JonnoR

That would be interesting. Their nitrogen-fixing ability would be useful if I distributed it throughout a paddock I want to convert to an orchard. There are some wetter areas of that paddock, which might make for a useful area to plant Alder. The ability to control their height to prevent competition with fruit trees would be useful. Thanks for the tip.

Fuck, sorry.

Turned to shit?

Few more pics. There is a sh1t ton of ivy all over the place, and whilst I believe it makes good habitat, it does seem to be excessive to my eyes. Should I be getting shot of some of it, particularly on the trees showing promise for the future? There is one area which looks to have been managed as hazel coppice under oak standards (with some other random hardwoods seemingly thrown in for good measure). There are also areas showing signs of natural regeneration following blow downs etc. I would like to smash a block of birch in to the mix, particularly on open areas around the edge of the wood, if only for autumnal tints and guilt-free firewood in the future!

They look absolutely great! They seem to have a decent number of dealers in France too.

I'm really interested in (and grateful for) the discussion so far. I have at least a year to get to know the woodland better before even considering anything approaching human intervention (beyond looking at unsafe trees near commonly used rides through the wood). I also have the opportunity to look to see what happens to some clearings within the wood which seem to show no sign (yet) of self-seeded saplings popping up to fill the space. In the meantime I can satisfy my meddling instincts by returning a recently cleared area of woodland, converted to paddock, to woodland, or making an orchard. The temptation to get some pigs in there is there, but I'd rather eat venison! Cheers, Jonno

About 2.5 hours East of Bordeaux, close to Limoges. There is tonnes of forestry around here. So much in fact that every man and his dog is selling firewood. I saw a load of mature oak lumber just being smashed up for firewood. Pity, but I'm sure there must be someone who sees the benefits of a home saw mill. There's a few furniture makers who must be paying firewood money for lumber and getting some decent furniture-grade material out of the deal!

That's the plan. I will make it safe for others by ensuring the rides don't have any dangerous boughs along it and then leave it for a year. I'll see what happens then put together a plan. I would like to ensure that I can get amongst the deer a bit (I noticed a fair bit of damage today) so I'll stick a couple of high seats up and take a survey.

I will do my best to update pictures throughout the year. I'll let you know I get on with the forestry authorities too (but I hear pretty good things about them and they don't seem to intrusive). I got the woodland essentially for free, as it came with a well-priced house. Looking at international sites, the prices seem high for forestry alone, because they are aimed at leisure users. I think once you start looking around locally you can find pockets of forestry for sale for very little in comparison to UK prices. So much of France has privately owned forestry, that it might be a buyers market. I'm still settling in, but I'm hoping that networking a little with French farmers etc in the will let me look in to getting a little more land in the future.

Thanks rapalaman, that's not a bad shout. I'm told there are some monster catfish in there somewhere and I have a couple of mates threatening to visit me to have a crack at them! I think it'll take me a year or two to settle in properly, after which I should be ready to explore options for the property to pay for itself. I'll share any pictures of my mates' catch! Cheers, Jonno

Thanks Big J! That's actually a slow moving river believe it or not! It is dammed further downstream so this section is more like a lake than a river. It seems to have lots of potential and some degree of taming will definitely make it more useable and productive. I think the oak is typically left until a useable size for making wine barrels round here. I'm not sure how long they left them before harvesting, but I'll get in touch with the French private forestry unit round here and get them to look at it for me I think (so long as they don't try to place too many restrictions, or impose a management plan that doesn't suit my needs). My main priority is to ensure it has a diverse ecology and is a habitat for deer (which I'll harvest). I've largely missed the boat this year, so I'll carry on taking a look around and check out the state of the rest of the place (the photos are one section of about 4 acres, so I need to get round the rest to see if it's all the same! Cheers, Jonno

Hi, I have had a chance to walk around part of the forestry I acquired today. A link to the first pics is here: Many thanks, Jonno

