20 a Day (5) Flashcards
What five things should you consider before felling a tree (Two wind related, two environment related, two tree related)?
- Wind direction
- Wind strength
- Slope
- Obstacles around the tree
- Decay
- Lean
Before you fell a tree, what can you do to make sure that delimbing it is a bit easier?
Try to make it land on something that will raise it up (e.g., a rock or a stump).
A tree is decaying. How should you fell it?
Make sure it falls in the easiest direction (e.g., towards its lean).
- Where can you find the most biodiverse woody communities in urban areas?
- What three things are missing from these environments?
- Abandoned sites that have been left to scrub encroachment.
- Despite being the best, they often lack very mature trees, deed leaf-litter rich soils, and wildflowers
Why aren’t parks as good as abandoned urban sites for biodiversity (2 Points)?
- They rarely have shrubby understoreys
- Dead wood and leaf litter are also removed as part of “tidying-up”.
Why should extensive areas of old scrub not be allowed to develop?
Because many of the more interesting bird species, such as warblers and nightingales, prefer varied stages of scrub development.
What does the ideal breeding habitat look like for nightingales (3 Qualities)?
Where do nightingales like to forage for their food?
Nightingales like to forage on the ground, picking through low vegetation, or turning over fallen leaves as they hunt for small insects and other invertebrates. They frequently use the bare areas under the scrub canopy.
What would a grassland that suffers from heavy rabbit grazing look like?
Rabbits create a low browse line with a very tightly grazed sward right up to the margins of scrub patches.
Why is it difficult to create new habitat for nightingales (3 Points)?
- Male Nightingales appear to be site faithful.
- It is also thought that birds may be ‘guided’ to suitable breeding habitat by the nocturnal singing of male Nightingales.
- This means that the potential for newly created scrub to be colonised could depend heavily on whether or not there are already Nightingales in the general area.
Why will nightingales only use scrub that’s in the early stages of development?
Because scrub is often at its most vigorous and dense when it’s only a couple of years old.
When cutting scrub on a rotational basis, what’s the one thing you want to ensure?
That some part of it is in its thicket/impassable stage.
How often will a patch of scrub need to be cut?
Every 12 years.
How do you manage scrub on a rotational basis (2 Points - what you want and how you achiece it)?
- It is better to maintain a coarse-grained mosaic containing reasonable-sized blocks of woody growth of similar age rather than many small patches of different growth ages.
- This is best achieved by cutting adjacent patches of scrub in two or three consecutive years rather than widely dispersed patches.
At what age is scrub at its most vigorous and dense?
For the first few years of its life.
What percentage of UK agricultural land is devoted to livestock?
85% - this includes the land that the animals live on, plus the land that’s used to grow their food.
What’s the first step when it comes to arable conversion?
You want to roughen up the field a bit, since purely flat fields aren’t great for wildlife.
Why are completely flat fields bad (2 Points - both water related)?
- They dry-out very easily, leaving no habitat space for aquatic invertebrates.
- On the otherhand, they also become waterlogged very easily and this can very quickly kill ground-dwelling fauna.
- What’s one thing you can do (followed by another thing) to roughen-up an ex-arable field?
- What must you do first?
- By creating scrapes that will hold water, creating a habitat for aquatic wildlife
- You can use the soil from digging-out the scrape to create a hillock or two (a hillock is a tiny hill).
- But first, you have to remove any artificial drains that have been created by mole ploughs.
- What will happen if you destroy or block an artificial drain that’s been created by a mole plough?
- What can these be converted into?
- You’ll create patches of waterlogged ground upstream.
- If you dig into these patches, you’ll create some great ponds!
When should pond liner never be used?
In areas with a high water table (it may float up during floods!)
What animal could you introduce to an ex-arable field to increase the amount of freshwater habitats?
Pigs! They naturally create scrapes!
If you leave an ex-arable field to succession, why would this be bad (3 Points - the last one involves bison)?
- You’ll get closed-canopy forest.
- All the undergrowth will be nibbled away by deer.
- Without bison to stop grasslands from turning into forests, you won’t get any wildflower meadows or edge habitats.
What’s the main difference between rewilding and land abandonment (2 Points, the second relates to intervention)?
- Rewilding the land is taking it back to a wild state where natural processes can allow biodiversity to recover
- So you’re either going to need livestock, or a lot of manual labour!
