To Coronet or Not to Coronet, now that is a question

[Tony Croft aka hamadryad]

Yes it is interesting, I would like to learn more about modern beetles in woodland though, as the work I do has a distinct bias towards wet areas (where preservation of archaeological samples is best) and also obviously towards populated areas, many of which weren't woodland. I've got to go and do the family thing, it being Christmas and all, but will no doubt be back later. Happy to elaborate, do post any questions and I'll try to answer later. Any advice also appreciated as am interested in habitat creation, in particular coppicing young woodland and also what to do with a few mature trees and some standing deadwood. This needs to fit in with some timber extraction also, not purely conservation.

 

KAT1e, i think with the depth and breadth this one could go its worth starting this as a new thread so i shall do so. many subjects are connected but i think its deserving a thread of its own, corenets being just 1 aspect of habitat creation.

 

I look forward to this one immensley!

[Kat1e]

Yes probably best not to derail this thread! Look forward to it with interest.

[Tony Croft aka hamadryad]

New thread, in woodland managment, Bugs bees and beasties, biodiversity matters

[arbogrunt]

A selection of coronet cutting from the last few years. I do about a day a week for my local wildlife trust and its stubs and coro's all the way! the second pic is about a year or so's regrowth on an oak. The last two are an attempt to create habitat for bats/woodpeckers etc. Time will tell if they take it up!

[Tony Croft aka hamadryad]

If the intention is to have wood pecker/bats in those last images, would it not have been wise to drop the slits down a tad?

 

to avoid rot/damp/rain geting into potential housing?

 

maybe an owl or raptor of some sort will use the top as a nest/platform?

[gibbon]

looks like the perfect opportunity to practice/experiment you got there

[Tony Croft aka hamadryad]

extract from- http://buglife.org.uk/conservation/adviceonmanagingbaphabitats/lowlandwoodpasturesandparkla.htm

 

as many seem only to be focusing on the "bug" aspect of the coronets benifits, there are other organisms that will relish this technique.

 

Encourage the growth of a variety of fungi

The presence of fungal growth such as bracket fungi should not be seen as a reason to remove or prune a tree, as only a minority of fungi are a primary source of tree death. Fungi not only provide an essential breeding medium for many species of flies and beetles, but they also contribute to the decay of dead heartwood in older trees. This reduces a tree’s bulk whilst leaving the living sapwood intact, which can actually make the tree better able to withstand high winds. Soft, red rotten heartwood is the sole habitat of some of our rarest and most threatened invertebrates, such as the larvae of the Violet click beetle, and very wet wood mould with a porridge-like consistency is the larval habitat for the craneflies Ctenophora ornata and Gnophomyia elsneri. Felling or removing trees with heart-rot could result in the extinction of these specialist species.

 

Natural fractures and jagged stumps should not be tidied or treated, as the snags will potentially allow the entry of heart-rot fungi and provide access for invertebrates.

 

Consider creating new deadwood niches

Management of trees to create additional deadwood habitat by ring barking selected limbs should be considered where they do not pose a health and safety risk.

 

Creating new pollards from young trees is one way of providing more niches for saproxylic invertebrates at sites where continuity of standing dead wood is likely to be a problem. At many sites there is a large age gap between the ancient trees and any others in the area. Continuity of habitat is essential if the saproxylic fauna is to survive, as many are poor colonisers and cannot travel far to find suitable habitats.

[arbogrunt]

Interesting stuff mate, I'd love to know whether any of the boreholes I've put in have been used. I did see a pollard I did in a gorge being used as a hunting perch for a Kestrel...which chuffed me no end!.

Good point about the holes being further down the trunk. I usually put a few in on the way down. I was also advised to bore in and up to create drier roosts for bats. Also, I try and do horizontal coronet cuts on branch ends for the same reason.

I always take the opportunity to talk to bat experts etc to ask them their opinion on the sort of cuts that would benefit wildlife the most.

 

Some of the Reserve wardens have been a bit 'reluctant' about the whole idea, but a few minutes of explanation usually swings them around and they realize that in that environment, target pruning is not the best way forward.

 

The first two pics show a willow crown reduction using NFP throughout (it takes a lot longer!) and the tree after a years growth. The second shows a large sycamore pollard/monolith (the tree was too large for the area of the reserve).

[Tony Croft aka hamadryad]

My only critisism of this method is it always seems to me that its overdone?

 

what I mean is, that maybe we should be doing our normal thing target pruning and encouraging good form but maybe corents on say three to four scaffolds within the crown rather than going mental and doing the whole tree?

[arbogrunt]

I would agree with that Ham, I rarely do 'the whole tree', (it takes too bleedin long for a start!). In this instance, the tree was in the garden of the wildlife trust HQ and they wanted to showcase a bit of coronet/NFP (thankfully they also had a lovely Horse Chestnut which I did a 20% crown reduction on using normal pruning methods!).

The other times I target prune on these jobs are when trees are over roads and if were doing trees bordering peoples gardens, parks etc.

The spec is generally left to me, so I just crack on and do what I think is right. It makes a change from 'normal' crown reduction/thinnning/lifting etc.

I know a lot of people who don't like the principle of this work, but it has a place in the right environment.

I can't say I've got any coro cuts in my own garden though!