Dead Wood Habitat

[Fungus]

Looks to be a good Russula site, is it?

 

It is, especially for Russula and Lactarius species associated with Pinus and Betula.

[Tony Croft aka hamadryad]

Thanks.

 

 

Looks to be a good Rusula site, is it?

 

 

 

.

 

 

I best get some new books, youve been reading and getting a head start on me!

[David Humphries]

Creating dead standing habitat is one thing, keeping it standing is another.

 

Depending on decay type, tree species & mass, there is a shelf life for these important ecological niches.

 

We recently had one of our (soon to be re-reduced) Ganoderma infected Ash mono's, drop, before we could get onto the work.

 

Not the best situation, but a wake up to focus on the rest of our monolith population (somewhere in the region of 60-70) & to reschedule some of the programmed works a little earlier. The works will include 50% reductions to some of the most heavily decade ones & the odd path redirect.

 

Rather than lose the habitat completely, some instances have left us with the option of keeping the removed dead wood resurected on site.

 

This helps maintains the same upright habitat.

 

 

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[Treecreeper1961]

Hi David,

Great to see the work your doing.

 

Just wondering, do you actively create dead wood or are you making the most of natural opportunities? I suppose it it very difficult to sacrifice living trees in a park environment.

 

Do you have a 'deadwood management plan' as such. It seems important, once having created these fantastic habitats, to plan for continuity in the future.

In some woodlands, undesirable species can provide an opportunity to create a range and variety of deadwood habitats, are you able to utilize any species in this way?

 

Ben

[David Humphries]

Hi David,

Great to see the work your doing.

 

Just wondering, do you actively create dead wood or are you making the most of natural opportunities? I suppose it it very difficult to sacrifice living trees in a park environment.

 

Do you have a 'deadwood management plan' as such. It seems important, once having created these fantastic habitats, to plan for continuity in the future.

In some woodlands, undesirable species can provide an opportunity to create a range and variety of deadwood habitats, are you able to utilize any species in this way?

 

Ben

 

Hello Ben,

 

we do create dead wood habitat, by fracturing branches on live/retained trees. we also take the oportunities where they present themselves (dead/dysfunction) These are assessed in terms of public access & then decisions to retain made depending on that principal first & foremost.

Old dead hulks in the woods particularly if they are Beech/Oak (away from access) are also nominated then reduced to help maintain them as standing deadwood for longer than if they were left to the natural process of decay/gravity.

 

This is all to help redress the balance of 'sanitisation' within public open spaces, where (since the victorian era) deadwood has generally been cleared up.

 

So, we maintain historical & existing (Oak, Willow, Birch, Beech) monoliths, and create new 'weed species' ones (like Robinia, Sycamore etc....), to add to the diversity of potential habitat.

These are then monitored and reduced where neccessary.

 

We also try and maintain fallen trunks (where not predudicial to public access) for the same reasons as above.

 

 

regards

 

D

 

 

 

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[Treecreeper1961]

Nice work, just as the Ted Green video lectures we had through Myercough would have recommended.

[David Humphries]

Continuing on the program of monolith reductions.

 

This Armillaria white rotted Birch, was in need of lowering due to the nice (victorian style) lampost & path next to it.

 

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[David Humphries]

Managing this declining Oak down over the last three years.

 

 

Path side roots died off leaving the canopy to retrench & finally give up, that side, then the rest followed.

 

That path is a route of the National x country race.

Some 5000 competitors use it during the race.

 

We fracture reduced that side of the canopy first in Feb 2009, to reduce the hazard over target.

 

The last two shots show the extent & progress of the basal decay during those three years.

 

 

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[David Humphries]

Managing this declining Oak down over the last three years.

 

Extent of white rot led us to use both Rope & Mewp access to reduce the canopy and create the final monolith.

 

 

 

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[RobRainford]

i like that set of shots for that oak david, very well managed IMO!

 

perfect for the situation and i like the ways the cuts are done to induce the appearance of a failure