Ptc newsletter dec 08

grasslands and landscape views, This has lead to Its been another wet summer and the rejection or major changes being made to woodland trees have grown well. All sites have put on planting, but this is in selected areas such as val- good growth with the new Italian clones show- leys where there is a perceived view of outstanding ing the way with some trees averaging over values. With the carbon issue we have had discus- Interest in planting trees is on the up, sions with the Forestry Commission on how we can with an increased interest in timber produc- bring more funding to land owners from the corpo- tion for domestic use. As a result we have rate sector. So far this looks promising and we are been planting more mixed broadleaf planta- working to get full approval. As we said in the Au- Newsletter Date tions along side the poplar and also using pop- gust newsletter we want to get this correct from the Dec 2008 lar within the wood-fuel production as an early start. crop. This has in turn led to more enquiries The Accoya treatment project is moving on about short rotation coppice. We have suc- with further poplar wood going to trial. ceeded in getting some grant funding to do Other markets are also being looked at with further research in the best productive meth- the sale of FSC poplar to Europe. ods of poplar working alongside willow in SRC Work is also being done on updating our Special points biomass production. This will continue on from web site to give more information about tree plant- of interest our four trial sites already around the UK. Fur- ing in general and grants available. With Certainly ther work will also be done with Renewable Wood we have linked up with Prior & Ricketts 2008 review (forestry management company based in Hereford) Applications for new planting spring to bring more woodlands into managed production Certainly Wood 2009 are progressing well with sites through- and give landowners more opportunities to made Woodland out central England and Wales. Four of these there woodland work for them. The new website will birds include bio-fuel production or firewood for do- be up and running in the New Year any comments mestic wood boilers. There have been some would be welcome. You will also be able to look at Squirrels issues with local councils with maintenance of all newsletter and general articles on poplar. Woodland management for birds
Although woodland cover has been increasing in England, the populations and ranges of a significant number of woodland birds are in decline. Several are declining rapidly and others are in moderate decline. Although the precise causes are not fully understood, detailed research is underway. In the meantime, the need for management guidance based on best current information is likely to increase. On the home farm at Lower Lulham the PTC with the help of the RSPB did a de- tailed survey of bird life within our woods. There were 39 species recorded on site and four of these are designated as Red or species at risk. These were Bullfinch, House sparrow, song thrush and yellow hammer. For more information go to the Forestry commission Web site and look up RSPB. The issues with wildlife and woodland management is becoming more important with all applications for licences to work within woodlands now result- ing in environmental assessments being carried out and cross compliance issue on mixed estates. Restrictions on timing of work for nesting birds / bats and field mice along with many other plant and animal issues will become more of a management assessment with EU regulations coming into affect now. From the PTC side of things this has led to a reduction in the time period we are aloud to work within poplar woods. Along with increased paperwork and woodland assessments to be carried SQUIRRELS
level of grey squirrel damage within the poplar trees along with a general increase in their popu-lation in our area this year. This looks to be a general trend with some farms contacting us about increased damaged within the trees. The damage tends to look a lot like wind damage with tops of trees lying on the ground. Our management regime of inter-row cutting, high pruning and thinning tend to make poplar woods unattractive to grey squirrels. There have however been some sites where damage has occurred, particularly where the poplar are adjacent to overgrown hedges and mature native broadleaved trees or where pheasant feeders are present in the wood. Grey squirrels cause damage by stripping the bark from the main stem and big- ger branches, this often results in the tops blowing out of the trees, the most obvious indication of damage. Damage usually occurs between the end of April and the end of July. The trees usually respond by throwing out multiple leaders and readily recover. It does not tend to affect the timber quality but can look a mess within the wood. If you do have a problem act now, shooting squirrels in hedges and native trees If you are able to re- before the leaves develop can help. Warfarin baited hoppers are the most effective means of control but do need by email or know any- careful siting and pre-baiting to maximize their effect. Usually a hopper is required for one who would like to every one to five hectares of woodland. Warfarin baited hoppers can be used legally be- receive it, then please tween 15 March and 15 August where red squirrels are absent, special care must be register on our web- taken in areas where dormice may be found. There are other methods of trapping avail- able and we suggest using baited traps as a last resort. If you think you may have a problem please give us a call so that we can advise on the supply and siting of warfarin hoppers [email protected] Tel 01981250253 07966 178884 Certainly Wood is going from strength to strength with the range of products increasing and production levels set to triple when the new kilns come online in the next few weeks. Due to increased demand two new kilns are being built to run off waste wood created from production processes. In time all the waste will be used and the PTC will be supplying material for chipping tainly Wood have more than doubled in the last twelve months and we hope this trend will continue with over 2000 cubic metres of poplar processed this year. Certainly Wood will process in total over 8000 cubes of tim- ber for the wood fuel market along with sales of compressed logs and now pellets. This is expected to expand in the future. For more Finally we would like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

Source: http://www.poplartree.co.uk/documents/PTCnewsletteDEC08_000.pdf