An Idiot's guide to Ancient Woodland management

[the village idiot]

1 hour ago, Woodsman1967 said:

Wow that's a pretty serious bit of kit , those rides should look fantastic ☺️. I'm guessing there wasn't much in the way of wildflower on the old ride edges ?

 

How long ago was this done ?

Yup, the ride edges were very wildflower poor after years of darkness. We had a bit of Bugle and Primrose but that was about it.

 

Hopefully the mulching will provide a good tilth for interesting species to get established. We'll probably get some nettle growth initially because of the enrichment from the wood chip, but they should wane over time with the mowing regime. Some nettle is no bad thing anyway.

 

We may well need to find a way of removing the cuttings from the future mowings to prevent further enrichment. I picture a volunteer army and lots of rakes!

 

Timing was a difficult decision with the mulching operation. We went with summer in the end. The ground was nice and firm, and the amphibians would be safe in the ponds. We weren't mulching bird nesting sites as the vast majority of the ride edges were very open and un-vegetated straight after the felling work.

 

The mulching was done in the Summer of this year, so next year will be the first full growing season. We should get some idea of the sort of species mix that will develop over time. We have noticed a lot more Bats flying up and down the rides since they have been opened up and the Buzzards absolutely love the extra space to hunt.

[The avantgardener]

The other RSPB site near me at Broadwater Warren used similar sized mulchers as part of the heathland restoration project, starting in 2007.

I am used to seeing large clearfell sites but this was on a grand scale, and frankly alarming, it looked like someone had nuked the place!

I was back there earlier this year and the recovery was remarkable along with the list of  rare and endangered wildlife that had returned.

I think your ride edges will look fantastic in just a few years.

[the village idiot]

12 minutes ago, The avantgardener said:

The other RSPB site near me at Broadwater Warren used similar sized mulchers as part of the heathland restoration project, starting in 2007.

I am used to seeing large clearfell sites but this was on a grand scale, and frankly alarming, it looked like someone had nuked the place!

I was back there earlier this year and the recovery was remarkable along with the list of  rare and endangered wildlife that had returned.

I think your ride edges will look fantastic in just a few years.

Thanks avantgardener, that is very reassuring, and I like your optimism.

 

Despite only mulching 5% of the total Woodland area, and only penetrating the leaf litter, it still felt like a huge decision and our boldest move to date.

 

Always in the back of our minds is the thought that the Woodland needs to be made easy to manage for whoever comes after us. The ride edge stump mulching will help make this a reality.

 

With Woodland management activities it is important to think multi-generationally. Most of our work, with the Woodland having been unmanaged for so long, is setting things up nicely for the next woodland managers. Hopefully Steve will still be there for a while after I have sought communion with the Earthworms, and the Wood will by then be an attractive prospect for a new budding young forest fan.

 

Just maybe they will doff their chainsaw hats in memorial thanks to our efforts from time to time.

[Toad]

1 hour ago, the village idiot said:

 

We may well need to find a way of removing the cuttings from the future mowings to prevent further enrichment. I picture a volunteer army and lots of rakes!

Maybe an old double chop forage harvester and blow it straight into a trailer as it cuts the vegetation, or perhaps round bale it and leave the bales to rot down as a habitat for some insects? Bit like they do in Europe on highway verges.

[The avantgardener]

I am doing some Ride widening myself this week for The Woodland Trust, although not anywhere on your scale.

Talking of multigenerational activity, this wood has a section of Oak coppice, a particular long rotation I would think, and one of only two known in the South East.

 

[the village idiot]

6 minutes ago, Toad said:

Maybe an old double chop forage harvester and blow it straight into a trailer as it cuts the vegetation, or perhaps round bale it and leave the bales to rot down as a habitat for some insects? Bit like they do in Europe on highway verges.

Hmmm, two very interesting thoughts. I'll have to do some research.

 

We had considered a cutter/collector but didn't want to be emptying the collector constantly. A trailer or baler might just work.

 

Thanks very much for the ideas!

[the village idiot]

8 minutes ago, The avantgardener said:

I am doing some Ride widening myself this week for The Woodland Trust, although not anywhere on your scale.

Talking of multigenerational activity, this wood has a section of Oak coppice, a particular long rotation I would think, and one of only two known in the South East.

 

That's interesting. I thought Oak coppice had totally died a death. It used to be a huge industry.

 

Could you take a couple of pictures while you're there?

[Toad]

3 minutes ago, the village idiot said:

Hmmm, two very interesting thoughts. I'll have to do some research.

 

We had considered a cutter/collector but didn't want to be emptying the collector constantly. A trailer or baler might just work.

 

Thanks very much for the ideas!

No worries. It's a really interesting thread, and has caught my imagination.

[Canal Navvy]

Splendid thread T.V.I. ?

I'm as excited opening your latest as if it were the advent calendar of my youth ??

[the village idiot]

8 minutes ago, Canal Navvy said:

Splendid thread T.V.I. ?

I'm as excited opening your latest as if it were the advent calendar of my youth ??

Gosh! Thanks Canal Navvy.

 

Is it just me or are advent calendar chocolates always curiously disappointing?

 

As with most things in life, the real tangible pleasure is in the anticipation.

 

I'll try and keep things going till Christmas. I'm running out of operational stuff so will have to switch focus to ancient woodland ecology soon. Plenty of good stuff to get stuck into there though.