management have affected its
wildlife. Ranson (1978) gives a detailed account of past management decisions and an assessment of
their impact on wildlife.
The main factors involved have been the cessation of pollarding creating a dense interlocking canopy
of branches, which allows little light to reach the Forest floor, and the decline in grazing pressure
which has allowed scrub and coarse grasses to invade the heaths and grasslands, particularly in the
northern part of the Forest. Associated with these factors have been excessive thinning of old pollard
trees and drainage of some of the Forest's marshy areas. In 1878 the Conservators inherited a system
of land management that had existed since at least the medieval period and probably had its origins
in pre-Conquest times. For centuries the Forest had been managed to produce wood and meat by
people who relied upon it for their survival. It is probable that many hundreds of individuals were
involved in managing the Forest by depasturing animals and cutting wood at any one time. The amount
of wood cut or stock grazed varied greatly between the various manors and also varied in time. The
number of grazing animals on the Forest was never constant, varying year by year.
As a result, a mosaic of habitats was maintained, pollard woodland, wet heath, grass-heath, bog,
neutral grassland and aquatic habitats among them. All were intimately connected and, due to the
management, all were kept in balance, no one habitat gaining the upper hand. In periods of more
intense grazing pressure there would have been little regeneration; at other times of more relaxed
grazing pressure trees could establish themselves. At all times the long-lived pollard trees provided a
stable woodland habitat. Additionally the Forest's habitats were connected to others outside the
180