Committed to woodland restoration

Scottish Native Woods makes a long term commitment to woodland restoration.

In the year 2000 we helped a owner of an ancient woodland secure a forestry grant to regenerate part of the woodland by erecting a deer fenced exclosure. The browsing levels, a consequence of the high numbers of roe deer, meant that the young tree seedlings could not grow & establish above the grass.

Over the last 10 years we have visited the site, returning to the same locations or fixed points to monitor the changes that have taken place.

In 2000 the site was a grassy area. I think the photographs below speak for themselves!

Fixed Point A - Photo taken in summer 2006

Fixed Point A - Photo taken in summer 2010


Fixed Point B - Photo taken in summer 2006




Fixed Point B - Photo taken in summer 2010

The tree regeneration is so dense that the photo was taken outside the exclosure.

For scale the cane in the photo is 1.5 metres.

It is hoped that over the next couple of years the fences will be removed.

piggy plough

Pigs can be useful where dense ground vegetation is stopping young trees from getting established. This one's not too sure about having her photograph taken, so she's "bristling".

The soil that is stuck to her snout just where the hair starts shows how deeply pigs will rootle around in the soil.

PAWS Surveying in Argyll

We're working with Woodland Trust to get a Plantation on Ancient Woodland Sites (PAWS) restoration project underway in Argyll. The first stage is to talk to the woodland owners and managers about PAWS so that we can work out what is possible. Looking at woods is important too, and this picture shows an oak tree picked out on a visit. The sitka spruce behind the tree is crowding the oak, but the biggest threat is the young spruce that is growing up through the canopy of the oak: this young growth will be bad news for the middle aged oak.

PAWS in Central Lowland

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.

PAWS for thought....

Much discussion was had amongst foresters and landowners at a recent event organised by Scottish Native Woods and the Woodland Trust on the restoration of PAWS (Plantations on Ancient Woodland Sites).

Commencing a more gradual transformation of the site by thinning the conifers will allow native plants in the ground flora to develop as well as remnant old oaks to breathe again.