Hi All, I'm not sure of the rules of posting large numbers of pictures in a topic outside the picture forum, so I'll stick 'em here! This is in relation to this thread Today, I had the first chance to bimble about the wood that I just acquired in France. I took a few pictures to show the type of ground and the species of trees present. I also saw a nasty wind-blown oak(?) which will need sorting by a qualified tree surgeon at some point! It seems I have examples of hazel, oak, chestnut (coppiced probably), alder, holly, rowan(?), wild cherryand maybe beech. The oaks are between 30-50cm in diameter. There is a fair amount of dead standing and piles of branches from the previous owner's firewood gathering. There is plenty of deer sign and red squirrels are everywhere, which is lovely to see. I would welcome any help you can provide on ID'ing the trees, because I am not much good at using bark and buds to ID trees and I bet I have made some mistakes! I hope they are of interest and you enjoy them. Cheers. Jonno

Many thanks to all of you who replied. I do like the idea of managing the wood for the long term, particularly as my main interest is deer and firewood harvesting (and the mushroom harvest is supposed to be good round these parts). The people I am buying from cut down about a hectare of wood to convert in to paddock but I hope to get that turned in to a mixed orchard. Beyond interests in wildlife I have been carving bowls and spoons for years so I would like to start including some beech, apple and other trees suitable for that. I'm more than happy to leave it be, so long as thinning or other maintenance tasks will keep me in seasoned lumber.

Hi Stubby- yes, sorry, that's a good shout, thanks. I suppose much of this will be determined by the quality of tree nurseries in the area and what they stock. Would you say that getting in to the forest at the end of Feb is kind of too late to be doing much beyond survey and getting to know the place in general? Would you suggest that I source next year's lumber from elsewhere and get to work in my own land next winter? Cheers, Jon

That's a really good observation - I've seen that sort of layout in France before, a little further south I seem to remember. The area where I am buying is famous for providing oak barrels for the Bordeaux wine industry, so I wonder if the oaks were planted to support that activity, which might explain the absence of coppice/pollarding. Cheers, Jonno

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Good point, I'll avoid in that case. I'll look about for damp tolerant alternative which are less of a pain the hoop to deal with! Cheers, Jonno

Thanks for the feedback 5 shires. I have an option of receiving free advice from the French forestry agency 'cnpf' (https://www.cnpf.fr/n/the-forest-development-organizations/n:249) who are tasked with trying to support private forestry ownership and promoting best practice. I'm currently looking for advice on articles to read, to give me a primer to support dialogue with them. They offer access to EU subsidies but usually in exchange for the owner accepting a management plan. I'd rather not go down that road in the first few years as it may tie me in to activities that I don't want to start on just yet. Cheers, Jonno

Hello all, I hope this is the right area for my query! I have purchased a property in Central France, which comes with approximately 25 acres of predominantly oak plantation, sitting within forestry of about 70 acres overall. The oak stands seem to have been never been coppiced, and on average the oaks are currently approx. 14" in diameter and relatively closely spaced (I'm still in the UK, so photos and more precise measurements will have to wait till I move in at the end of the month). There are some mature trees dotted about, and appear to be made up of Sweet Chestnut, Hazel and a few massive Walnut trees dotted about the place. The ground is not sloping, but seems to be formed of a series of broad terraces, going down to a large river. No flooding is recorded at the higher levels, but there is small 25 metre area along the bank that shows signs of having been flooded in recent years. The house I have purchased is wood-fired, so one priority is to put the forest to work to heat my home. I also intend to stalk deer on the land, of which there is plenty of sign (red and roe by the looks of it, and no boar to speak of). I would love to create a coppicing plan (or pollarding, given the amount of game in the area), to add the biodiversity of the oak stands, support a deer-friendly habitat and generally make the forest work for a living. I would also like to look at planting some willow trees along the river bank, or other suitable trees, to act as a wind break and provide some additional variety of wildlife habitat. I would be incredibly grateful is anyone has any suggestions for publications to read, to help in my research. I have most of the coppice books on earth I think, but I would like recommendations on any forestry commission documents of merit. Very grateful also for any views you have of the type of coppice rotation to adopt, and whether in fact the oaks in particular are too well developed to make coppicing a good idea! Cheers, Jonno

Many thanks for your thought-provoking article. I'm in the process of buying 25 acres of oak woodland in France and, given the excessive deer population, I'm hesitant to coppice. I had thought of adopting a wood pasture approach as a way of increasing bio-diversity. I think that in the long run, managing the deer/boar and fencing newly harvested coups might be more profitable.