Forests In Britain 2

Question 1

What is Afforestation?

Answer 1

Establishing trees on land which has not been woodland before. Referred to as New planting or woodland expansion/creation

Question 2

What is restocking?

Answer 2

When trees are planted/established to replace those that have been recently felled.

Question 3

What is enrichment planting?

Answer 3

Planting in an existing woodland to improve stocks, mix or quality of tree.

Question 4

Name and describe the 3 main established methods?

Answer 4

1. Natural Regeneration-land left to grow for itself
2. Planting- most common
3. Direct seeding-in enrichment planting

Question 5

Name the 9 processes done in order to establish an artificial forest?

Answer 5

1. Site assessed, species chosen
2. Clear harvesting site
3. Ground Preperation and drainage
4. Fencing
5. Planting
6. Plant protection
7. fertilising
8. weeding
9. beating up

Question 6

What does species choice depend on in the early stages of site development?

Answer 6

• Depends on owners objective, whether he wants to harvest, or leave the timber standing (WC)
• Sport Interests (Pheasant,deer)
• Enhance Biodiversity
• Water Protection/Flood mitigation

Question 7

How do we clear harvest sites?

Answer 7

Either:

• Brash raking (piling up into long rows)
• burn the brash
• if there is little brash just leave it
• take brash away for chip

Question 8

Why do you prepare the ground before planting?

Answer 8

• brash removed to clear site access, and makes it easier to get correct stocking density.
• improves drainage
• reduces weed competition
• reduced soil compaction

Question 9

What are the main forms of ground prep?

Answer 9

• Ploughing
• Mounding
• Scarifying
• Screefing

Question 10

Explain what ploughing is?

Answer 10

Tine plough used, and cultivates up to 90cm deep, creating lines of fresh uncompacted soil ready for planting. used in moorlands, but less common now. Too destructive.

Question 11

Explain what Scarifiers do?

Answer 11

remove upper vegetation mat, and debris to reduce weed competition for the tree. It is called screefing, if done by hand with a mattock.

Question 12

What is screefing?

Answer 12

Screefing is when the top layer of vegetation/grass is removed to create a planting position. Hand screefing using mattocks, or chemical spraying spots to kill the grass (kerb) where machine access difficult.

Question 13

What is mounding?

Answer 13

Created by a digger, or continous mounder. Common in restocks and new planting. Most common method of planting trees at correct density.
Preferred method to ploughing.

Question 14

Why do sites need drainage?

Answer 14

• removes excess water. Too much water can affect species growth.
• Creates a direct flow off site, instead of natural random channels.
• Act as artificial silt traps.

Question 15

Explain the processes behind fencing?

Answer 15

Aim is to exclude deer,hare,rabbits and livestock.

• Very expensive (£20 metre)
• gates needed for public access and machine access..
• Need to be 1.8metres +

Question 16

What are the alternatives to fencing?

Answer 16

• Culling

- individual tree protection (e.g. 1.2m stakes&tubes) however usually only for NBLs and do not decompose.

Question 17

Explain planting season and when it takes place?

Answer 17

2 Parts to planting season;

1. Backend planting-October-December, colder months. Good for Broadleaves.
2. Early season- Feb-May, while plants are dormant. Early in the season is best.

Question 18

What are the most common planting densities? give examples.

Answer 18

• 2m spacing, which gives 2500trees/ha. Common for Sitka/conifers.
• 3m spacing, which gives 1100trees/ha. Commmon for low density broadleaves and native woodland.
• 1600/ha. More Common for broadleaves and native woodland, gives good biodiversity.

Question 19

What forms can you plants trees in?

Answer 19

Bare Root plants- roots exposed, cheap and common for large sites.

Cell Plants-roots contained, and are fertilised. Expensive, and extend plants life outwith the soil.

Question 20

What is the latin name for weevil, what do they do and how do we protect the trees?

Answer 20

• Weevil are called Hylobius abietis.
• Plants are sprayed with gazelle during maintenance season if there is an outbreak of weevil. Trees can also come pre-treated with gazelle when planting them.
• They are small insects, which grow in and around fresh wood. Their population peaks after felling, then drops.

Question 21

Give 3 other ways of controlling weevil population?

Answer 21

Biological control; introduce nematodes.

Delay planting i.e. fallow period for 5 years.

Protective collars

Question 22

What plants are a species indicative of Nitrogen deprived soil?

Answer 22

Deer grass (Trichophorum)
Heather/ling (Calluna)
Cotton Grass (Eriophorum)

Question 23

What is a “Beat Up” and when is it done?

Answer 23

It is a yearly process after planting (3/4 years) whereby dead plants are replaced.

Beat up assessments decide whether to do one or not. If Mortality is 15%< then beat up will take place. This is to retain the original stocking density.