Chestnut coppice grows in abundance in the South East of England, especially in Kent and East Sussex. However it is quite small diameter, being harvested about every 15-25 years. The timber is very strong and resistant to rot. For some uses it is better than oak and unlike softwoods it does not need treating with chemicals. The problem is how to turn these relatively thin stems into useable pieces of timber and a small company, InWood, has found an answer. I was visiting The Woodland Centre to collect a batch of six-inch decking that the factory team had made for me, and they offered me a tour round the factory. Their answer is to glue it together using finger-joints which are actually stronger than the wood itself and you can use it for decking, cladding and even structural beams. My decking boards had machined-in grooves to stop it being slippery and there were other options for width such as their three-inch or four-inch boards. Peter Black, the factory manager, explained how they buy sweet chestnut planks and process them by sawing them to width, taking out the knots and any wood that is rotten or infested with woodworm. He says that there are also occasional shotgun pellets which need removing - many of the chestnut coppice woodlands in East Sussex are used for pheasant shoots. The sawing produces short pieces of the same width and thickness but the highlight for the visitor is seeing their German machine which automatically cuts a tooth-like pattern in each end and puts polyurethane glue on it. These sections are then pushed together to make long, virtually defect-free planks. The factory generates plenty of waste wood which burns well and burns hot - it is either used for heating the workshop or sold for firewood. Enviously I looked at the part of the workshop where they use a huge hydraulic press to make “Gluelam”, being laminated beams from planks. These bigger timber beams have lots of advantages over the alternative of using large sections of tree trunk: the wood is much more stable, is less likely to twist & warp, longer sections can be made and there is often less wastage. InWood’s front man is Alan Ellis whose phone number is 01825 872550, and he is happy to supply trade or retail. On their website (www.in-wood.co.uk) you can find some spectacular garden rooms which they make from laminated chestnut. We got our Sweet Chestnut decking from InWood because of the quality, and their sensible prices. This method of producing timber supports sustainable British Forestry as well as the coppicers.  Successive generations of coppice workers have used their skills since at least Roman times, when sweet chestnut was first introduced to southern England.

Hazels, alders, and hornbeams belong to the Birch family - the Betulaceae.  The white birch, silver birch has the scientific name Betula pendula.   The birch is the national tree of Finland. As trees go, it has a rather slender, delicate form, and may be seen swaying in the wind.  Its silvery / white bark develops blackened fissures with age.  Early in the year it forms flowers, the male flowers in the form of catkins.    The female flowers become a dark red colour after pollination, eventually forming small, wind dispersed, winged seeds. The male catkins release large quantities of pollen (before the leaves emerge).  This pollen is the dominant tree pollen in Northern Europe (in Spring).  It is often implicated in allergic responses such as rhinitis (runny nose / sneezing) and asthma.   Birch is a pioneer species, it can colonise open spaces, and disturbed ground quickly.  It grows fast and once established, it helps ‘protect’ or shelter slower growing species, like Oak.  It has a limited life span, perhaps a maximum circa 70 years and then gives way to longer lived species such as Oak and Beech.  The tree can provide a home or food for many species of insect, woodpeckers may nest in the trunks and other birds may feed on its seeds.   The tree is quite susceptible to the honey fungus, which is the name given to several species of the fungus Armillaria. The fungus attacks and kills the roots of a number of trees and shrubs. One symptom of honey fungus is a white fungal ‘layer’ between the bark and wood, often at ground level. Clumps of honey-coloured mushrooms sometimes appear briefly on infected stumps in Autumn. The birch tree has had many uses over the years, some dating back to the neolithic period.  It has been used to make perfumes, adhesives, and besom brooms. Bundles of birch twigs were used for corporal punishment, and the twigs may be available in saunas to stimulate blood flow in the skin!  The wood of the tree is used in furniture making, creating veneers and in wood turning.  However, it is the bark and sap that have attracted most interest and have many uses.  Slabs of the bark are used as roofing shingles, and strips of it were  / are used to make bast shoes and in handicrafts.  The bark has been used in tanning, and when heated a resin forms which can act as a waterproof glue.  