Wood Wise

Autumn 2011

Woodland Conservation News

Creative conservation wildflower establishment Impact of drought on trees

Wood Wise Woodland Conservation News

Autumn 2011

Welcome to the first issue of Wood Wise. A publication dedicated to the conservation stories of the Woodland Trust. This strives to be a blend of case studies, backing up policy and aims, science research and woodland conservation news. I hope you enjoy and if you have a success story or conservation news you would like to share in the spring issue please contact: Kayhaw@woodlandtrust.org.uk

Trees & Wildflower Establishment

Bluebell carpet

WTPL/Ken Leslie

When we think of broadleaf woodland the picture that we create usually includes not just the trees but also the woodland wildflowers.Yet the vast majority of woodland creation in the UK makes little initial allowance for the establishment of wildflowers. Wildflowers are important components of both woodland and other habitats, offering food and shelter for a range of invertebrate and bird species, including many of the essential pollinators that support our agricultural systems.Yet wildflowers have experienced some of the steepest declines in both number and area, in the past 70 years the UK has lost up to 97% of its wildflower rich meadows. Since 2003, the Woodland Trust has worked on several wildflower projects with a number of objectives: conservation, news ways to establish native woodland and improving visitor experience. Creative conservation: One of the key programmes has been the Forest of Flowers (FoF) project, a partnership between environment charity Landlife and leading woodland 2

conservation charity the Woodland Trust. The main aim was to trial alternative methods of establishing naturalistic native woodland that included building in ground flora from the very beginning. The UK is currently one of the least wooded countries in Europe, having only 12% woodland coverage compared to a European average of 44%. Tree planting has benefits for biodiversity, flooding, societal health and air quality, to name but a few, however newly planted sites often lack floristic or structural diversity. Woodland plants will eventually move into woodland creation sites but their dispersal can be very slow, as can the colonisation of such sites by specialist woodland fauna. Locating woodland creation sites next to existing mature woodland has been demonstrated to aid this process, but for areas where there is little existing woodland other techniques are required. Increasing woodland diversity more quickly is desirable as it is extremely beneficial to wildlife, including many endangered butterfly species.

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Autumn 2011

One of the factors seen to be critical to successful colonisation of new areas of woodland is the fertility of the soil. High fertility soils, with a history of intensive artificial fertiliser application, tend not to favour or allow easy colonisation by woodland specialists or meadow specialist wildflowers as they can be readily outcompeted by more generalist ruderal and grass species. In 2004, Whealdon Copse was the first Woodland Trust woodland creation site to be seeded with wildflowers under the FoF project. To avoid the issue of highly fertile soil, Whealdon Copse was the first of a number of sites to utilise a new planting approach: deep ploughing. Developed in Denmark, deep ploughing uses an imported Bovlund machine to turn over the top 75-100cm of soil. I n doing so it buries the often over fertilised topsoil and its seed bank (including noxious weeds) and brings the weed-free, less fertile soil to the surface. This eliminates the need for damaging herbicides to be used around the trees, as the agricultural grasses and ruderals that compete for moisture are not present. Deep ploughing promotes good tree growth, even at low densities, as the trees root into the soil at a lower horizon. The roots are encouraged to grow down towards the more fertile

upturned soil with the buried humus layer. This creates better support and stability for the young trees. Results have also shown tree growth to be more vigorous. The previously improved pasture site was transformed through the establishment of annual species which were seeded to give short term colour and show, but woodland perennials (such as bluebell, foxglove and red campion) were also included in the mix. As the trees grow so too the seeded woodland ground flora establishes itself, allowing for more diverse woodland development in a much shorter space of time. The trees here were also planted to mimic the natural colonisation of trees on such sites, by planting the trees in an irregular pattern and spacing. As no grass was seeded at the site the soil also remained open and exposed to natural colonisation of both wildflower and tree species. Dense grass growth can often prevent other seeds from reaching the soil to germinate, therefore reducing diversity. There were 29 wildflower species originally sown, but in August 2006 a survey recorded 83 plant species and 20 grasses. Huge public enthusiasm was shown for the project, with letters left on the gate thanking the Trust for the beautiful display.

Penguin Wood

WTPL/Simon Mageean

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Autumn 2011

Penguin Wood, Derbyshire, is another FoF site. Deep ploughing was again used and wildflower seeds sown. Here, instead of planting trees, tree seeds were scattered over the land with the wildflower mix. However, few trees have propagated from this, although wild cherry seems to be doing well. It is thought the abundance and height of the wildflowers over shadowed the slower growing tree seedlings, a lesson for another time. Therefore, saplings will now be manually planted on the site. Again, the incredible wildflower spectacle engendered great feelings of warmth and thanks from visitors and passers by. There was also an increase in invertebrate and bird numbers seen to be utilising and benefitting from the site. Fordham Hall has taken a different wildflower approach in their creation of an open permanent meadow. Prior to the Trusts intervention, the site had been a primarily arable landscape for a long period of time. Hay was collected from a local meadow and scattered across several acres of land. After a few weeks it was gathered back in and the resulting mulch was used as organic weed control around newly planted trees on other areas of the site. The seed bank took a couple of years to really start coming through, so results can take longer than seeding, but now the area is deemed to be one of the best wildflower meadows in Essex. The floral

