Diversity in the Forest and woodlarks
Modern pine forests such as Thetford Forest Park are sometimes accused of being sterile areas with little biodiversity - rows and blocks of trees of the same species and same age. But there is another side to the story. The forest is a patchwork of different stages of growth - with open restocked compartments, wide open forest rides, belts of deciduous trees. For example, during a national survey in 1997, it was found that 30% of the British woodlark population nested in these open areas in Thetford Forest, and that the national population had been increasing since clear-felling had been introduced there.