In Spring, large quantities of sap rise up the stem(s) of the tree and this can be tapped. The sap is best collected in early Spring as, if collected later, it tends to have a somewhat bitter flavour.   Birch sap contains sugars, amino acids and minerals (e.g. manganese), it may be drunk fresh or fermented.  Bottled birch water is available online.   In recent times, attention has focused on wood pulp from birch.  It is a rich source of plant sterols and stanols.  Sterols and stanols are naturally occurring substances that have a chemical make up that is similar to cholesterol. They are found naturally in small quantities in vegetable oils, legumes, seeds, nuts, legumes, grains, and vegetables. Back in the 1950’s, they were found to lower cholesterol levels in the body, if eaten in large enough quantities. One called beta β-sitosterol was particularly effective in reducing the absorption of cholesterol from the intestines.  However, there was the problem of finding a rich enough source of these compounds.  This was ‘solved’ when it was found that wood pulp could yield the compounds in quantity.  Now margarine-like spreads, milks and yoghurts are available that contain β-sitosterol or similar stanols in sufficient quantity to effect a lowering of blood cholesterol levels.  β-sitosterol has also been to improve urinary flow in men with prostate enlargement.

Deer are eating out the bottom of our woodlands and wildlife is suffering.  Although the size of the national deer population is not known for sure it is probably at its highest for a thousand years. There may be as many as two million deer in the UK’s countryside. There are several types, such as the two native species, being the Red deer (Cervus elaphus) and the Roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) - which is the most populous of the larger deer being, perhaps, 500,000 animals. Then there are the ones the Normans introduced, the Fallow deer (Dama dama) with a population of at least 150,000. On top of that there are three species of deer which have been introduced from the Far East including the Sika deer (Cervus nippon).  The other two from China are very different - there are relatively small numbers of the Chinese Water deer (Hydropotes inermis), whereas there are probably hundreds of thousands of the small and mostly nocturnal Muntjac (Muntiacus reevesi). They are all hungry and they all love woodlands. Most people believe the deer population needs to be controlled, or even reduced in number, but the range of species makes that harder to do. If you reduce the population of one type of deer the others will expand their numbers. Culling, or shooting, is certainly helping but stalkers are usually only interested in the larger species with enough meat to make it worthwhile and this leaves the muntjac space to thrive. Here is a film we made of a Scottish deer stalker explaining her job and how her stalking helps with environmental management: [embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ISh2sN-Ljy8&ab_channel=WoodlandsTV[/embed] Megan: “99% of stalking is looking through the binoculars.” Other ways of controlling the deer population are fencing them out but that is expensive and unlikely to work in the large open areas of the British countryside such as the moors and the uplands. Another potential method of control is introducing predators such as lynx or other larger hunting species. This meets some resistance from the public and the unintended consequences are that the predators might well go after different species altogether and occasionally humans. Most work is going on with contraceptive solutions so that the birth rate is reduced and less killing or culling is needed. This is also being researched for controlling populations of wild boars and grey squirrels to keep their numbers in check. It means getting the drugs to the target species and usually to the females which is often done through their foodstuffs, using food hoppers which are designed to be only accessible to that species. Other approaches include sterilization through injections and the Deer Initiative partnership has done a lot of work on examining different methods of biological control of deer numbers: https://www.thedeerinitiative.co.uk/pdf/contraception-and-wild-deer-control.pdf It’s not easy.  Even if one of these methods works, it will require an enormous effort to cut deer populations particularly of the smaller and more evasive species such as the muntjac. What do you think should be done? Meanwhile , deer are dangerous to motor cars.  The British Deer society estimates that annually there are between 40,000 and 70,000 accidents involving deer and this leads to about 700 human injuries, and far more deer fatalities!. So, in short, an overpopulation of deer is a large and growing problem: they damage the flora in woodlands, they eat young saplings, they compete with other mammals for space, they eat farmers’ crops, they carry ticks and they cause road accidents. The challenge of controlling the deer population is very real.