content of the hay gives a greater diversity than is offered by seed mixes, giving a more natural look, and has produced some unexpected delights. The meadow constantly changes, as each year different species dominate the floral community. It also contains a number of orchids, including bee and southern meadow orchids. Once a year the meadow is harvested. A more natural look was also achieved at George Henry Wood, where a calcareous grassland flower mix was sown to compliment the soil type. Deep ploughing and wildflower seeding has also been carried out in the glades and rides of several existing woodland sites, including Foxley and Royal Tigers. These have created areas of high visual impact and interest, popular with visitors and wildlife. Each of the Woodland Trusts many wildflower projects has boosted biodiversity; contributing to local wildlife populations and supporting the UKs dwindling pollinators. This in turn will have benefits for ecosystem services and ultimately humankind. They have also received rapturous positive public support, so have also contributed to societys mental well-being. Only with the full range of vegetation (herb, shrub and canopy layers) can a group of trees truly be woodland. For more information on the Forest of Flowers partnership project go to www.wildflower.co.uk.

Impact of drought on trees

During autumn trees start to acclimatise to the growing cold and enter a dormant state before the severity of winter. However, the autumn of 2010 was cut short by early onset freezing temperatures, meaning trees had not had chance to shut down fully. This caused stress in the vulnerable tree tissues, producing issues such as frost crack (which happens when rapid expansion and contraction of water in the phloem creates or lengthens wounds in the bark). 4

Icicle

WTPL/Steven Kind

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Autumn 2011

Fungal relationships: Around 95% of Earths plants form symbiotic relationships with mycorrhizal fungi, and have done for millions of years. These amazing organisms can increase the surface area of a root by a massive 700%, reaching far further into the soil and allowing the plant to absorb much greater quantities of water and nutrients. In return the fungi receive carbohydrates, vitamins and amino acids from the plant, but the plant gets back over 100 times what it invests. These fungi also: mobilise complex nutrients otherwise unavailable to plants but important for plant health, help plants tolerate stresses such as transplant shock and soil compaction, increase root longevity, and protect against disease by presenting physical and antibiotic barriers to pathogens. Tree roots can be dipped in a mycorrhizal inoculum before planting for as little as 5p per plant and this can increase survival rates significantly. This process has successfully been used for revegetation projects in desertified areas around the world, and is an important tool to combat drought conditions.

Dried puddle

WTPL/Richard Becker

The country also experienced an early 2011 spring that brought drought conditions to much of the country, and was especially bad in the generally drier East. Furthermore, we experienced late ground frosts in May that damaged numerous young plants. Many well established trees also suffered during this time being hit first by frost stress and then drought. Some of the Woodland Trusts 2010/11 plantings experienced heavy losses. The East of England was the worst hit by the conditions and, unsurprisingly, saw the biggest losses. Essex suffered the biggest losses of around 80% of trees planted, with Norfolk, Suffolk and Lincolnshire also badly affected (around 50%). Losses were also seen in the usually wetter west in Somerset, Devon and Cornwall (20-40%). The Trust is now looking to replace a minimum of 20,000 trees. The Met Office predicts the frequency of severe droughts will rise in the future.At first look this does not bode well for woodland creation. However, there are several actions that can be taken to mitigate against drought.

New planting

WTPL/Steven Kind

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Autumn 2011

Herb Paris

WTPL/Richard Becker

Getting ready to plant

WTPL/Rebecca Twine

Nursery effect: Plants can be hardened to drought conditions in their early development. This nursery effect is proven; genetically identical trees raised in different environmental conditions will tolerate and react differently when exposed to drought conditions. If hardened to drought for periods when first growing, plants will tend to increase their root to shoot ratio and reduce their relative leaf size. This has been used effectively in drier areas and has improved the chances of survival after planting. Woodland creation is important for ecosystem services, wildlife, human health and climate change. To continue planting successfully, in these increasingly difficult climatic times, we need to adjust our tactics and use the many tools available to us.

Planting best practice: Ensure trees being planted have a good root system; Planting in early autumn will give trees the best chance; Choose species less susceptible to drought; Smaller trees with higher root to shoot ratios have a better chance of survival; Handle plants carefully and make sure roots are not damaged or left to dry out.

The Woodland Trust, Kempton Way, Grantham, Lincolnshire NG31 6LL. The Woodland Trust is a charity registered in England and Wales no. 294344 and in Scotland no. SC038885. A non-profit making company limited by guarantee. Registered in England no. 1982873. The Woodland Trust logo is a registered trademark. 4978 10/11