Out and about with Simon Lockwood, looking at sites that we hope to start restoring soon. This Plantation on Ancient Woodland Site (PAWS) has areas which are full of sycamore. You can see that the effect on woodland plants during the summer & autumn is still pretty damaging: sycamore casts a dense shade and its leaves can also build up. So if sycamore is the only tree species, a monoculture, this can be less than desirable. We plan to gradually thin out the sycamore, using small scale machinery. This will generate some "carbon neutral" fuel for local use, help native woodland species by letting in more light, and encourage the remaining sycamore to grow, so that there will be more revenue to pay for the next stage of restoration.