Glade creation can be seen as a form of rewilding. Why?
Because extinct straight-tusked elephants used to knock-down large trees, creating natural glades!
Why is hunting a form of rewilding?
Because wolves and lynx used to be responsible for keeping deer populations in check.
Why is coppicing a orm of rewilding?
Beavers and bison used to fell small trees, which would then regrow more vigorousl from their bases.
Why is grazing a form of rewilding?
Because aurochs used to graze grasslands, creating flower-rich meadows.
What is the definition of a mosaic habitat?
Mosaics are patchworks of different habitats with plenty of edges.
Give two examples of habitat mosaics
- Coppiced woodlands
- Woodland pasture
Plantations have linear rows of trees. What sort of community does this favour?
Linear tree planting favours communities that are dominated by predators.
You’re trying to plant a woodland in a way that looks natural. Give two ways you can do this.
- Plant at a low density, and then allow for natural regeneration via seed rain to fill in the spaces between saplings.
- Plant trees in clumps!
How many species will many new woodland planting projects use? Is this number enough?
- They’ll often use five species.
- But ancient woodlands have as many as 20 tree species!
True or false: UK soil seed banks contain many tree species.
False, there are acutally very few tree seeds within seed banks.
Why do coppice with standards woodlands produce such high quality timber?
Because the coppice growth often encourages the standard trees to grow tall and straight.
Give a tree species that does well on well-drained soils.
Elder!
What two things are usually required when planning a new woodland?
- Planning permission
- An Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA)
When do you not need planning permission and an EIA when planting a new woodland (2 Points)?
- When the proposed woodland is smaller than 2 hectares
- When the woodland is going to be in a “low risk” area
Grants are available for planting forests. How can you ensure that you’ll get funding (3 Points)?
- If you’re going to afforest on public land
- If you’re a farmer
- If no forestry operations are going to take place within the forest for at least 30 years
Roughly how much does it cost to buy bare-rooted saplings?
£1-2 (depending on the rarity of the species).
How much would you expect to pay for a quality tree guard (one that’s 1.2m tall to protect against roe deer)?
Roughly £5
When will a mulch mat almost always be required?
When planting on very dry soils (this is when mulch mats are at their most effective).
Just how disastrous can poor-planning decisions be when planting saplings?
It’s possible to lose up to 90% of your saplings if you don’t do things properly.
- When planting bare-rooted saplings, should the soils be dry or moist?
- Why?
- Moist
- This will help you with digging
- It will also give the tree the water it needs to get going
Why is bare-root sapling planted generally unrecommended from March onwards?
Because the ground may be too dry.
When planting bare-rooted saplings, why must you be absolutely sure that the gap you’ve created is firmly closed (Two similar reasons)?
If you leave the gap open, the roots may dry out or they may succumb to frost.
What’s the maximum amount of time a bare-rooted sapling’s roots can be exposed to air?
30 minutes (any longer and they’ll dry out).
Before planting a sapling, what should you quickly do first?
Give the bark on the little trunk a little scrath to see if the underside is green - this will tell you if the sapling is alive.
When bare-rooted saplings arrive, what should you do with them?
Submerge their roots in water for at least 6 hours.
When using woodchips as mulch, what do you need to be certain of?
That they are actually woodchips (and not bark chippings!)
What’s a hidden benefit of using woodchippings as mulch (Hint: community).
Woodchippings help to create soil communities that are associated with fungi-dominated forests (as opposed to bacteria-dominated grasslands).
- What’s widely regarded as the best tree mulch?
- Give three reasons why
Woodchippings!
* They can usually be delivered for free
* They create beneficial soil communities
* The more you use, the better (up to 1 foot).
Other than protecting from herbivory and making a sapling’s presence known, why else is a tree guard good?
It acts as a miniature greenhouse, boosting the growth rate of the sapling!
Deer fencing becomes more difficult to install the…
…Smaller the area being fenced (e.g., if the area is only a few hectares big, then fencing may not be worth it).
Is it difficult to get enough people to partake in a tree-planting day?
No - there are actually parts of the country where there are an excess of willing volunteers.
If you’re planning a tree-planting event, what do you need remember to tell people?
Tell people to bring their own spades - it’s unlikely that you’ll have enough for everyone!
