HB WM Flashcards
Trees and Woodland provide (10)
- Homes and food for wildlife and other nature
- Attractive places for enjoyment and recreation
- Resources
- Shade and shelter - crops and livestock
- Protection of vital soils
- Natural Flood management
- Carbon lock-up
- Air Pollution reduction
- Cleaner water
- Increased Biodiversity
Without management woodlands become
dark, over-shaded and dominated by mature trees without variation in structure, age or cover.
Trees and woods face increasing devastating effects of: (4)
- Climate change
- New pests and diseases
- Inappropriate development
- Intensive land use
Secondary woodlands are
created through land being abandoned and neglected.
Often even aged so needs management to achieve a healthy mixed age structure.
Active management of woodlands can be seen to have 3 broad benefits
- Social
- Economic
- Environmental
Managing woodland has two effects on climate change:
- Resilience - Establishing mixtures of trees bearing in mind the changes in climate will increase the rate at which woodlands can change and increase the ability of ecosystems to react to changes.
- Mitigation - effective and efficient ways of removing atmospheric carbon. Timber a good replacement of building materials such as steel. Can control and contain flooding and erosion. Shelter belts to fields.
What woodland birds and animals need a licenced person to assess them? (6)
- Hazel Dormice
- Bats
- Ospray
- Barn Owl
- Goshawk
- Firecrests
Management techniques for sensitively managing woodland (4)
- mix of dead wood
- Healthy living trees
- Young saplings
- Open spaces (glades)
Coppcing was used for (4 products)
- Broom handles
- Firewood
- Fencing stakes
- Hurdles
Woodland flowers (3)
- Bluebells
- Primroses
- Violets
Coppicing is best suited to which woodlands
Ancient
Only reintroduce it if it has been coppiced in the last 60 years.
What is the smallest area what should be coppiced (if dormice are present)?
0.25 - 1 ha
Hazel takes 8 years to produce nuts so if dormice are present the rotation should be
12-20 years
Small woodlands should not be coppiced so it is better to
create a shallow coppiced ‘scallop’ along the woodland edge - east to west.
Wildlife that benefit from coppicing include (12)
- Wood anemones
- Dog violets
- St John’s Wort
- Bluebells
- Moths
- Bumblebees
- Dragonflies
- Slow worms
- Nightingales
- Chiffchaff
- Pipistrelles
- Dormice
Which trees can be coppiced? (5)
- Hazel
- Chestnut
- Oak
- Ash.
- Beech
Rides and glades support rare and declining butterflies like (2)
- White Admiral
- Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary
A ride is
a linear trackway such as a path designed for access.
Where possible rides should run in which direction?
East to west - sun for plants and insects
Check wind direction though! - don’t want a wind tunnel
Wind funneling on a ride can be reduced by (3)
- curving or bending the path
- angled before they emerge from the woodland
- edges can be scalloped or bayed
How should a ride be cut? (3)
- Central part yearly at the end of summer
- longer grass cut on a 2/3 year cycle
- remove all grass cuttings
For large woods how wide can a ride be?
20-30m
Glades are
openings within a woodland - a recently coppiced area but fringed by big trees for shelter.
In a large woodland how big can a glade be?
Half the size of a football pitch
A scallop is
a semi-circle or D-shaped area along the edge of a path or ride allowing scrub herbs and grasses to grow - varied woodland edge.
Scallops work well in
small woodlands, wide rides or large glades where it is lass appropriate to coppice the minimum area.
To benefit from sunshine a scallop is best placed
on the north side of an east-west ride on the south facing side of a woodland
Thinning involves
the removal of poor, weak, diseased or overcrowded trees. Making the remaining trees stronger and sturdier.
Thinning can be used to manage
neglected woodland where dense shading has reduced the growth of woodland wildflowers and shrubs
Deadwood provides (2)
food for hundreds of animal, fungus, lichen and moss.
homes for bats, woodpeckers, inverts
Ring barking involves
cutting the bark off in a strip all the way round a tree to kill it. (cuts off the xylem and phloem)
Log piles provide (2)
- habitat for fungi, inverts
- hiding places for small mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians.
Trees and woods face a challenging combination of pressures including (8)
- Climate change
- Inappropriate development - housing, roads, railways
- Pollution
- Growing population - in urban environment
- Attack from diseases and pests
- Inappropriate management
- Invasive species
- Cumulative effects
What are the 6 species of deer?
- Red
- Roe
- Fallow
- Muntjac
- Sika
- Chinese Water Deer
How many deer are there estimate to be in the UK?
