Technical
Technical
Damage to the trunk or branch does not mean that the tree requires removing
Parkland golf courses have been shown to harbour larger numbers and a greater diversity of
invertebrate fauna than surrounding farmland
Creating log piles
Land managers can easily improve the diversity and health of a woodland by artificially increasing the amount of deadwood. More mobile saproxylic species and fresh deadwood colonists will soon move in.
• Leave logs and branches where they have fallen, or create log piles from excess material
• Position piles with its long axis running east to west
• Site the pile at the edge of a ride or clearing - ideally on the north or north-east side of the clearing (e.g. in partial shade)
• As a general guide, a pile 1m high and 2-3m long will be sufficient
• Several piles scattered throughout the site is ideal
• Create new piles adjoining or close to old decaying piles to help less mobile species survive
• Heaps of fine twigs have limited value but brushwood could be tied into bundles and stacked to create more niche habitats for invertebrates
More information on habitat management can be found in Habitat Management for Invertebrates: a practical handbook by Peter Kirby; Habitat Conservation for Insects - A Neglected Green Issue from the Amateur Entomologists’ Society; and Life in the Deadwood: A guide to managing deadwood in Forestry Commission forests, which is available online.
120 PC APRIL/MAY 2012
Damage such as this can encourage a range of interesting species that require these conditions to survive
better to remove unsafe limbs than fell the entire tree. Veteran trees with full crowns can be managed in the same way. If fallen branches or other large material needs to be moved, drag it beneath the tree, or to the woodland edge where it can be under partial shade. Natural wet areas should not be drained, and fallen timber should be left in the water.
Structural diversity in woodlands is important for biodiversity, which includes open, unwooded areas. Reduced mowing along woodland edges, to encourage flowering plants and shrubs, can provide an essential nectar supply for adult flies and beetles whose larvae develop in deadwood.
Shrubby species, such as hawthorn,
can provide a food source for an assortment of flies and beetles, both from the flower and the decaying timber. Carefully controlled grazing of cows or horses within woodland can be important for species such as dung beetles (five of which are nationally scarce in the UK) and also help to control rank vegetation and scrub. Trees with damage, splits, sap runs and bracket fungi are likely to be important for a range of species such as hoverflies (Ferdinandea ruficornis) and (Brachyopa bicolour) which rely on sap flows for their larvae. Artificial damage, such as ring barking, leaving jagged stumps, creating splits in the trunk or making holes at points in the forks and crowns of trees can encourage early colonisers. Existing rot holes should never be filled or chemically treated. Soft, red rotten heartwood is the sole habitat of some of our rarest and most threatened invertebrates, such as the larvae of the violet click beetle. When managed well, woodlands can not only support saproxylic invertebrates, but also a wide variety of plants, fungi, birds and mammals. Professional advice can be sought from the Wildlife Trusts and ecological consultancies to help with
management to restore and maintain woodlands for deadwood invertebrates.
Woodlands on golf courses
Natural obstacles, such as woodlands and trees, not only add interesting challenges to the golfer’s game but can also be valuable for a range of wildlife, as described above. Based on the large areas of a golf course that are ‘non-play’ areas, (sometimes as much as 50% or above) there is a lot of scope for wildlife management. The older parkland golf courses, as well as courses with newer growth woodland, could easily adapt management practices to benefit deadwood invertebrates and increase the biodiversity of a site. Parkland golf courses have been shown to harbour larger numbers and a greater diversity of invertebrate fauna than surrounding farmland, suggesting they can be important for local biodiversity if managed sensitively. Incorporating natural buffer zones
around trees, woodlands and hedgerows within golf courses and surrounding areas could provide wildlife corridors and help ensure the continuity of deadwood invertebrates, as well as numerous other flora and fauna.
Stag Beetle ©Adrian Lewis
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