New Forest Inclosures Forest Design Plan 2016-2026 Presentation

This slide offers context with respect to the time frame that the proposal is working within.

The FDP approval period of 10 years is a fraction of the journey towards the vision.

Subsequent revisions will take account of the context at the time to aid decision making.

Management Types 2016-2016 Map is what we are actually going to do. All other maps inform the reader of the context and decision making process we have gone through to develop this map.

These are the main changes that the proposals will lead to in the long term.

General move for all woodland within Inclosures EXCEPT:

Rhinefield Ornamental drive, Waterside Inclosures, Puck Pitts which potentially have cultural / social reasons for retaining coniferous woodland.

A coniferous (non-native) woodland

A ‘managed’ native woodland.

Note the varied structure, the multiple species of native trees and shrubs and the provision of timber producing canopy trees (high quality hardwood).

Also, the bramble present which is beneficial to invertebrates and birds.

On this journey you have to go through a mixed phase.

This phase is likely to take decades or longer depending on the incumbent conifer species.

This is due to the low-impact, continuous cover type systems prosed where we thin out the conifers over time rather than clearfell and replant.

Continuous cover (low impact silviculture) relies on thinning woodlands and small group fellings to open up opportunities for natural seeding of trees to replace those felled.

It can lead to woodlands with a much more varied structure.

As thinning favours the retention of native trees the balance of non-native : native trees within the woodland is gradually tipped towards predominantly native. However, this can take several generations to achieve depending on species type.

Areas identified include:

Islands Thorns Inclosure (grazed), South Bently (grazed), South Oakley, Pond Head & Park Ground (not grazed)

Plantation 19th century oak.

Uniform, little to no understorey, historically thinned towards timber crop outcome.

Varied structure, diverse tree ‘architecture’, different light and vegetation levels at the ground due to history of management.

Almost unique. Incredibly rare and scarce. Harbours very rare wildlife and plants.

A decision tree has been developed to help us determine when and how these areas should be managed in order to achieve the desired outcome of structure akin to A&O woodlands as opposed to maximised timber value.

Identified areas include:

Kings Copse Inclosure, Hawk Hill Inclosure, Highland Water Inclosure

Note the ground vegetation suggests a soil type here which has heathland potential underneath the Corsican Pine trees

Open Forest, heathlands, grasslands, mires, native woodlands etc.

The process has its own management obstacles such as regeneration from the seed bank and neighbouring plantations.

Economic maturity means the age at which the trees growth slows down to a rate where traditionally, it would be more economic to fell and replant than to retain the standing trees, except here of course, the areas will not be replanted.