2 million
What damage to deer cause to woodland? (3)
- browse young saplings and coppice regrowth
- strip bark
- feed on twigs and leaves
Why are there so many deer? (4)
- Deer Act 1963 as they were shot a vermin before that
- Shotguns have been controlled
- No natural predators
- lots of suitable habitat and becoming more urban
What is the problem with deer? (5)
- £4.5m - damage to plantations and other commercial woodlands
- 8,000 ha of SSSI that is in unfavorable or recovering condition due to deer
- 74,000 road traffic accidents a year - kill 10-20 people
- £4.3m a year - damage to crops
- 50% decline in woodland birds where deer are present - loss of scrub area
POST
Parliamentary Office for Science and Technology
At the moderate to high densities deer are likely
to alter the structure and species composition of the woodland vegetation and reduce abundance of rare flowering plants.
Densities of deer in the upland habitats should be in the region of
4-7 per km2
A number of nationally important flowering plants are susceptible to deer (8)
Muntjac
1. Bluebells
2. Dog’s Mercury
3. Early purple orchid
4. common spotted orchid
5. wood anemones
6. Ladies smock
7. Lords and ladies (reduced pollination)
Red Deer
8. Oxlips
Which broadleaf trees are most vulnerable to deer browsing? (5)
- Oak
- Ash
- Hazel
- Rowan
- Willlow
Which trees are most resistant to deer browsing? (3)
- Birch
- Alder (although Roe like it!)
- Beech
In the uplands which tree are susceptible to Red Deer (2)
- Scots Pine
- Birch
Deer management is best co-ordinated through local deer management groups through (2)
- Deer Initative in England and Wales
- Deer Commission in Scotland
There are currently 8 tree diseases in the UK…
- Dutch elm disease
- Ash dieback - kill up to 95% of trees
- Acute oak decline - environmental stresses
- Red band needle blight - fungal pine
- Juniper dieback - fungal pathogen
- Phytophthora ramorum
- Horse chestnut leaf miner
- Oak processionary moth - loose leaves and human rashes and breathing issues
Invasive species in woodlands (3)
- Deer - non-natives, no predators, hampers natural regeneration
- Grey squirrels - strip bark from trees, pox virus,
- Rhododendron - poisonous to live stock, dense shade, toxic soil, carries Phytophthora ramorum
Other woodland management areas to consider (4)
- Public access - illegal vehicle access, visitors in non-access areas, litter, vandalism and erosion of footpaths. You still have responsibility for their safety.
- Shooting / raising game birds - many woodlands are managed for pheasants - needs to be considered when preparing management plans
- Funding woodland management - grants or self-funding - what does it cost? for grants needs a woodland management plan, do monitoring and keep records.
- Who is going to do the management? - What will it cost? Does the owner / manager have the skill / knowledge to carry out management properly.
Which birds rely on woodland for their homes? (13)
- Nuthatch
- Blue Tit
- Great Tit
- Long-tailed Tit
- Treecreeper
- GSW
- LSW
- Long-eared owl
- Tawny
- Chaffinch
- Robin
- Blackbird
- Goldcrest
Woodlands have changed significantly in the last 100 years they are less valuable commercially and management has declined or changed with many having multi-purpose roles such as (6)
- Public recreation
- Landscape
- Heritage
- Wildlife
- Game Management
- Commercial forestry
Declines in several species of breeding woodland birds have been pronounced in southern broadleaved woodlands. Between 1970 and 2018 they have declined by
30%
5% over the recent short-term
Bird numbers down by 46%
What are the pressures that may have driven declines in woodland bird specalists? (5)
- Pressures on migrants (winter / migration)
- Climate change - food on breeding grounds
- Impacts of land-use outside of woodland
- Increased predation pressure
- Changes in woodland vegetation structure
Woodland structure refers to the physical aspects of vegetation including (3)
- Density of foliage
- Openness of the canopy
- Size of trees
Widespread changes in woodland vegetation structure have occurred in recent decades as a result of (2)
- Changes in woodland management which have led to more closed-canopy, heavily shaded woods
- Increasing number of deer
- changes complexity of understory foliage (2m of ground) - nests, food, cover.
What impacts of management should you be aware of that could impact on any birds present? (4)
- Disturbing nesting birds
- Changing habitat so birds are forced to leave
- Isolating habitats
- How will that habitat change over time and what impact that has
Breeding bird surveys take place when?
March - June
Nesting bird season is generally when?
