arbmark

suggestions for best types/design you use for vta please guys, hey and if youve got a sexy-as clipboard i'd like to hear about it.

cheers

Mark

I hope humans will survive obviously

We seem remarkably adept in colonising

Today the earth

tomorrow the stars

ha there will be a few that wouldnt want that to happen!!!!! More to plunder and denigrate!!! Not sure about that one - i'd love to hit space and see some cosmic wonder stuff.

There was a time when man created new niche ecosystems through his management of the land and then some bright sparks invented stuff like chainsaws and the eden was shattered!!!!

I'm with hama, "progess" is presumably reliant on an ever-expanding workforce of consuming autobots and unfortunately its not what we do, its the sheer number of us doing it, that is the problem!!!!

Surely Ice ages dont have long term effects on biodiversity as a)poulations can move (well if there arent too many man-made obstacles!) and b) they reverse again!!

i can almost guarantee that if the sycamore was eradicated, some diversity would be lost.

People just like things to blame/pick on, they probably read certain newspapers too much. They might even blame it for the state this country is in.

Its here, its got its fans, and aphids, but for above reasons i would aim to keep its presence under the 5%mark. Squirrels (Immigrant Greys!!!)also tend to vandalise it instead of the native species.

Back pain in my book youre on the right lines. For max efficiency, sure paint the holly stumps. If you are going to do it, do it well though, holly does sucker a fair bit. I would pile in small amounts anything chordable and pile up most of the brush to make a dead thicket for birds/mammals/invertebrates/allsorts to nest/hibernate in. If you can leave vehicles/chippers outside it would be better i guess!

Management plans can be put together at any time of year. If you speak to your local Biodiversity Records Center thery should help you with records of mammals, reptiles, amphibians and plants found in the area you are looking at - they normally work on a 2km radius of a set grid reference and will probably charge you for the info. This may or may not include your wood specifically, it depends on wether or not it's been surveyed and recorded before. It's a good place to start and will provide you with plenty of back ground knowledge on what to look for and what potential habitat you have.

 

From this you will be able to complete a phase 1 walkover survey so you have the underpinning information to help write or formulate a sound management plan, and it will take some of the guess work away. Or you could wait a few months and record it all yourself, but that can be quite a daunting task!

 

Its worth looking at the BAP species in your area also, and seeing if you can tailor any of your management for specific species, this will also get extra 'points' if your thinking of applying for FC grant aid. And also be an all round good thing to do. Depending on where abouts in the Midlands you are your woods could play host to some of the rarer Hair Streak Butterflys, such as the Black which is in a fairly perilous state at the moment.

 

Try to pick up on any signs of what has been done there before, and integrate this into any aims you may have for the wood now. If it has been undermanaged for the last 45 years or so, there may be historical records or even local people who could help fill in the blanks.

 

A sound management plan is well worth taking the time to complete, will help attract funding if you are looking at any and give you a good methodical timetable for getting the wood back to where it needs to be.

 

I've got a few template and previous management plans for ASNW, if you want them or any help with formulating one then drop me a pm, they could help you on your way a bit or give you some ideas.

 

It sounds like the Syc will be a good firewood source and some of the Oak standards could be looked at for conversion, or some trees haloed out to allow better growth if still semi mature. As others have said creation of habitat is important, and with 45 acres to go at it sounds like an interesting project.

 

Oak-Elm woods arn't that thick on the ground, so most of all - enjoy!

was going to give my pennies worth but this chap clearly knows his stuff!!

holly supports little life and shades the woodland floor when allowed too much ground.....sycamore supports large aphid populations so adds its own value to the biodiversity & food sources...vandalising sycamore for niche habitat creation is always fun:001_cool:

.....some management creating glades/ improving age structure are just speeding up natural processes and surely, if it is designated ancient woodland then there will be a fair bit of these already. I think you need to watch for a year minimum, surveying and then plan and act. I would hope the final plan is not too interventionist!!!

good luck and enjoyments

like dat

have another yes

quite a smorgasboard!!!! all edible arent they!?!? well maybe not the laces. tasty and interesting. just my sort of thread

its up to them as you guys are 'targets'. But you can reckon on two tree lengths while they are felling, for your work planning i guess. Having had the area checked over for hazrds (eg hangars/trips) you could work closer once everything is on the ground. Somebody should put striped barrier tape up, cheap and easy

Off topic here sorry, but I own a few acres [smallholding with barns and stables] I currently don't do anything with it. I was thinking of only using it recreationally camping on weekends, large family BBQ's etc, would this be ok in the eyes of the council?

