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Integrated forest vegetation management
Summary
Vegetation management is a vital component of sustainable woodland management.
Woodland management can have many objectives, such as for example timber or wood fuel production, habitat restoration, protecting or enhancing biodiversity, or providing a resource for recreation, and this can be achieved using a variety of management systems, such as continuous cover forestry, clearfelling and replanting, or restoration.
However, whatever the objective or management system adopted, at some stage a manager will need to favour the development of trees and other desirable vegetation over less desirable, competitive plants. Without suitable vegetation management, the primary objectives for the woodland are often unachievable.
Pesticides in the UK are subject to a tight regulatory framework, and their safe use requires careful and often complex planning. Despite this, due to their effectiveness and relatively low economic cost, since the 1970’s managers have come to depend on the use of herbicides to manipulate vegetation. However, recent developments in European and national policy mean that there is increasing pressure to reduce this reliance, and to consider alternative approaches.
Key challenges to managers include:-
- Pressure to reduce reliance on herbicides
- A lack of economically viable non chemical approaches
- Sustained pressure to reduce the cost associated with woodland management
- A reduction in the availability and range of approved plant protection products
- Increasing complexity of planning required for herbicide use
- Managing the spread of alien and native invasive weeds within established woodlands, a threat which may be exacerbated by future climate change.
Through innovative scientific research, this programme aims to provide practical solutions for managers to help them achieve successful woodland establishment and regeneration, particularly in lowland situations. Current work can be divided into three broad themes:-
Research objectives
- To provide comprehensive, expert advice on vegetation management and the use of herbicides to forest managers and policy makers
- To investigate the potential of direct seeding for the creation of new native woodlands, and for the restoration of plantations on ancient woodland sites
- To investigate new, cost effective approaches to reduce the use of pesticides in British forestry.
Funders and partners
This research is funded by the Forestry Commission Integrated forest vegetation management programme.
This programme also participates in EU COST Action E47 - European network for vegetation management.
Forestry Commission policy
Appropriate and sustainable vegetation management is likely to be an important underlying requirement in the delivery of a wide range of Forestry Commission country strategies.
In addition, activity in this programme derives from, amongst others, the following specific overarching policy themes:-
- The UK Forestry Standard and policy on sustainable forestry, which calls for felled woodland to be re-planted, and existing and new woodlands to be managed to deliver sustainable multiple benefits.A basic principle of the UK Forestry Standard is to minimise the use of herbicides by using them only according to the needs of the site, and only where other options are not available or uneconomic.
- The UK Woodland Assurance Standard (UKWAS), which requires managers to work towards the reduction and elimination of all synthetic pesticide use in forestry, and commits the forest industry to carrying out research into methods of reducing pesticide use in forestry and publishing the results of this research.
- UK Government policy, as detailed in the relevant country Codes of Practice, is to keep pesticide use to the lowest possible level, whilst making sure that pests, diseases and weeds are effectively controlled in a way that protects the health of people, and safeguards biodiversity, plants and the environment.
- The European Union Thematic Strategy on the Sustainable Use of Pesticides which calls on member states to minimise the risks to the environment from using pesticides and reduce their use, including substitution with non chemical alternatives.
- The European Forest Action Plan which calls for enhanced protection of forests from damaging biotic agents.
- The Forestry Commission Science and Innovation Strategy (PDF-2860K) which restates the importance of research into alternatives to chemical pesticides, calls for new approaches to dealing with biotic threats, and recommends the examination of alternative regeneration techniques such as direct seeding.
Services
Forest Research is a Pesticide Safety Directorate (PSD) ‘Officially Recognised’ efficacy testing organisation, and is able to carry out Quality Assured field trials of new and existing pesticides under strictly controlled environmental conditions, following the requirements of Good Experimental Practice (GEP).
Status
The programme is reviewed at regular intervals.
Contact
Ian Willoughby
Forest Research
Alice Holt Lodge
Farnham
Surrey GU10 4LH
Tel: 01420 22255
Fax: 01420 23653
Email: ian.willoughby@forestry.gsi.gov.uk
Forest Research collaborators
Victoria Stokes also works on the programme, and the Technical Services Unit provide essential field based technical support.
Close collaboration on direct seeding and vegetation management research takes place with the following programmes:-
