Conservation & Ecology G
orse, what is it? A leafless member of the pea family with angry spikes that really hurt when you touch them! There is, of course, much more to this
plant than the aforementioned sentence, but that was how I, and many others, always thought of gorse; until lately, that is. Gorse, furze, whins, the hedgehog plant,
whatever you want to call it, is one of the most fauna friendly plants you could ever wish to meet. It does have its downsides, such as it being able to fix nitrogen from the rootzone it is growing in, therefore being able to out-compete other native plants or grasses; or the fact that it requires lots more management and subsequent waste removal than many others. It is also listed in the ‘World’s 100 most invasive plants’. However, and in comparison to the following good points, I think we can deal with a little hard work when you see the potential benefits to golf courses or sportsgrounds. I won’t dwell for too long on its
identification as, for those of you who are not familiar with gorse will find out, once dealt with, you will probably not forget your encounter with it - you will not easily forget the tiny spikes which break off into the end of your finger where they seem to annoyingly stay for days on end, but for every yin there’s a yang, so please read on.
The Benefits to Wildlife
The list of wildlife which will use gorse as a either a nest site or a safe hideaway is not limitless, but it’s not far from it! Take nesting birds for instance. Wrens, stonechats, linnets, yellowhammers and Dartford warblers (to name but a few) will take readily to a well-managed gorse stand, but I have to highlight that the stand does have to be managed, otherwise nothing much at all will reside there. The aforementioned linnets and
yellowhammers are on the RSPB’s Red List of endangered birds, therefore the gorse we have on our sports grounds and golf courses should be of the dense and compact form for these passerines to climb back onto the amber or green section of the list, whereas the elusive Dartford warbler spends the majority of its time mooching in and around gorse stands. The Red List criteria is briefly explained as:
- Globally threatened
- Historical population decline in UK during 1800-1995
- Severe (at least 50%) decline in UK breeding population over last twenty-five years, or longer-term period (the entire period used for assessments since the first BoCC (Birds of Conservation Concern) review, starting in 1969)
- Severe (at least 50%) contraction of UK breeding range over last twenty-five years, or the longer-term period
One species of bird which has a close relationship with gorse is the great grey shrike, also known as the butcher bird. This magnificent raptor catches its prey (usually a
mouse or smaller bird) and then impales it on a gorse spikelet where it will return at a later date to chomp on the slowly decaying critter. The term ‘butcher bird’ derives from the way a butcher hangs the meat on a hook or other such sharp implement - similar to the shrike’s method of storage - but I guess the shrike was carrying out this method long before we had butchers! Rabbits, whilst often a nuisance to us
grassland managers, are an important part of the food chain and, as such, should never be eradicated fully. The first place a rabbit will run to when there is a predator in the area is a gorse stand, where it is reasonably safe from whatever is chasing it - unless a stoat or a weasel is in hot pursuit, then it is probably doomed. Many larger animals will use gorse as a
safe resting site, including roe deer. I recently noted three of these smashing Eurasian species of deer adjacent to a gorse stand on the East coast of Scotland - as soon as they saw me, they all darted into the stand where they became unobservable, and this is another example of gorse being great for wildlife. Gorse has the potential to flower all year
round and quite often does; its bright yellow flowers offer a great source of nectar for early emerging pollinating insects, such as the peacock butterfly or many types of queen bee, not to mention that it is aesthetically pleasing and holds a strong smell of coconuts - next time you are near gorse in flower then take a smell. It always reminds me of being on holiday, for some reason.
What’s the best way to manage gorse?
There are many ways to approach gorse management but, quite often, the easiest way is the best! For instance, if a stand looks scruffy and unkempt, then why not manage it by coppicing the bits which need it; simple! However, five year gorse plans can
become a tad more in-depth when approached from a set management point of view, as these require a lot more attention than simply looking at a stand and deciding which part requires coppicing. With the aforementioned paragraphs in mind, let’s start with how you actually manage gorse. If a stand of gorse is deteriorating at the
same rate, then it is probably best to coppice all of it in one hit; that’s if there is plenty more gorse on-site. If there are not too many gorse stands on-site, then it is best to coppice the inner section of any given stand during the first year, followed by the outer section the following year. Ideally, removal would take place over three or even four seasons - starting from the middle and working your way outwards - but this is not always doable through time constraints, labour etc. If you want to use traditional cultural methods (bow saws and pruners), then please do but, where gorse is concerned, it is usually best to chainsaw your way through a stand. It is, however, imperative that anyone who uses a chainsaw must be competent
PC JUNE/JULY 2015 I 101
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132 |
Page 133 |
Page 134 |
Page 135 |
Page 136 |
Page 137 |
Page 138 |
Page 139 |
Page 140 |
Page 141 |
Page 142 |
Page 143 |
Page 144 |
Page 145 |
Page 146 |
Page 147 |
Page 148 |
Page 149 |
Page 150 |
Page 151 |
Page 152 |
Page 153 |
Page 154 |
Page 155 |
Page 156