You shouldn’t have to water bare-rooted saplings. When may you need to?
You may need to water them if you planted them late in the winter.
- What’s more vulnerable to drought: a sapling or a bigger sapling?
- How can you apply this information?
- Smaller saplings are more resistant to drought
- Therefore, if you’re planting on free-draining, dry soils, make sure that you’re planting short and stubby trees.
Give one reason why watering saplings is bad (Hint: burrowing)
Watering saplings can attract badgers which like to dig in moist soils (they may uproot the sapling!)
You have a lot of excess brash. Why might you want to pile a bunch of it around the base of a tree?
To stop deer from rubbing their antlers against the tree.
When is a good time to check tree guards (Hint: weather)?
During windy weather - this will allow you to identify any guards that are loose.
What is the penalty for not having the correct felling license?
An unlimited fine
Who issues felling licenses?
The Forestry Commission
- Name four woodland edge species that you can plant to diversify an edge.
- Which one is toxic to livestock?
- Dogwood
- Guelder rose
- Alder buckthorn
- Privet (toxic!)
At the edge of the woodland, trees typically form a gradual decline into the next habitat. Give two ways you can artificially create this ecotone.
- By felling
- By planting woodland edge species
The removal of mole drains will have a positive effect on _____________, but a negative effect on ________________.
- A positive effect of biodiversity
- But a negative effect on productivity
When might mole drains be essential?
In areas with high livestock density, to prevent soil poaching.
- What is soil poaching?
- Give one thing it can result in
- Soil poaching is the damage to soil caused by heavy animals walking on wet ground.
- This can lead to waterlogging.
Why can mole drains be bad for local water bodies?
Because they enable harmful substances to be drained off of sites (e.g., lime from liming and nitrogen from fertilisers).
What is a “gripe” (also known as a grip).
A hand-dug hand dug trench that runs across a field like a miniature valley.
A mole drains simply underground tunnels that have been dug-out by a mole plough?
Yes, but they’re reinforced with plastic or terracotta piping.
Mole drains can increase an ecosystem’s vulnerability to…
Drought!
- How are mole drains destroyed?
- Do they need to be completely destroyed?
By simply crushing a section of one - this causes them to silt up. There’s no need to dig up the whole drain.
How are mole drains located before they’re destroyed?
By simply digging a trench across a field’s margin.
- You’re managing a field that doesn’t experience a lot of foot traffic. What’s the best option for a footpath?
- Why?
- Simply mowing a footpath.
- You’ll help to boost floral diversity by reducing the dominance of grass.
- During which month of the year should you never cut grass?
- Why?
May - you need to allow any flowers to set seed.
An unwanted footpath that has been created by lazy members of the public who can’t be bothered to take the official route is called…
…A desire path.
Is gravel usually applied on its own when creating a footpath (Hint: you apply two other things)?
- Typically you would lay a foundation layer of aggregate before applying the gravel.
- A weed membrane is often used between the two (terram sheets), to keep the gravel in good condition.
You’ve put gravel over a pathway. Give three things you can add to make sure that the gravel stays in place.
Note that you’d only want at least one of these things:
* Logs
* Planks
* Gravel grids
At what path does a brushcutter become insufficient to keep a footpath maintained?
On projects less than 1.2 hectares in size.
- What does perennial rye-grass look like?
- What feature does it lack?
- What is rye grass characteristic of?
- It lacks awns
- Rye grass is characteristic of modified grasslands
Give one butterfly species that loves brambles
White admirals - they love the flowers
Give one butterfly species that loves honeysuckle
White admirals - the caterpillars love to eat them (almost as much as the adults love bramble flowers!)
- Which butterfly frequents coppice coupes?
- Why?
- Silver washed fritillaries
- They use violets as food plants - and violets grow well within the dappled sunlight that coppicing creates
Give a simple layering procedure (5 Points).
- Cut the branch 3/4s of the way through so you can bend it towards the ground
- Scrape away a bit of bark where the rod will be in contact with the ground
- Dig a trench a few inches deep
- Bend the branch down and peg it to the bottom of the trench with suitable forked sticks cut beforehand
- Cover up, firm up and hope for the best
What does fireblight look like?
- What are these?
- What are these a sign of?
- Feeding “galleries” created by elm bark beetles.
- They’re a sign of Dutch elm disease.
