Veterinaising young trees - Pollards with standards

[Treeation]

So wanted to share a little project I have been involved in for 5 years or so now. The scenario is a 6-acre native broadleaf woodland which was planted up around 25 years ago. For the main purposes of habitat creation and to speed up the process of  the making woods a richer, diverse habitat we have been pollarding a proportion of trees each winter.

 

I split the the woods into 12 compartments and pollard roughly 50% of the trees in each compartment/winter. Targetting the trees with inferior timber potential and leaving the better ones to become standards. All arisings are dead hedged to create more deadwood habitat and develop soil quality. Survival rate is around 90% and the 10% dead adds more valuable deadwood.

 

Its been a great playground for practising and experiments an array techniques. This winter we got even more creative than ever creating coronet cut pollards, rip cuts, bored out cavities and partially broken off limbs. One of the lads got to practice his first few coronet cuts which he did a bloody goog job of. Basically, anything that might increase aerial deadwood and habitat is fair game!

Edited February 7, 2018 by Treeation
more photos

[Treeation]

Heres a few photos of the older pollards.

 

PHOTO 1 - ASH POLLARD ABOUT CUT 4 YEARS AGO

PHOTO 2 - THIS IS A PARTIALLY OCCLUDED CHAINSAW BORED CAVITY CUT ABOUT 3 YEARS AGO

PHOTO 3 - ASH WITH FIRST BIT OF DECAY FUNGI ON THE SCENE - KING ALFRED'S CAKES

PHOTO 4 - AN OAK POLLARDED THAT SNUFFED IT, LOOSE BARK -POTENTIAL BAT ROOST?

PHOTO 5 - AN OAK WITH DECAY FUNGI 

PHOTO 6 - RINGBARK POLLARDING - VERY QUICK AND EASY WITH ADDED BENEFITS OF AERIAL DEADWOOD

PHOTO 7 - LOVELY LITTLE BEECH POLLARD

[the village idiot]

Fantastic!

 

Where are you based Treeation?

[Treeation]

2 minutes ago, the village idiot said:

Fantastic!

 

Where are you based Treeation?

Cheers! Stroud Gloucestershire

[the village idiot]

Just now, Treeation said:

Cheers! Stroud Gloucestershire

Ooooh. My uncle and aunt live in Stroud. Would it be at all possible to have a look at what you're doing if I go over for a family visit?

[Treeation]

yeah no worries give us a shout when you are next up!

 

[the village idiot]

3 minutes ago, Treeation said:

yeah no worries give us a shout when you are next up!

 

[sean]

Brilliant and very interesting project. I’m in Bristol and would love to visit if you’d be happy to have me? 

[Puffingbilly413]

If only you'd posted before Christmas - I've just been looking at exactly this for my Level 4 Cert Arb!

 

What a great project to be involved in.  Is there much yet recorded in terms of an increase in biodiversity species-wise?

 

Shame i'm in Scotland or I'd also be after getting a look.

 

Cheers.

[AHPP]

Who's paying for this fannying about?