Rapid onset climate change, and the spread of new pests and diseases are creating unprecedented challenges to the long-term survivability of UK woodlands.  This looming threat is becoming ever more tangible, and the need for strategies of resilience building is urgent. Promoting diversification within and amongst woodlands has been identified as one such strategy with the potential for significant, positive impact. DiversiTree is a UKRI-funded project led by the James Hutton Institute which is measuring the impact a more diverse mixture of tree species has on building resilient woodland ecosystems, as well as how woodland managers and others understand woodland diversity, and what they are CURRENTLY doing to promote resilient woodlands. The project also hopes to generate practical advice and results which managers can use to make better informed decisions regarding the species mix of their woodlands, especially with regard to conifers. A key question which often accompanies discussions of woodland diversity is the planting of non-native species within British woodlands. The DiversiTree project is taking an evidence-focussed approach to its assessment and are investigating how ecological resilience interacts with woodlands with different priorities or objectives and what this might mean for the longer-term ecological sustainability of the forests of the UK. In actuality, many native woodlands are rather species poor, and could potentially benefit from a period of managed diversification with native species, non-natives, or a mixture depending on local objectives and context. What is critical here, is understanding the ecological role ANY tree can serve in a complex landscape, and planting in a manner which enhances and strengthens a woodland’s biodiversity.   If you’d like to learn more about our work and keep updated with our progress, please follow us on Twitter @DiversiTree_UK (https://twitter.com/DiversiTree_UK?s=20) or email [email protected] with any questions.  Seumas Bates (Environmental Anthropologist, Bangor University)  

Many trees emit a scent or fragrance.  They form volatile organic compounds (VOC’s), often oils.  Pine trees, for example, release pinenes. Such VOC’s contribute to the smell that you may experience as you walk through a woodland.  The VOCs contribute to the formation of aerosols.  An aerosol is a ‘mixture’ of very small particles (solid or liquid) in air; other examples of aerosols include mist, cigarette smoke, or even car exhaust fumes!  Recent research by the University of East Finland has showed that aerosols formed from VOCs can reduce the amount of solar radiation that reaches the earth’ surface, by scattering some of the radiation back into space.  [caption id="attachment_40200" align="aligncenter" width="532"] Felling in progress[/caption] Pine trees are often grown in vast numbers and periodically felled for timber and paper making.  One by-product of paper-making (by the Kraft process) is turpentine - formed by the condensation and collection of the volatile oils in the wood). The pinenes (α and β) are major constituents of turpentine.  ‘Turps’ is used as a solvent to thin oil-based paints, for producing varnishes and as a ‘raw material’ in the chemical industry.  α-Pinene was used to make toxaphene (an insecticide, now banned).  Pinene can also treated with acetic acid to make a perfume with a pine needle smell. Recently a team of scientists at the University of Bath have found a new use for the by-products of paper production.  Using pinene from turpentine, they have been able to make a number of pharmaceutical compounds that can then be made into the painkillers - paracetamol and ibuprofen.  They have also successfully made other chemicals from the plant based turpentine, including compounds that may be used to synthesise `beta-blockers (heart tablets) and salbutamol (used for asthma).   At present, many pharmaceuticals and other chemicals are ultimately derived from crude oil.  Hopefully, this research will ultimately lead to a more sustainable and ‘green’ approach to drug / pharmaceutical manufacture. Biochar is the black residue, consisting of carbon and ashes that remain when plant biomass is subject to pyrolysis - that is, very high temperatures with very little  or no oxygen present oxygen. The material that remains is largely elemental carbon.  The benefits of converting plant biomass into biochar is that the carbon is ‘locked up’, rather than being released by decay and decomposition into the atmosphere as carbon dioxide.  Its advocates claim that when added to soil, it improves soil structure and function, as well as being a form of carbon sequestration.. [caption id="attachment_40215" align="alignleft" width="300"] cocoa fruit[/caption] Various forms of biomass (woody debris, corn stalks) have been used to produce biochar, however, a novel method makes use of ‘discarded’ cocoa bean shells.  These are heated to a temperature in excess of 600oC, with no oxygen present.  This particular form of biochar is being produced in in Hamburg. The plant, which is one of the largest in Europe, receives a supply of used cocoa shells viably a network of grey pipes from a neighbouring chocolate factory.  Apart from its use as a fertiliser, it is possible that it might be used as an ingredient to create a ‘green’ (or more environmentally friendly) form of concrete. The sequestration of carbon is vital if we are to avoid the worst effects of climate change.  Global warming has triggered an increase in heatwaves, floods, droughts, and forest fires in recent years; June temperature data confirms it was the planet's hottest on record. Cocoa fruit : courtesy of Pixabay.