 

Also does anyone know what a ''registered smallholding'' actually means? can a small holding be registered? nowhere in all my old paperwork deeds etc or info held on land registry does it mention ''registered smallholding''.

i think you can camp on your land for 28 days per year and you can register with defra and get a holding number.

thanks if i was to do it that would be good if it was the same as yours. i'll ask. i expect they lump assessments together on the same day aswell

I would go for the rigging course

cheers VEG, thats in cs41 now aint it? Guess i probably ought to cement that one:001_rolleyes:

Hi all

Been climbing self-employed for a few years now since cs 38&39 and have reached a reasonable level of competence. I do a few reductions/prunes here and there and am happy with the quality. About to start C&G Level3, self-funded, to get a formal accred after my back door way into arb over the years! I have the chance to do a few units with some funding on this course. So do i go back and fill in the gaps in the old cv, or thrust onward into units new.....horse logging?! UA units?

I already do work covered by 40&41 and rigging as needed.

So what am i going to gain from getting cs40 especially? Is there anything i wont know already? I'm not even sure i should do cs41!

Cheers Mark

a botanically significant collection of camellias

brave of you to say!

i hate camelias! too many petals for my liking. still one can see why the decision was made.

maybe you are hoping for a steady postion to cut like you were on the ground but in reality you bounce around, your anchor points may move around and the branch you are cutting is often bouncing as you cut. on the last one you can pull and push the branch with your spare hand in opposition to the motion of the saw to increase cutting speed. Maybe your harness is wrong for you but in all honesty pruning work is rarely achieved in comfort. you'll get used to it.

That'll have a fair few "wood miles" on it!

 

To me buying wood in from another county is a sin, let alone another country, or even continent!

ditto, must be a ridiculous use of energy to transport and i wouldnt trust any ecological claims, but hey who knows? hot hot hot!

Cows are not killed for their leather, they are killed for the meat, if we all stopped using leather there would be just as many cows slaughtered as before. You can wear leather with a clear conscience, knowing that you are buying a product that would just be thrown away if it weren't needed.

i agree with this and i'd add that leather is at least biodegradable.

Each to their own tho

I AM GOING THERE!!!! when i visit the relies next time. Thanks for posting.

new to me, brilliant! plus the end of a silage bail wrap on top

TBH as you are wanting it for nothing, not even offering a little something for people trouble, I can't say I'm surprised.

the problem is tv and radio programmes suggesting that tree surgeons will let you have it for nothing. you can be lucky. like most however, i charge!

Just a reminder, but as far as I know, you can't buy asulux at the moment, but you can still use it up till end of this year, if you still have it.

bummer didnt know that! there must be someting else for bracken about. anyone tried anything effective?

I was wondering about pigs..will they shift the huge brambles too?

I know of some pigs needing rescue that could have a working home...

pigs are very risky, damaging tree roots in their escapades. I'm not sure it would be a permanent fix in any case. Has the canopy closed after 10-12 yrs or have the trees had a fight on their hands getting away through the ramblers?

The density of b&b should decrease as the canopy thickens, but this makes each tree thinning the perfect chance for renewed vigour in the scrub layer.

Mechanical solutions are limited, so you could brushcut & clear up a few lines and make inroads from there, just severing the bramble shoots at the base.

Unless things are really bad i would let it run its course - woodland always wins in the end. It would be a lot of work just to speed things up.

Or perhaps late springtime spraying would be the best option. I would guess it is the oaks that probably need the most help so focus on them?

bit too much flesh for me mate!

wrong time of year for horseflies isnt it - some spiders have nasty little bites.

gutting. cheers for the heads up - i'm not far away. hope it was insured. might leave the dog outside for a few nights! google makes it so easy these days. i reckon there must be a way of tracking if someone is googling tree surgeons around the country but as a simple trog of the finest sort i might be talking rubbish

super fly mate. you'd better exlain!