Fourteen years ago an area of woodland, mostly Ash, Alder and Willows, with occasional Downy Birch, Pedunculate Oak and Holly, was planted by the farm's previous owners alongside part of the River Bourne as it crosses what is now the RSPB's Winterbourne Downs reserve, on an area now known as New Woodland.
I can remember seeing them when first planted, all standing to attention in their plastic tubes; a welcome break in the landscape from the sea of wheat and barley all around. Fast forward the fourteen years, the arable crops are now gone as part of the RSPB's continuing plan for the reserve, namely reverting the major part of it to species-rich chalk grassland, and the woodland has become a much more dominant feature of the landscape, its canopy now tending to shade out the woodland floor. This effect will increase as the trees become older and larger and their individual canopies merge
An area of the woodland prior to coppicing. Note degree of shadiness on woodland floor even on a sunny winter's day.
We are now well into a long-term plan to coppice the wood in rotation, roughly 0.2 hectares at a time, on a 9 to 10year cycle. This will hopefully allow much more heat and light onto the ground encouraging a more diverse woodland ground flora, and the invertebrates, birds and other wildlife that go with it. For example, we are hoping to attract the Duke of Burgundy butterfly, a creature of sunny woodland clearings and glades; also, bird-wise, Woodcock and Snipe, and who knows, maybe even Curlew!
The coppicing process involves felling trees close to the ground leaving''stools'' from which multiple stems rapidly shoot. This mimics the tree's response to damage from browsing and wind damage and maintains the tree in a juvenile state, thus actually increasing its longevity. Coppicing in rotation will allow a mosaic of lighter and darker areas thus increasing biodiversity and species will regularly be able to colonise newly opened up, warmer and less shady areas.
Coppiced Willow showing shoots or ''withies'' growing from stool.
Some areas have had the stumps treated to prevent re-growth to provide more open areas on a longer-term basis and indeed, some trees such as this beautiful Downy Birch have been retained as they are.. This will remain as a specimen tree or standard, as will a few others.
Some of the willows have been pollarded, ie cut a metre or two further up; traditionally this was to prevent browsing of the new shoots by cattle, and has long been a feature of river margins. Some of our pollards reflect this, others are for technical reasons, i.e. the trunks being a touch too wide to chainsaw at the base.
Two newly pollarded willow trunks showing cleared, open area beyond, and original growth on left. And one we made earlier! Pollarded willow close to (currently dry) river-bed on right.
A beautiful Downy Birch retained as a standard tree.
Our New Wood work parties are not far off finishing for the Spring now, it has been great fun and a good work-out, hopefully a great benefit for plant and animal life and the best bit......jacket potatoes on the fire! (Not really the best bit, of course!).
Roy Williams
Voluntary Warden
RSPB Winterbourne Downs
01.03.18.