Woodland management

 

A key priority of the strategy will be to manage our woodlands, in a way that delivers a wide range of outputs. In Wales, we have a wide spectrum of temperate woodland habitats, from native woodlands to conifer plantations. Over recent decades, many coniferous forests have been diversified to increase the variety of species and ages present, and to increase the areas of open ground and native trees. This process will continue and improvements in biodiversity will appear, creating mixed woodlands of more natural appearance. The greatest priority will be devoted to managing our existing woodlands, but there are also important opportunities to provide benefits from extending our woodland cover.  New trees and woodlands can play a role in urban and rural regeneration and help to deliver conservation and landscape benefits while also creating a reserve of timber for the future.  The key objectives for woodland management are:

• To promote best practice in woodland management;
• To move to a greater use of continuous-cover systems; and
• To find appropriate sites for new trees and woodland.

To promote best practice in woodland management

The key to this objective is attaining a flexible woodland resource, better able to meet the challenges and opportunities of this new century. Too often in the past, woods have been managed for only one purpose or have not been managed at all, left unthinned and in decline. There are many different woodland types, providing a range of benefits that suit their location and ownership.  Woodlands are usually robust habitats, but incremental changes in climate and increases in populations of some insects and mammals, raise concerns for the future management  of some woodland habitats and species.

• We will develop ways of encouraging the use of best practice in managing woodland, and of extending long-term planning.
• We will encourage the thinning of woodland to increase the future flexibility of management, to create greater diversity within woodlands and to produce more valuable timber products.
• We will ensure that fair and equitable mechanisms are established for recognising the social and environmental benefits from woodlands.
• We will continue to monitor the condition of woodland, providing managers with information about the consequences of management operations.

To move to a greater use of continuous-cover systems

There is a strong case for moving away from single-aged plantations and the use of clear-felling systems. Clear-felling, followed by replanting, is a silvicultural system used on much of the National Assembly’s estate, but the potential benefits of using alternative systems, which do not involve the clear felling of sizeable areas, and which rely more on natural regeneration, will be fully investigated. Continuous-cover (where low-impact silviculture protects the soil and retains a woodland appearance) is not possible in all circumstances, but our favourable site conditions allow this type of management to be used in most sheltered woodlands.  The National Assembly owned woodlands are predominantly plantations of conifers, on sites which were previously open habitats.  These woodlands, though often more diverse than the open upland they replaced, are generally less diverse than those in private ownerships and will benefit most from conversion to a more stable woodland environment.

• We will aim to convert at least half of the National Assembly woodlands to continuous cover over the next 20 years, where practical, and encourage similar conversion in private sector woodlands.
• We will continue to gather information about continuous cover systems and how best to manage these systems for the range of benefits that society demands.

By 2002, we will establish three large-scale trial areas in National Assembly and private woodlands, to pioneer techniques for transformation to continuous cover systems and to collect information to guide future transformation in all woodland types.

To find appropriate sites for new trees and woodland

Trees and woodlands occupy about 14% of Wales, compared with the European Union average of 32%.  They provide a range of benefits to society, which can be increased through appropriate expansion. New woodlands could link and protect the remnants of our irreplaceable ancient, semi-natural woodlands, provide shelter on farms and help diversify agricultural businesses, contributing to a sustainable supply of timber for industries, large and small. New woodlands also make a valuable contribution to the restoration of the landscapes left by mineral extraction or other past industrial activities, re-establishing the links with surrounding natural habitats.  New woodlands and trees can also bring benefits in urban areas and on the urban fringe, helping maintain air quality and creating a landscape setting for homes, commerce and industry.

• We will encourage landowners and managers to look for opportunities for appropriate woodland expansion, seeking to maximise the value to society of new woodlands.
• We will work with community groups and landowners, encouraging the use of trees and woodlands to improve air quality and urban landscapes.

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