Held annually, the Forestry Stewardship Council (FSC) Forest Week is a worldwide campaign that calls upon all forest stewards to help drive consumer awareness about the importance of sustainable forestry. From 21 to 27 September, FSC are highlighting the small steps that everyone can take to create big change, helping to ensure a sustainable future for all. To mark the occasion Forestry Harvesting & Arboricultural Manager, Judith Peachey, provides an overview of the tasks forestry teams across the business are undertaking and the current health concerns affecting the forests and woodlands on the Defence Training Estate (DTE).
“FSC Forest Week spotlights the importance of forests and sustainable forest management, something we at Landmarc strive to achieve. We aim to do this through approved long-term forest plans, replanting areas we fell, increasing the number of native broadleaves we plant and using planting designs that not only enhance training for the military, but also promote better biodiversity in our woodlands, begin to mitigate climate change and slow the spread of future wildfires by changes to planting designs and species selection.
HARVESTING, ASH DIE BACK WORK AND REINVESTMENT TASKS
“As always, we have a full programme of harvesting, ash dieback works and reinvestment tasks to deliver this year across all regions. This includes harvesting works at Otterburn in the North, Stanford Training Area (STANTA) in the East, Hankley and Barton Stacey Training areas in the South East, Salisbury Plain in the South West and at Sennybridge in Wales. Our aim is to fell, selectively fell or thin just over 40,000 tonnes of timber of mixed species, all programmed through our approved Long term Forest Plans.
ENSURING SPECIES DIVERSITY TO HELP COMBAT CLIMATE CHANGE
“On the re-stocking side, areas we clear felled last winter will now be prepped, fenced and planted. We are using a varied mix of species: Sitka, Serbian and Norway spruce, Scots pine, Grand fir, Western red cedar, birch, rowan, oak, willow, alder, aspen, hazel and hawthorn, to reflect the need for species diversity and using new species mixes to combat climate change and ensure we do not just plant one species in our woodlands, as we would have done in the past. Site prep is a mix of mulching and direct planting and fencing to protect our newly planted trees from deer species and livestock.
PROTECTING OUR TREES FROM PESTS AND DISEASES
“One of our major concerns is tree health – seemingly, with another threat or disease being highlighted most weeks. The ash dieback programme continues, with infected ash being felled in most regions and infection manifesting itself now in previously healthy trees. We have already discussed programmes for 25/26, so these works will continue for the foreseeable future.
“In Scotland, larch infections by Phytophthora ramorum is our main concern, with Statutory Plant Health Notices (SPHN) being issued for the immediate felling of areas that are infected. This is at Garelochhead, where we currently have two live SPHNs and where we are gearing up for tree removal in October. Our main SPHN is above the Glen Douglas haul road, which is a strategic military feature and will need to be closed temporarily, whilst we skyline the infected trees off the steep slopes above the road. The planning of this operation has been difficult due to the various different military stakeholders involved and not least, working with the Scottish and Southern Electricity Network (SSEN) as they begin works on replacing the 400KV power lines and pylons that run through the training estate. An update of works will follow.
“Another concern is the spread of Ips typographus, the larger 8-toothed European spruce bark beetle. A demarcation zone is in place which covers Kent, Sussex, parts of Hampshire, Essex, Norfolk and Suffolk (and parts of other counties that are adjacent). The beetle colonises areas of Norway spruce which are in poor health, windblown or damaged, or material on the forest floor and areas infested need to be felled and disposed of as quickly as possible. There are movement restrictions for timber and SPHNs will be issued, in due course, if infestations are confirmed. We have been working with Forest Research to setup pheromone traps, where beetle movements can be monitored as well as inspecting any compartments of Norway spruce that we manage.
“The management of our woodlands across the training estate, continues at pace by the regional rural teams and our contactor base, ensuring our forests and trees are managed to the highest silvicultural standards and that we also continue to ensure we provide a safe place to train for the military units we serve.”