The history and status of the woodlands of the Derbyshire limestone.

The status of the ashwoods of the limestone dales of Derbyshire and Staffordshire, first described by Moss (1913), has been uncertain until recently when Pigott (1969), in a paper principally concerned with the occurrence of Tilia there, presented evidence for believing them to be secondary and modern. The implications of his views are discussed here in a more detailed consideration of the ashwoods themselves within the historical context which a modern origin implies, the aim being to view the recent development of the woodland in the light of the socio-economic changes which have affected land-use during the past 200 years. An attempt is made to distinguish those factors which, by affecting local vegetational development, have determined the existing woodland pattern within the limits set by the physical environment and, in particular, the topography and soils. Previous workers have usually focused attention on the dale woodlands, as indeed attention is also focused here, but the whole of the limestone plateau must have originally been wooded. The nature and history of those woodlands, now totally disappeared, will be considered in a subsequent paper.