Knock on wood
By Jacci Gooding
The United Nations General Assembly declared 2011 as the ʻInternational Year of Forestsʼ, to raise awareness on sustainable management, conservation and sustainable development of all types of forests.
• Ancient lime tree roots I
t has been a long time since forests and forestry were headline news in the UK. Not since Little Red Riding Hood and Robin Hood have our native woodlands demanded so much attention. With the Government’s ill-advised proposed sell-off now consigned to the woodpile, unfortunately forests are once again making the wrong sort of news due to the fires that have been burning countrywide. The news inform us that severe damage has been done to habitats and wildlife, and yet, when not in peril, our forests and woodlands meld into the natural geography of the British Isles, disappearing in a veil of green, only to be noticed again for a few short weeks during autumn when the leaves explode with colour before falling, creating the fairy-tale like carpet of russet leaves on the ground. We visit woods and forests in our thousands; we walk through them, picnic in them, enjoy them - they’re just there.
But who is it that manages and
cares for these incredibly diverse and important eco-systems on our behalf? Why do they do it? How do they do it?
32 August 2011
How long does it take? I spoke to Eddie Asbery, Woodland Project Officer for Warwickshire Wildlife Trust, about what it takes to be a Woodland Project Officer, how the recent threat to the UK’s woodlands helped boost public interest in these wonderful open spaces and why it is indisputable that our ancient woodlands are maintained and correctly managed for future generations. I met Eddie at Ryton Woods for a
walk around the nature reserve, and he explained his job, the importance of the long-term survival of the woodland and how we are all needed to help protect it. ‘Two woodlands in particular that fall under my jurisdiction, Wappenbury Wood and Ryton Wood, are part of a bigger wooded landscape around Princethorpe. This cluster of woodlands represents 10% of Warwickshire’s woodland cover with many surrounding woods being ancient - that is over 400 years old,’ said Eddie. As we started on our journey along the path, Eddie pointed at what appeared to be over-grown areas
apparently just left to ramble. These were in fact properly managed areas that several years ago had been cleared, the non-indigenous plants removed in favour of the native woodlands plants and then left to recover naturally. Without this care, many plants and the animals that rely on them, would be choked and eventually die, along with the wildlife they support. For example, Ryton Wood is one of the largest woods in Warwickshire and is home to 34 out of the 35 species of butterflies that live in Warwickshire. If the plants that sustain these butterflies cannot flower, then it would be catastrophic for the butterflies. Great care is taken in developing and sustaining this delicate balance. In the earlier part of the 20th century, many forests and woodlands across the UK were partially felled and the ancient trees replaced with conifers. At the time, these fast growing trees were needed to supply wood, but the effect they had on the natural environment was close to disasterous. Thankfully, this error was recognised by naturalists and botanists just in time to reverse any long term damage. Luckily, Ryton Wood escaped this mis-management and once the woods were no longer used as a resource, were left very much to their own devices. But it wasn’t always like that. ‘Both Ryton and Wappenbury woods
have a colourful history,’ said Eddie, ‘with evidence of ridge and furrow plough patterns, wood banks marking old boundaries, possible evidence of rabbit keeping and old small leaved lime trees which link the wood to the last ice age.’ As you walk round, if you know where
to look, you can see old boundaries and paths from the days when the woods were a form of food and sustenance to whole communities. Even before the Romans landed on our chilly shores, the indigenous roaming wild deer, boar, cows and horses had created open grazing areas within forests. When man saw that these fertile areas had become food-rich pockets of sustenance, early forest dwellers
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