As society and industry have become increasingly aware of environmental damage, so there has been a growth in the search for sustainable practices, for example, switching from oil / coal based power generation to wind and solar power.  Now various industrial processes are looking to use natural and sustainable materials that cause less environmental damage, by making use of ‘green chemistry’. The leather industry (worldwide) make extensive use of chromium salts in the tanning process.  The object of the tanning process is to change animal hide into a leather that is resistant to microbial attack.  Chromium (III) sulphate is an effective and efficient tanning agent, forming compounds that interact with a protein (collagen) in the animal hide.  However, certain chromium (VI) compounds are hazardous if released into the environment.    Whilst chrome tanning is faster than vegetable tanning and produces a stretchable leather suitable for handbags and garments, research and thought are now being given to the greater use of vegetable tannins, using plant waste material.  Tannins are produced by many higher plants, indeed the bark of many trees, such as Oak, Chestnut, Acacia and Eucalyptus are rich sources of tannin. Tannins bind to the collagen in the hide so it becomes more resistant to bacterial attack. In a living tree, tannins serve to defend the tree against microbial attack and to dissuade herbivores (from insects to mammals) from eating the plant material - because of their bitter taste. Recent work has shown that waste material (bark) from Acacia nilotica (the Gum Arabic tree) and Eucalyptus globulus (Blue Gum tree) is rich in tannins and can be used commercially for tanning in the leather industry, and is a relatively eco-friendly process.  The process of reusing, recycling or composting waste materials and converting them into more useful products (materials, chemicals, fuels or sources of energy) is sometimes referred to as waste valorization. “Waste-to-energy” scenarios are becoming important as resources are depleted, and waste production and disposal  are increasingly problematic Eucalyptus image(above left) by sandid from Pixabay

The Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust has spearheaded an initiative to introduce Pine Martens to the Forest of Dean. Some 35 Pine Martens have been released into the forest, between 2019 and 2021.  They have produced litters each year, and there is now thought to a population of some 60 animals.  Pine Martens have two or three ‘kits’ (young) a year.   At one time, Pine Martens were common across the U.K. but the loss of their natural habitat (forest and woodlands) combined with hunting has reduced their presence to remote areas in the North and West. Now, they are a protected species; it is illegal to kill, disturb, sell or possess a pine marten.  Scotland’s population is estimated at 3700 adults.  In the Galloway Forest, the numbers of adults and young are being monitored with thermal imaging cameras.   Pine Martens enjoy a broad diet, ranging from small mammals, insects, eggs and wild fruits - eating that which is most abundant.  They will prey on grey squirrels, and there is the possibility that this may help red squirrels re-establish themselves in more southerly areas.  Forestry and Land (Scotland) have placed artificial pine marten dens in areas where there are red squirrels.  The boxes (with wood shavings to encourage nesting) are placed some 4 to 5 metres off the ground.  The Yorkshire Arboretum has just constructed a special enclosure and introduced a small population of red squirrels.  The enclosure is designed to keep Red Squirrels in and Grey Squirrels out. Two of the females have just produced four kits (young). The Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust is also involved in the Severn Treescapes project.  This is a scheme that involves significant tree planting to link the Wye Valley with the Wye Forest - to create a significant corridor of woodlands, hedgerows, orchards etc across the counties of Gloucestershire, Herefordshire and Worcestershire.   Woodlands TV has a video about the Pine Marten : [embed]https://youtu.be/20RS1M-U008[/embed]

