It's always interesting to visit woods and see what others are doing. Last week we joined a group of woodland owners, professionals, volunteers and assorted dogs, for an Ancient Woodland Restoration Workshop run by the Woodland Trust. A lovely day for it too - dry, mild and sunny.
We started off at the Roebuck Inn in Laughton Village for presentations which included Restoration at Vert Woods; Deer Control; Woodland Grants; Wood Fuel Options; and Woodland Archaeology. Some of the people present were new woodland owners, keen to learn as much as possible about how to manage their woods; but we, as 6 1/2 year woodland 'veterans' were encouraged that we were already familiar with much of what we heard, and that overall we were going along the right tracks in our ongoing restoration of Old Copse.
After an excellent lunch at the Inn we set off for nearby Lower Vert Wood which is within the larger area of Laughton Woods in East Sussex. Lower Vert Wood is around 70 hectares (172 acres) of PAWS (Plantation on an Ancient Woodland Site), plus another 20 - 30 hectares of other woodland, with patches of heathland and other habitat. The wood is completely flat, unlike Old Copse, though the soil and vegetation is similar. There are about 15 owners with plots of varying sizes. In addition in the adjacent Upper Vert Wood there is a large, newly acquired 'community' woodland which has the overall aim of increasing bio-diversity, and where courses, volunteer work days and other activities will take place .
Coppice Protection using a barrier of very prickly gorse
What the day reminded us, both in the presentations and talking with others there, was that there is really no single answer to how specific restoration problems should be understood and managed. It's more that there are a set of principles and some tactics for applying them. For example, the bracken problem. This was touched upon during our tour of Lower Vert Wood.where some thinned areas are infested with bracken and we discussed how bracken rushes in as soon as the dense woodland becomes lighter. At Old Copse, while our aim is to maintain continuous cover, we are reaching the end of a 30% thin of the un-managed Scots Pine plantation, and perhaps we will have let too much light in at once. Arguably it would have been preferable if thinning had been done very gradually every few years since it was planted in 1956 but we are dealing with woodland neglected for 60 years, and slightly more drastic action was needed. So, yes, more light will be let in , which we want, but it will also mean that there will be more bracken, and increased bracken means a lower chance of natural re-generation:
Extracts from the Woodland Trust's 'The conservation and restoration of plantation on ancient woodland sites. A guide for woodland owners and managers':
We should be aiming for 'moderate shade' which approximates to favourable conditions for remnant woodland species (mimicking those found in the pre-plantation ancient woodland)'
While avoiding/remedying 'prolonged heavy shade' which can eventually be beyond the tolerance of even the most resilient woodland species.
So, there we have a bit of a quandary. Opening up the canopy = an inrush of unwelcome vegetation which will threaten the survival of vulnerable woodland species, and also of regenerating and newly planted trees. Quite a balancing act is called for. We are formulating a plan that is based on the following: Firstly, try to increase light levels gradually, and avoid any clear felling. Do a certain amount of replanting in the opened up areas , while also protecting any natural re-generation - both from deer, and rampant bracken and bramble encroachment. This coarse vegetation possibly has some use in offering limited protection to new planting, but must be prevented from swamping it. The hope is that the growing trees will cast increasing shade on the bramble and bracken, eventually reducing its impact on the woodland. Well, we'll just have to wait and see.
Of course, the elephant in the room, or rather, the deer in the wood, is even more of a concern. Unless we can control these, Old Copse's prospects look quite bleak. We are hoping to make more progress on the deer front this winter, but realistically we think it will take several years more to obtain a balance whereby we still have some deer in the wood, but not so many that the understory will never get going and emerging trees are destroyed.
There is no co-ordinated single Forestry Commission management plan for the multiple owners of Lower Vert Wood, or presumably the rest of Laughton Woods, but the Woodland Trust hopes to be able to put together an overall 'vision' for the landscape which includes the wider area of Laughton Woods together with Lower Vert Wood which forms a part of it. This sounds like a tall order. One of the owners told me that some of the others have no particular plans for their piece of woodland, and/or their woodland is just not a priority , while others do have plans for continuing improvement. This can be difficult when you have an 'improver/restorer right next door to a more laissez faire owner, who might for example, let their boundary trees grow over and shade 'their' side of a shared Ride/path. However, this sort of 'mixed' management was seen by the owner I talked to as a plus in that it all adds to the 'diversity' of this large area. I'm not sure about this. I think it has to be better to try and see the whole picture and plan accordingly, rather than managing bits of it on an ad hoc basis. Though I could well be wrong. As I said, there seems to be no one answer when it comes to PAWS restoration.
Still, these are very attractive woods, with a great deal of potential . Occasionally plots come up for sale, such as the one described below advertised on 'Woodlots' in October.
15 acres mixed woodland for sale - East Sussex.
Lovely plot of 15 acres of woodland for sale. Sits within much larger Upper and Lower Vert Woods, North-east of Lewes. Mixed species: oak, chestnut, birch, pine and hornbeam. Lovely spot and good access via two gates and protected track. Guide Price £75k.
http://www.woodnet.org.uk/woodlots/jobs-and-opportunities
A roundhouse being built from local materials
Sometimes it's better to leave a favourite tree standing even if it's an overstood hornbeam pollard.
even if he did have to stay on his lead.
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