Oxfordshire Woodland Group

The recent article by Dr. J. Jackson of the Royal Forestry Society has provided a welcomed approach towards developing enlightened methods of PAWS restoration including the use of CCF techniques to effect a gradual transition that might afford flora and fauna more time to react and adapt to changed environmental conditions.

Dr. Jackson does not attempt to prescribe exactly how the transition from conifer to broadleaf should be achieved but instead thinks that this should form part of the ongoing long term management of the woodland. This management concept is very much echoed in my own approach to the management of our Chilterns woodland which I have attempted to explain in further detail in an article published in Woodland Heritage 2014 and for which can be seen via the weblink provided.

Examples of the potential use of various conifer trees were examined in 2010 by Dr. Scott Mc. G. Wilson as part of his Minor Conifer Research Project with his results published in Woodland Heritage 2010. He provides examples of how various softwoods can be used to good effect and hence makes woodland owners more aware of the potential value of coniferous trees forming part of the woodland mix rather than just consigning same to be clearfelled with little thought given to end use.

Ken Hume