Appendix 1 - Land management options - Woodland Trees and Scrub
- Ancient trees in arable fields HC5
- Ancient trees in intensively managed grass fields HC6
- Maintenance of wood pasture and parkland HC12
- Restoration of wood pasture and parkland HC13
- Creation of wood pasture HC14
- Maintenance of woodland HC7
- Restoration of woodland HC8
- Creation of woodland in the LFA HC9
- Creation of woodland outside the LFA HC10
- Maintenance of successional areas and scrub HC15
- Restoration of successional areas and scrub HC16
- Creation of successional areas and scrub HC17
- Woodland livestock exclusion supplement HC11
For each option, overall aims, management requirements and relationships with ELS and OELS options are explained. The exact management requirements for each option, including optional prescriptions, will be negotiated with you, and then included in your agreement. The prescriptions text between square brackets may be changed by advisers to suit particular situations and management needs.
Where HLS options can be located with ELS or OELS options this is highlighted at the end of the text describing the options, see below.
Trees and woodlands provide an integral, and often dominant, part of the landscape structure in many parts of England. Woodlands have been managed for timber for thousands of years and many still retain signs of this ancient management. Ancient coppice stools and pollards can still be found in many woodlands, as can evidence of woodbanks, charcoal-hearths, iron smelting works and pottery kilns. Woodland, wood pasture, parkland and successional scrub are valuable and important wildlife habitats supporting a diversity of flora, insects, birds and mammals.
The greatest concentrations of our ancient trees are found in ancient woodlands, wood pastures and parklands. These ancient trees are a valuable habitat for wildlife including rare and threatened species of insects, lichens, fungi and bats. Wood pasture consists of large open grown trees (often pollards) usually standing in grassland or heath. They are a remnant of an ancient system of combining livestock and woodland management. Parklands are designed landscapes that were created to retain deer for hunting. Often originating in medieval times, many were embellished with formal avenues, water features and follies in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.
These options will not be available if the woodland is already receiving payments under FWPS, FWS or EWGS.
Ancient trees in arable fields HC5
View prescriptions and indicators of success
Ancient trees in intensively managed grass fields HC6
By establishing a grass buffer around the base of the tree, these options protect ancient trees within arable or intensively managed grass fields from damage by livestock, cultivation and other agricultural activities.
Management will include: establishing an unfertilised grass buffer of at least 15m radius around the base of each tree; not allowing treatments applied to the adjacent land to affect the buffer; protecting trees from damage by livestock including stock rubbing against the trees, bark stripping and soil compaction; retaining all tree limbs, including the lower limbs on the tree; retaining any standing or fallen dead wood.
Capital works such as fencing to protect trees from livestock may be funded by a Capital Works Plan.
View prescriptions and indicators of success
Maintenance of wood pasture and parkland HC12
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Restoration of wood pasture and parkland HC13
These options maintain or restore the wildlife, historic and landscape character of wood pasture or parkland. Sites that are suitable for restoration will still support a number of ancient trees and/or parkland features. It may be that the sites are not grazed, are managed under arable cropping or have been planted with conifers or other inappropriate trees.
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A management plan will usually be required for all these options and parkland restoration will always require a plan. This is to ensure that the original views and important elements
of the designed parkland are retained.
Management will include: protection of existing and newly established trees from damage by livestock, including stock rubbing against the trees, bark stripping and soil compaction; maintenance of areas of closely grazed turf interspersed with taller tussocks by grazing; no use of fertiliser, no ploughing or other cultivation, no re-seeding, rolling or chain harrowing.
Restoration such as tree planting to replace lost trees, scrub removal to prevent shading to ancient trees and restoration of ponds or water features, may be funded by a Capital Works Plan.
View prescriptions and indicators of success
Creation of wood pasture HC14
This option creates wood pasture on sites that are known to have previously been wood pasture, or on sites adjacent to or linking existing areas of wood pasture. The option can also be used on appropriate sites within the National Forest and Community Woodlands. Planting will not be allowed on archaeological sites, on sites of existing wildlife value or where trees would be detrimental to the landscape.
The preferred method of creation will be by careful and flexible grazing management to allow trees and shrubs to develop by natural regeneration. In some cases, it may be necessary to sow a specified grass seed mix or plant additional trees. These may be funded by a Capital Works Plan
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Maintenance of woodland HC7
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Restoration of woodland HC8
These options maintain or restore woodlands to benefit wildlife and protect and strengthen the local landscape character. The options are targeted at small farm woodlands, or larger woodlands that are normally grazed as part of the farming system. Larger un-grazed woodlands will usually be more suitable for the Forestry Commissions' English Woodland Grant Scheme. Please contact your RDS adviser for further advice.
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Management includes:
- maintaining rides and glades within the woodland by grazing or cutting;
- high forest management;
- rotational coppicing.
Restoration may require you to:
- exclude livestock;
- remove inappropriate species;
- undertake planting;
- protect trees from grazing damage;
- re-introduce a selective felling or coppicing cycle to re-structure the habitat.
Capital items such as planting new trees and fencing may be funded by a Capital Works Plan.
In your application, you will need to provide details of what you are trying to achieve and how this will be done.
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Creation of woodland in the LFA HC9
View prescriptions and indicators of success
Creation of woodland outside the LFA HC10
These options create small areas of new woodland that benefit wildlife and strengthen the local landscape. They can also be used to protect soils and watercourses. The options will be particularly valuable on sites adjacent to existing woodland. Planting will not be allowed on archaeological sites, on sites of existing wildlife value, or where trees will be detrimental to the landscape.
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These options are for new woodlands that are individually less than 1 ha in size and less than 3 ha in total across your holding.
If you are considering planting areas larger than 1 ha, grants may be available from the Forestry Commission under the English Woodland Grant Scheme.
Woodland creation may include: site preparation; fencing the area of natural regeneration or new planting; and controlling weeds. Capital items such as trees, tree tubes and fencing may be funded by a Capital Works Plan.
With your application you will need to provide information about how you are going to create and maintain the woodland. This should include the proposed methods of establishment (e.g. natural regeneration or planting) and areas to be left as rides and other open ground. If you propose planting, you need to provide information on the species to be planted.
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Maintenance of successional areas and scrub HC15
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Restoration of successional areas and scrub HC16
View prescriptions and indicators of success
Creation of successional areas and scrub HC17
These options aim to maintain, restore or create a succession of scrub habitat for specific target species such as dormouse, song thrush or turtle dove. The options can also be used to protect soils and watercourses. Scrub creation is particularly targeted to sites where target species already occur and where the site is adjacent to existing areas of scrub or woodland. Planting will not be allowed on archaeological sites, on sites of existing wildlife value or where trees would be detrimental to the landscape.
Management will be tailored to maintain or create the ideal scrub habitat conditions required by a particular target species or to protect vulnerable soils. This may include allowing scrub to develop naturally; extensive grazing on part, or all, of the site; exclusion of livestock; and coppicing.
View prescriptions and indicators of success
Woodland livestock exclusion supplement HC11
View prescriptions and indicators of success
This supplement supports the removal of livestock from over-grazed woodland or from areas of scrub, to encourage the establishment of trees and shrubs by natural regeneration. Following successful establishment, a grazing regime would then be re-introduced. It is only available on the restoration of woodland option HC8, and the creation or restoration of successional areas or scrub options, HC16 and HC17.
Page last modified:
21 March, 2006
Page published: 3 March, 2005