March - September
Which bird species are associated with the understorey layer? (5)
- Willow warbler
- Song thrush
- Nightingale
- Wood warbler
- Pied Flycatcher
Coppicing creates habitats for woodland birds like? (4)
- Garden warblers
- Nightingales
- Willow warblers
- Marsh tits
Monitoring woodland birds should be carried out to see effects of management these are (2)
- Nesting Birds survey 3-5 years - noting birds singing, carrying nesting material / food, any nests with eggs etc
- Bird ringing
What needs to be considered if dormice are present in the woodland? (2)
- Are we doing the right habitat management?
- Are we going to commit an offence? how do we avoid it?
Dormice habits… (4)
- Nocturnal
- Arboreal
- Live to 6 years. 1-2 litters a year. 2-4 young
- Female range of 1ha. Males overlap females.
How do you establish if dormice are present? (4)
- Check their range in the country - are you likely to have them?
- Check National Biodiversity Network to see if they are within 10km?
- If yes to either carry out a survey - licenced.
- Survey - Nest tubes (April - Oct) check for nests
If dormice are present in the woods, to manage it you need to… (3)
- May need a development / site licence to carry out work or coppice when they are hibernating
- A licence = detailed method statement of why you need to disturb them
- Licence are from Natural England or Natural Resources Wales.
Main objectives for managing woodland for wildlife (3)
- Allowing light to reach the floor in places helps the understorey to grow and provide food
- A diversity of plant species / mosaic of ages and structures
- Keeping areas well-linked enables wildlife to move about
15 key objectives when managing for dormice…
- Small scale fellings every 4 year (10%)
- Control invasive species e.g Rhododenron
- Create and maintain rides and glades
- Maintain arboreal connectivity
- Create mini clearings in conifer plantations
- Create log piles
- Retain bramble
- Mixed age structure
- Bring derelict coppice back in to 15-20 year rotation
- Create linked coppice blocks
- Retain climbing plants - ivy / honeysuckle
- Retain veteran trees and dead wood
- Retain some old fruiting hazel
- Protect coppice stools from deer and rabbit browsing
- Dead hedging to protect new growth of coppice
Trees and shrubs valuable to dormice: (17)
- Hazel
- Oak
- Honeysuckle
- Bramble
- Sycamore
- Ash
- Wayfaring tree
- Yew
- Hornbeam
- Broom
- Sallow
- Birch
- Sweet chestnut
- Blackthorn
- Hawthorn
- Conifers
- Ivy
When carrying out management work with dormice present you need to (5)
- Undertake tree, scrub, coppice work November - March
- Check around working area - they hibernate in open areas on the ground
- Keep fire sites, paths and trackways to a minimum
- Fell or coppice in small non-adjacent blocks
- Retain arboreal connection between habitats
In a native oak woodland there are up to how many different insect species scattered over individual oak trees?
284
Beneficial management for Intverts (7)
- Maintain traditional management - coppicing. Varied age structure.
- Rides and glades
- Diversity at woodland edge - scrub / rough grasses
- Buffer woodlands with extended field margins through set-aside or agri-environment schemes
- Target new tree planting either adjacent or connect to existing woods
- Ensure connecting hedgerows are maintained
- Leave dead wood
Open space provides what for inverts (4)
- Sheltered, warm
- Light and heat on the floor
- Interface between these open areas and the shrub and canopy - Importance of this ‘ecotone’ is the complexity and continuity
- Low hanging boughs, dead wood, twigs and leaves
Mature and veteran trees provides what for inverts (2)
- Large trunks, trunk hollowing, rot holes, standing dead wood - diversity of habitat
- Each tree will provide a precise micro-habitat for a wide range of species
Standing and fallen deadwood are good for which beetles? (3)
- Stag beetle
- Long-horn
- Wood-boring
The litter layer varies in thickness and its speed on decomposition depends on (4)
- Season
- Climate
- Dead plant matter variation
- Soil fertility
A well developed litter layer hosts invertebrate life including (3 types)
- Detritivores
- Herbivores
- Carnivores
About the Stag beetle (4)
- UK’s largest insect (35-37mm).
- Larvae feeds in rotting wood for up to 5 years
- Management - standing and lying deadwood
- Logs 10-50cm in diameter buried vertically in soil with tops stuck out (Oak, Beech, Sycamore, Ash)
Willows can support how many invert species?
450
Woodland plants flower and set seed before the canopy closes over some of these are (6)
- Bluebells
- Primroses
- Wild Garlic
- Dog’s Mercury
- Yellow Archangel
- Wood Anemone
Ancient woodland indicator species include: (17)
- Barren Strawberry
- Pignut
- Sweet woodruff
- Bluebell
- Primrose
- Wood-sorrel
- Common cow-wheat
- Ramsons
- Wood speedwell
- Dog’s Mercury
- Early dog-violet
- Yellow aechangel
- Yellow pimpernel
- Herb paris
- Wood anemone
- Sanicle
- Wood spurge
An East/West ride 18m wide with adjacent trees 20m tall allow for how many hours of sunshine on the southernside of the ride?
