Monks Wood is a woodland in Cambridgeshire

Cambridgeshire

Cambridgeshire is a county in England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the northeast, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire to the west...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. It was designated a National Nature Reserve

National Nature Reserve

For details of National nature reserves in the United Kingdom see:*National Nature Reserves in England*National Nature Reserves in Northern Ireland*National Nature Reserves in Scotland*National Nature Reserves in Wales...

 in 1953 and is a Site of Special Scientific Interest

Site of Special Scientific Interest

A Site of Special Scientific Interest is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom. SSSIs are the basic building block of site-based nature conservation legislation and most other legal nature/geological conservation designations in Great Britain are based upon...

. It has been described as "one of the best examples of ancient ash-oak woodland in the East Midlands".

A variety of tree and shrub species are found in Monks Wood. It is notable for its rare Wild Service Tree

Wild Service Tree

Sorbus torminalis , sometimes known as the Chequer Tree or Checker Tree, is a species of Sorbus native to Europe from England and Wales east to Denmark and Poland, south to northwest Africa, and southeast to southwest Asia from Asia Minor to the Caucasus and Alborz mountains.It is a medium-sized...

s; other species include Field Maple

Field Maple

Acer campestre, common name Field Maple, is a maple native to much of Europe, north to southern Scotland , Denmark, Poland and Belarus, and also southwest Asia from Turkey to the Caucasus, and north Africa in the Atlas Mountains...

, Aspen

Aspen

Populus section Populus, of the Populus genus, includes the aspen trees and the white poplar Populus alba. The five typical aspens are all native to cold regions with cool summers, in the north of the Northern Hemisphere, extending south at high altitudes in the mountains. The White Poplar, by...

, Wayfaring Tree

Viburnum lantana

Viburnum lantana is a species of Viburnum, native to central, southern and western Europe , northwest Africa, and southwestern Asia. The vigorous deciduous european treelike shrub is common along waysides. It is a deciduous shrub or small tree growing to 4-5 m tall...

, European Spindle

European spindle

Euonymus europaeus, known as spindle, and also as European spindle and common spindle, is a deciduous shrub or small tree in the family Celastraceae. Other names include Fusoria, Fusanum, Ananbeam, Shemshad Rasmi .-Description:...

 and Common Dogwood

Common Dogwood

The Common Dogwood, Cornus sanguinea, is a species of dogwood native to most of Europe and western Asia, occurring north to southern England and southern Scandinavia, and east to the Caspian Sea. It is widely grown as an ornamental plant....

. Its flora is typical of ancient woodland and Common Bluebell

Common Bluebell

Hyacinthoides non-scripta, commonly known as the common bluebell, is a spring-flowering bulbous perennial plant. -Taxonomy:...

 and Wood Anemone

Wood Anemone

Wood anemone is a common name for three closely related species of woodland anemone.In Europe: Anemone nemorosaIn North America: Anemone quinquefoliaThe Yellow wood anemone is Anemone ranunculoides....

 are two of the more common species to be found in the wood; Greater Butterfly-orchid

Platanthera chlorantha

Platanthera chlorantha, commonly known as the Greater Butterfly-orchid, is a species of orchid in the genus Platanthera. It can be found throughout Europe and Morocco. The name Platanthera is derived from Greek, meaning "broad anthers", while the species name, chlorantha, means "greenflowered".The...

, Violet Helleborine and Crested Cow-wheat

Melampyrum

Melampyrum is a genus of about 10-20 species of herbaceous flowering plants in the family Orobanchaceae, native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere...

 are amongst rarer plants found.

More than 1,000 beetle

Beetle

Coleoptera is an order of insects commonly called beetles. The word "coleoptera" is from the Greek , koleos, "sheath"; and , pteron, "wing", thus "sheathed wing". Coleoptera contains more species than any other order, constituting almost 25% of all known life-forms...

 species have been recorded in Monks Wood and the rare Black Hairstreak

Black Hairstreak

The Black Hairstreak is a butterfly in the family Lycaenidae.-Appearance, behaviour and distribution:This small brown butterfly is one of Britain's most localised and rarest. At first glance it is very similar to the White-letter Hairstreak but the Black Hairstreak has a row of orange spots along...

 butterfly is also seen there. Birds such as Eurasian Woodcock

Eurasian Woodcock

The Eurasian Woodcock, Scolopax rusticola, is a medium-small wading bird found in temperate and subarctic Eurasia. It has cryptic camouflage to suit its woodland habitat, with reddish-brown upperparts and buff-coloured underparts...

, Nightingale

Nightingale

The Nightingale , also known as Rufous and Common Nightingale, is a small passerine bird that was formerly classed as a member of the thrush family Turdidae, but is now more generally considered to be an Old World flycatcher, Muscicapidae...

 and Tawny Owl

Tawny Owl

The Tawny Owl or Brown Owl is a stocky, medium-sized owl commonly found in woodlands across much of Eurasia. Its underparts are pale with dark streaks, and the upperparts are either brown or grey. Several of the eleven recognised subspecies have both variants...

 breed in Monks Wood; its population of Marsh Tit

Marsh Tit

The Marsh Tit Poecile palustris is a passerine bird in the tit family Paridae and genus Poecile, closely related to the Willow, Père David's and Songar Tits. It is small with a black crown and nape, pale cheeks, brown back and greyish-brown wings and tail. Between 8 and 11 subspecies are recognised...

s was the subject of several studies.

The Centre for Ecology and Hydrology

Centre for Ecology and Hydrology

The Centre for Ecology & Hydrology is the United Kingdom's Centre of Excellence for integrated research in hydrology, terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems and their interaction with the atmosphere...

's (CEH) research station in the wood was officially opened in 1963. Work there ended on 31 December 2008, after the Natural Environment Research Council

Natural Environment Research Council

The Natural Environment Research Council is a British research council that supports research, training and knowledge transfer activities in the environmental sciences.-History:...

's decision to restructure, at a cost of £43 million over four years (saving CEH £7 million per year), and close four of its eight sites.