Oakhills Coppice

Also within

Dorset County Cranborne Chase & West Wiltshire Downs Scenic Area

Condition (Natural England)

Habitats

Bracken scrub, Coppiced woodland

Geology & landscape

Rock Type: Chalk

Description

Description Oakhills Coppice is the largest remaining area of ancient semi natural woodland within the large complex of woodlands known as Chetterwood. These woods occupy the high ground between the Rivers Tarrant and Allen and have developed on soils formed from drift deposits and clay with flints above the underlying chalk. Oakhills Coppice is important for its communities of epiphytic lichens which are indicative of a long and continuous history as mature woodland. The woodland at Oakhills is predominantly of the pedunculate oak Quercus robur bracken Pteridium aquilinum bramble Rubus fruticosus type typical of acidic soils. Here mature oak high forest has developed over an understorey of hazel Corylus avellana and birch Betula pendula. The ground flora has abundant bracken, bramble, yellow archangel Lamiastrum galeobdolon and bluebell Hyacinthoides non-scripta. In a few areas a more base rich flora is evident with dog's mercury Mercurialis perennis dominant. Oakhills Coppice is a rich lichen site with over 90 species recorded including nine species indicative of woodland with a long history of ecological continuity. Two of these species have restricted distributions in the British Isles, Parmelia reddenda and the rare Pannaria mediterranea. The lichen communities of the mature oaks are a particular feature of the site. Several species indicative of the very restricted Lobarion community occur including P. reddenda, Arthonia vinosa and Pachyphiale cornea. Another rich community, of which Parmelia perlata is a conspicuous component, is characteristic of unshaded oak bark. Mature oaks also support several species of restricted occurrence including Sporodophoron cretaceum and Gyalecta truncigena. Communities on hazel, mature ash Fraxinus excelsior and beech Fagus sylvatica contribute considerably to the species diversity and range of community types. These include the Graphidion community which is well represented forming crustose mosaics on the smooth bark of hazel and beech. The Usneion community is more characteristic of the woodland canopy and includes Usnea articulata, a species restricted to south west England.

Species mentioned

Insects to look out for

These moths, butterflies and beetles are known to feed on plants recorded at this site, and carry a notable UK conservation status — but a host-plant being present doesn't mean the insect has actually been recorded here. Treat this as "worth watching for," not a confirmed sighting.

Host-plant data: Cook et al. (2025), Traits data for the butterflies and macro-moths of Great Britain and Ireland, 2024, UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology / Butterfly Conservation; and Padovani et al. (2020), Database of Insects and their Food Plants (DBIF), UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (both Open Government Licence). Contains data supplied by UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology.

Plant communities