woodyguy
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Everything posted by woodyguy
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TGB, bear in mind that very few of our red squirrels are actually natives but were reintroduced many times from the continent by man in the past 100yrs. Similarly with foxes. So yes, massively reducing greys and paying to reintroduce reds might work seeing as it has worked before.
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Working neglected woodland
woodyguy replied to Two Acres's topic in Forestry and Woodland management
Wheelbarrows are cheap and sweat is free. -
Working neglected woodland
woodyguy replied to Two Acres's topic in Forestry and Woodland management
An expensive one -
Working neglected woodland
woodyguy replied to Two Acres's topic in Forestry and Woodland management
Firewood is hard work. I fell then cut to 4 ft lengths. Leave for a few months then cut to log length 12-16inch depending on stove size. Wheelbarrow them to the boundary and stack on a pallet. Much lighter a few months later when throw into trailer. Sounds ideal that you've got firewood sorted for a few years. No hurry then to fell (except the hazel). Great that you've got good diversity all ready. -
Working neglected woodland
woodyguy replied to Two Acres's topic in Forestry and Woodland management
Interesting question. I've got 7 acres and a similar access issue across an arable field. I stack timber throughout the year on the boundary then get it out by trailer when the field is cropped in August. As for what to cut down, I'd not be in too big a hurry. See it through a season first. The hazel is overgrown and clearly needs coppicing. As you only have a few, then get them all cut and regrowing. Don't be too harsh on leylandii as it is good nesting grounds. I'd be keen to thin out some of the trees and that should satisfy your firewood needs. I run my wood to increase diversity (had 7 species, now has all 37 natives). So keep some old dead standing wood, plenty of stacks of rotting birch and make a few nest boxes. Sycamore coppices well but is only useful for firewood. Hazel or sweet chestnut is better, so plant some. Birch only coppices when very young. -
As ever, the Daily Mail makes a sensible and measured contribution to the Climate Change discussion.
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Difficult to judge without photos but I'd consider doing a bridge graft across the wound which would prevent losing the current top growth.
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Thanks for sharing David. I've been planning to do a similar job myself so yours has given me extra inspiration.
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I don't tend to spend a lot of time debating the lack of evidence for the tooth fairy either.
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It was never established scientific theory that the sun rotated the earth. That was a dogmatic position maintained by the church, ignoring evidence to the contrary and who burnt people who said otherwise. Not quite science. Science once established encouraged people to challenge the established view (but only by using fact and logic, not superstition). That's why Wallace and Darwin weren't burnt at the stake but were gradually accepted as having a useful theory as it explained what we observed. That theory has stood the test of time as no evidence has been found that contradicts it. So it is ESTABLISHED until a better theory is found (possibly never).
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Looks like Swedes have a commanding lead of 88% whilst Danes have a very respectable 83%. Surprising that the French match us.
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And the evidence for "Its a competition for resources thing, ivy covering any tree will eventually out compete it for light"??? I know that historically people have been anti it but apart from the sail affect, I've not seen any evidence that it does damage. Anecdote is not evidence.
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If only it was a hotspot for "anti-religious Darwinism". It has an established religion, Bishops sitting in the House of Lords and a powerful church lobby last time I looked.
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Sorry but why are you assuming that Ivy kills oak trees? I've never seen any evidence of that. Young trees carry ivy happily, old nearly dead trees die leaving the ivy behind. Its such an important wildlife habitat, you need a good and genuine reason to remove it.
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horse chestnut (the one we call that in UK) contains a poison called esculin. Not nice stuff.
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Ancient and other veteran trees: further guidance on management
woodyguy replied to David Humphries's topic in Ecology
Thanks for posting the link David. Plenty to feast on there over the festive season. -
Glad you like it!
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But in mammals, each time the DNA is copied they lose a telomere (think of a deli counter ticket, at the end of one chromosome). Once they've gone you're old and decrepit = death. So cells can only be copied a certain number of times. Interesting that bristle cone pines are the longest lived yet grow the slowest. Coppiced trees grow pretty fast but are also long lived. This however is very different from the survival strategies of short vs long lived trees, growing to maturity.
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I think what is really interesting is why coppicing seems to make many fairly short lived trees almost immortal. Its the same genetic repair mechanism in both normal grown and coppiced but the result is very different.
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Sadly there is no such thing as the greater good. Just what has worked on an evolutionary basis for that particular species of tree. So Birch need light and will establish very quickly and grow very fast. Like most such organisms, they die young but produce prolific seed at low cost (cf acorn) so are quickly replaced but in a different place. An oak takes most of a birch lifecycle to get big enough to fruit. Its seed are expensive and not produced every year. But by being long lived they only need to be successful once every few hundred years for the species to spread. So different survival strategy between the two species.
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Strang coincidence as I've just put my first log of it on my stove. Dries quickly, goes light and burns hot. Like any willow/poplar I guess.
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There are plenty of plants that rabbits won't eat. There are no plants that will stop them getting into your garden. Hedges don't work and nothing repels them sufficiently. Chicken wire works well though.
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Seeds look like Magnolia species
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Hazel isn't defined as a tree because it doesn't grow to above 6 metres (generally) with a single trunk. Tree vs shrub is another hazy area. I grow tree ferns and they can grow many metres high but I certainly wouldn't call them a tree.
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I mainly use a 241 and a 362 in similar use to you. There's a suitable gap between them but the bigger saw isn't too heavy to use much of the day. It will run a 20inch bar fine but not a 25inch.
