Heathland Clearance.

[Log-ologist]

Following a post by Mr Ed in a different thread which got me thinking about heathland clearance. I wish to get feedback on the following statement(s).

 

Is there any great need for the wholesale clearance of trees for heathland restoration , and if the wood enters the timber supply chain can the products be regarded as FSC ( Forest Stewardship Council) approved .

 

I have queried this with the FSC -UK and will let you know of the result.

[Mr Ed]

My take is that 'heathland' was an artificial landscape caused by repeated browsing by cattle etc.

 

It does not occur naturally, and we are loosing heathland due to natural seeding action from mainly birch and pine.

 

 

How can it be FSC certified, unless it was

a. established / planted

b. managed

c. once cleared, restocked

[Log-ologist]

My view is that any wood taken from such a clearance is not sustainable and should not be allowed to be branded with the FSC logo.

[U1200]

Most of the material coming from heathland re-generation work is to small to have any usefull purpose now. Most of the clearance works on established scots pine is long gone.

Only real value now is as chip. We used to burn it all 10 years ago !

[Henk]

This is a box of frogs. Birch clearance on commons in South Yorkshire have attracted massive public opprobrium. Despite consultation and efforts to remove felled timber and recycle in biomass/wood chip fuel burners commoners do not see the long term benefits to maintaining heathland for biodiversity.

 

Heathland is an artificial habitat - grazing stock is the best way to maintain it. Don't touch it with a barge pole.

[David oakman]

WE have the same problem here in suffolk the council wants to clear some heathland but the public are in an arms. a few years ago weput a corner of a field to grass i went there this year and it was full of dogrose thorn oak ash field maple, as we all know every growing thing needs some maintenence to keep it in control.

[josharb87]

used manx sheep to keep heathland maintained-worked well!

[David oakman]

The suffolk wildlife trust have put sheep on some of there orchid meadows, i just hope they take them off in time. I have a wetland area for snipe and i had 300 common spotted orchids last year this year the farmer forgot about my orchids and when i went to count them there where none, oh dear i think they eat them the same as the deer do.:001_smile:I also am working on an old meadow that used to have rare orchids on it i was thinking of putting a few sheep or goats on it to keep the weeds down.

[josharb87]

not sure about sheep or goats and orchids-fussy eaters they aint!

[Andy Collins]

I'm jiggered if i can get my head around this "conservation" thing. Earlier in the year we cleared 27ha of oak, birch and f maple, to revert back 50yrs in time to heather covered heathland! In the name of "conservation" I saw 2 dead adders and a dead lizard, compressed by the machinery chipping the timber. The stumps all were to be ground out, the surface to be removed, how many inhabitants of the area would be killed or migrate away in this time?

Another job (conservation) was felling 9 large pops and removing a long thorn hedgerow "because it wasnt there in Constables time", really baffles me, I just cut trees, I do!