We first became aware of the tree health pilot (THP) scheme in 2021 when we received a Statutory Plant Health Notice (SPHN) for trees infected by one of the specified pests. The THP scheme has been designed to help slow the spread of pests and diseases affecting trees in England. There are grants available for larch trees with Phytophthora ramorum, spruce trees affected by Ips typographus, sweet chestnut trees with Phytophthora ramorum or sweet chestnut blight, oak trees with oak processionary moth (OPM) and ash trees with ash dieback. In our case, the Larger Eight-toothed Spruce Bark Beetle [Ips typographus] had been found in the Norway spruce and we were instructed to fell, move, process and destroy all spruce trees in the defined area of the wood. Strict but clear directions were given regarding the ‘how, when and where’ for the felling and processing. An initial site visit and ongoing support from the Forestry Commission and their Plant Health Forestry Team allowed us to follow the process of applying for a THP grant with ease. We submitted the application and received confirmation that the grant application was successful, at which point it was over to the team undertaking the felling. Once complete a final inspection from the Forestry Commission took place to ensure we adhered to the agreed method statement (as specified in the SPHN) and then we were able to submit the claim. This claim was processed and received – all within approx. 3 weeks. Fast forward to 2023. One of the woods we are managing in the southeast (which lies within the Ips typographus demarcated area) has a small stand of Norway spruce (approx. 0.5 hectare). Some of the trees are damaged, stressed or dead, and at risk of providing the right conditions for the eight-toothed spruce bark beetle. Advice from the Forestry Commission is: How does felling healthy spruce help the situation? This reduces the opportunity for colonisation [of the beetle] and may sometimes be required as a precaution to ensure that trees that could be potentially infested are removed. Removing spruce as a host from the demarcated area entirely will limit the possibility of populations of Ips typographus establishing and prevent spread to other areas. Predicted climate change means that what is currently healthy spruce may not remain so over future years, hence early felling could reduce the risk of these areas becoming future outbreak sites. We decided to investigate whether the THP scheme could support the proactive felling and extraction of the Norway spruce. We submitted an Expression of Interest for the THP scheme, the Forestry Commission undertook a site visit and were able to confirm there was no Ips found in the wood, and we were eligible to apply for the grant. We concurrently applied for a felling licence to clear fell the compartment of Norway spruce. It is worth noting, if an SPHN is served then normally there are no restocking conditions applied however restocking and maintenance grants are available to support restoring woodland In this case there are restocking conditions in line with the felling licence – an opportunity to plant and enable native broadleaves to thrive – that can also be grant-aided. An application for the THP scheme was submitted and we subsequently received a grant offer which was accepted. What next? A pre-felling survey was required in order to determine pest freedom for Ips typographus, and the authorisation for harvesting operations remains valid for 3 months. [caption id="attachment_40238" align="aligncenter" width="675"] Galleries formed by the beetles[/caption] An inspection for Ips typographus will need to take place before any felled timber can be taken off site – the advice is to fell and move the timber quickly rather than leaving stacks in the wood. The felling commences this week and should only take 5 days, and we plan to restock with native broadleaves over the winter. The Forestry Commission has produced a very useful guide Ips typographus: Guidance on the movement restrictions of spruce trees - Forestry Commission (blog.gov.uk) but throughout the whole process the Forestry Commission and Plant Health team have been really supportive and quick to answer queries about Ips, the THP grant scheme and the forestry operations. My advice if you have a stand of Spruce – is to speak to your Forestry Commission Woodland Officer about getting involved with the Tree Health Pilot scheme or visit their website to find out more: Tree health pilot scheme - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) Last week we hosted a number of people from the Forestry Commission, the Plant Health Forestry team, Forest Research, and DEFRA. They are continually evolving the scheme to understand how best to provide this vital funding to woodland owners to enable and encourage management of spruce and Ips. We were pleased to say they have, however,  not found it in the wood!