About Alice Holt Forest

 

Location

The Forest Research Alice Holt Research Station is located in the centre of the Forest (National Grid reference SU 813427). The Forest of some 850 hectares straddles the Hampshire/Surrey county boundary.

Maps and directions

Situation, relief and drainage

Alice Holt Forest lies at the north western corner of the Weald where the bounding rim of Chalk swings round from a south-north trending outcrop to the west-east alignment of the Hog’s Back anticline. A subsidiary more gentle fold to the south of this anticline raises the Gault Clay to form high ground some 100 – 125 m OD. River terrace gravels have protected this clay from erosion during the Quaternary, so that it forms the main physiographic feature of the locality. The River Wey runs in a wide valley just outside the northern boundary of the forest, flowing north-east towards Farnham. Around the edge of the plateau, the ground falls steeply to north and west south west with convex slopes around 7 – 11 degrees. Stream incision has caused local minor landslips where slopes are12 – 18 degrees.

Climate

The climate is characteristic of south-east England, with an annual temperature range and a rainfall typical of inland south-central Britain. Monthly averages of maximum, minimum and mean air temperature show an annual range of 16.7, 12.2 and 14.3 degrees C respectively. Mean annual rainfall (1961-1990) is 779 mm with a distinct July minimum, although February can be the driest month.

Geology and soils

The bulk of the Forest is underlain by Gault Clay (Cretaceous) but two detached compartments to the west include the escarpment of the Cretaceous Upper Greensand, and the Research nursery at Headley is on Lower Greensand. Gravel deposits, mapped by the British Geological Survey as Plateau or High-Level Terrace Gravels mantle the high ground. Low-Level Terrace Gravels occur at lower elevations in parts of the Forest. Alluvium occurs along streams draining the Forest.

The soil types represented across Alice Holt forest include brown soils, podzolic soil soils, surface-water gley soils and groundwater gley soils according to the Soil Survey of England and Wales classification of major soil groups. According to the FAO/UNESCO scheme, Major Groups of Fluvisols, Gleysls, Cambisols, Luvisols, Podzols and Planosols are represented.

Map showing soil cover at Alice Holt Research Forest

Tree species

The range of conifer species represented across Alice Holt forest is shown in the table below, although for broadleaf species, the list is restricted to oak and mixed broadleaves. The value of Alice Holt to research into broadleaf woodland is the large old-growth component (~200 years old), complemented by a range of younger stands planted between 1930 and 1995.

Map showing vegetation cover at Alice Holt Research Forest

Species represented in Alice Holt forest in 2002. Based on records held in the sub-compartment data-base. Where cover is less than 1 ha for individual species (hornbeam, wild cherry, Norway maple, sycamore, poplar, grand fir, Sitka spruce), these are accounted for as mixed/others.

		Scientific name	Area (ha)
Broadleaf	Oak	Quercus robur, Q. petraea	286
	Beech	Fagus sylvatica	14
	Birch	Betula pendula	15
	Ash	Fraxinus excelsior	6
	Sweet chestnut	Castanea sativa	3
	Mixed/others		68
	Total broadleaved		391
Conifer	Corsican pine	Pinus nigra var. maritima	184
	Scots pine	Pinus sylvestris	51
	Norway spruce	Picea abies	28
	Western hemlock	Tsuga heterophylla	38
	Larch	Larix spp.	26
	Douglas fir	Peudotsuga menziesii	11
	Cypress	Cupressus spp.	8
	Western Red cedar	Thuja plicata	7
	Mixed/others		24
	Total conifer		376
Total			767

History of Alice Holt Forest

Alice Holt Forest probably originated in the Altlantic Period (5500 B.C. – 2600 B.C.) with pedunculate oak emerging as the main tree species.

Man has dwelt in the forest precincts from Lower Palaeolithic times. The Gault Clay of the Forest, and the oak woods upon them were used by the Romans for the making of pottery. During the Anglo Saxon period, the forest was stated owned, but in Saxon times, some of the woodland was felled, resulting in remaining woodland becoming santuary for deer and other wildlife. Gradually, these became favoured for game and were acquired by powerful individuals. However, after the Norman conquest, the remaining forest area reverted to the Crown, but was valued as a Royal hunting ground or " chase". Alice Holt and nearby Woolmer forests are relics of the original royal chase forests. The others in Hampshire being the New Forest and Bere Forest.

History records considerable exploitation of oak timber in the 18^th Century to support the British navy. The Forest was enclosed in 1812 and replanting took place. Conifers were introduced to the Forest in the latter part of the 19^th Century, and the proportion of conifers increased during the 20^th Century. Alice Holt Forest was acquired by the Forestry Commission in 1924, and a Research Station set up there in 1946