
Roughly 40% of the Forest area is managed as woodland. Within the area of the Forest which remained after the enclosures associated with the Duchy Decree of 1693, there is no Ancient Woodland as recognised by Natural England. This is not surprising as any woodland not managed for the iron industry would have been ravaged by the Commoners!
However, the 1000 hectares of woodland on the Forest is still valuable and management is carried out to improve its value for ecology, amenity and commerce.