Oxfordshire Woodland Group

The laid hedge was inspected at the beginning of August 2013 and the previously reported encouraging recovery of the hedge during June 2013 would appear to have slowed somewhat and possibly even declined.

The reasons for this are four fold :-

- browsing presure by deer
- reduced light reaching the hedge due to shading from the canopy of adjacent mature trees
- summer drought stress due to competition for groundwater from nearby trees
- the leaves are now dark green rather than the light green as in springtime and this makes them less obvious.

The important observation made is that the hedge is still alive though clearly now struggling to hang on and hopefully recover.

Ken Hume
Executive Trustee - Oxfordshire Wopodland Group

Towards the end of the growing season it was decided to take down a row of larch / beech trees next to the laid hedge to help improve light levels reaching the hedge and also to reduce the danger of leaning larch trees falling out into the nearbye road.

This work was done by hand using wedge directional felling and then the felled stems were snedded out and moved to the newly created extraction rideside using a Ferrari alpine tractor. Most of the stems felled were crooked which in forestry terms is probably not desireable however these will provide the perfect material stock for making the curved blades of a cruck frame.

Unfortunately one of the leaning larch tree tops snapped off during this operation and fell onto and damaged the laid hedge hazle structure, however none of the hawthorn stem hinges were broken and so no real damage was sustained by the hedge. Arrangements are now being made with Rhiannon to repair the section of damaged laid hedge hazle structure.

The lop & top generated during the felling & snedding operation has been laid along the roadside face of the hedge to help reduce deer browsing pressure on same.

Regards

Ken Hume
Executive Trustee - Oxfordshire Woodland Group

After a very wet January and February 2014 the Phase I hedge was inspected on 17 March 2014 when it was encouraging to see significant hawthorn bud burst.

Lets hope that the deer don't scoff all of these tender shoots of recovery.

Ken Hume - ET OWG