10 hours
Cutting of scallops or bays along rides need to be cut how often?
3-7 years shrubs
2-5 years grass swards
(After October)
Woodlands have quite different microclimates to areas which are more open these are: (3)
- Higher humidity
- Cooler temperatures (smaller fluctuations)
- Lower wind speeds
There are several issues to think about with the presence of bats in woodland (5)
- Fully protected by law
- Consider the impacts of management
- If disturbance cannot be avoided a protected species licence is needed
- If changes to the wood will make it no longer suitable for them a licence is needed
- Difference species have different needs
How do bats use woodland? (6)
- Roosting and feeding
- Small - Med sized woods might be used to roost but can feed 20km away
- Bechstein bats will both roost and forage in 25 - 50 ha
- Leisier bats roost in houses in summer but trees in winter
- Male pipistrelles establish temporary mating roosts in trees in late summer - display to attract females
- They also use other structures within woodlands - buildings, sheds, mines, bunkers
What acts are bats protected under? (2)
- Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations
- Wildlife and Countryside Act
Which 6 species of bat are most reliant on woodland?
- Barbastelle
- Bechstein
- Noctule
- Leister’s
- Brown long-eared
- Natterer’s
Woodland management for bats should aim to: (4)
- Protect all existing confirmed roosts
- Retain as many potential roost sites as practicably possible
- Ensure a succession of continuity of potential roost sites for the future
- Create a good network of habitats for roosting, feeding and commuting
Good practice guidance for bats are: (8)
- Retain (and encourage) as much understorey as possible, especially where it directly shelters or shades a known roost
- Avoid opening up large areas of the canopy - near roosts or areas for foraging or commuting
- Cut ride / trackside vegetation to sustain insect-rich environment. but don’t expose roosts
- Fire / smoke should not affect roosts in trees
- Avoid major increases in the levels of noise and activity around roosts
- Retain deadwood
- Ensure succession or continuity of potential roost trees
- Conserve mature and over-mature trees in the surrounding landscape.
How long do woodland management plans last?
10, 20, 50, 100 years
Management plans are used for: (4)
- demonstrates sustainable forest management and supports planning and implementation of work proposals and monitoring
- Needed to get a grant scheme
- The plan of operations = felling licence of up to 10 years.
- All woodland on property should be included
Management plan criteria includes: (15)
- Objectives and balance between economic, environment and social.
- The forests context and potential - how interests and issues have been considered
- Takes into account context in terms of landscape and special features
- In designated ares (National Parks) design should take in landscape and sensitivities
- Have designations been identified? and taken into account
- At time of felling and restocking the existing designs should be re-assessed and changed made to fit UKFS requirements
- Consultation should be carries out according to forestry authority procedures and where required Environmental Impact Assessment Regulations
- Designed to achieve a diverse structure of habitat, species and ages of trees
- Do felling and restocking proposals improve structural diversity
- Lack of diversity due to even aged trees should be progressively restructured. Selective felling,
- Do felling and restocking create or improve age class diversity
- Management should conform to the plan, and it should be updates to ensure it is current and relevant
- 5 year review period - achievements recorded.
- New woodlands should be located / designed to maintain / enhance the visual, cultural and ecological value.
- New planting - consistent with UKFS and FC guidance on woodland creation.
What should a management plan contain? (8)
- Property details - size, location, description
- Vision and objectives
- Plan overview - summery and map
- Woodland survey
- Woodland protections - risks and plant heath
- Management Strategy - systems, new planting, other operations
- Stakeholder engagement - consultation that took place
- Monitoring - required and when
What goes into a woodland survey? (6)
- Designated sites
- Description of woodland in the landscape
- History and management
- Habitat types
- Structure
- Species present (inc protected)
What is contained in the appendices of a management plan? (8)
- Compartment map
- Designations map
- Satellite imagery of site
- Access, hazards and constraints map
- Stocking map
- Operations map
- Work programme
- Sub Compartment record
Monitoring of a woodland might include (3)
- Measuring and assessing tree growth / regrowth, density and shading
- Fauna - Birds, bats, Dormouse, butterfly, deer
- Flora - detailed botanical surveys 3-5 years
How many trees doe the UK have to plant to reach zero net emissions by 2050?
1.5 billion
