Hardwood forests (sorry if its in the wrong forum section)

[Corset]

I have just come back from a relaxing holiday in France and was around the Fontainbleau forest which i have visted several times. It occured to me that the woods were a well managed collection of Oak, beech and other hardwoods along with some pine. Regular foresting of the hardwoods seemed to occur and replantation seems to be well run. This appears to be a sustainable forestation of Hardwoods in Europe. In addition many small villages seemed to be control small coppices of hardwoods.
This led me to the think of the UK and the question of hardwood manged forests. Do we have any ? and who manage them. I live in Nottingham and all the woods that seem to be gradually changing into Pine such as Clumber park or Sherwood Pines. Does anyone plant walnut or elm anymore or am i wishfully thinking.
Owen

 

[tnimble]

Over here in the Netherlands there are production forest. However they mainly plant larch, spruce, ash, poplar and birch. However what is a bit of a shame that a lot of the trees that have to go to make place for new buildings is chopped to pieces.

Only last week they cut about 40 trees near where I work to make room for an extra parking lot near the train station. All trees where between 40 and 80 cm diameter and about 10 to 20 meters tall most of the trees where oak, elm, and maple as I recall that would made into some nice wood. However instead of chopping down the tree after removing the branches they start at the top and remove little by little of the tree to form a enormously pile of bowl blanks that almost immediately get taken away to be made into chipboard and firewood.
Project developers
:roll: Not to mention of it that the council just moved some of those trees only a year back to not to harm them while doing some extensive road repair.

 

[Mike.C]

The Forestry Commission are responsible for the protection of our forests.

Cheers

Mike

 

[RayUK]

Funny - I was looking at this site only yesterday.

http://www.woodlands.co.uk/

Now - if they had anything with a log cabin or similar in it - I'd be off like a shot.

 

[wizer]

thing is hardwood takes so long to grow. If I was to buy land and plant a hardwood forest, it will be 20yrs at least before I earn any money.

 

[ike]

Funny - I was looking at this site only yesterday.

http://www.woodlands.co.uk/

Ha! I saw their sign at Dursley Wood as I drove past yesterday and started me thinking about owning some woodland. Dursley wood is a really beautiful spot.

Ike

 

[Mark Hancock]

This led me to the think of the UK and the question of hardwood manged forests. Do we have any ? and who manage them. I live in Nottingham and all the woods that seem to be gradually changing into Pine such as Clumber park or Sherwood Pines. Does anyone plant walnut or elm anymore or am i wishfully thinking.
Owen

I know in Wales there is an organization called Coed Cymru who advise on woodland management. They have woodland officers with every unitary authority and have been very successful at getting woodlands managed well after their demise in the mid 20th century. When living in Wales when every I required fresh timber I would contact an officer and find out where felling was occurring.

I seem to remember Coed Cymru were in competition with the Forestry Commission with woodland owners because they were advising on hardwood management and the Forestry were going for softwoods which gives a quicker monetary return - usually in 20 years you can get a money crop from softwoods, it's a lot longer with hardwoods. Quite often it came down to what grants are available.

I did hear that a similar scheme was started in Cumbria but I don't know how successful it was.

 

[MrJay]

The word 'wood' comes from the product of coppicing (cutting a tree every 5 - 10 years or so, letting it regrow ready for another crop in 5 - 10 years). That's why we talk about burning wood but building with timber; 'timber' is the product of standard trees (trees allowed to grow tall with a single stem). Woodland is a place where coppicing happens. That we do woodwork with timber in the 21st century is a bit of a misuse of the word.

Most of our traditional english woodlands were mostly compartments of coppice cut on rotation and interspersed with standard trees for a timber crop.

Modern forestry (another strange use of words, Forestry is about game, not trees) in UKland tends to prefer a fast crop (willow, birch, softwoods and such) and dislikes the complexity of mixing coppice and standard trees as there's very little profit to be had from local coppice these days. Most management of traditional woodland is done to maintain habitat and landscape value rather than to harvest a commercial crop; though there is a tiny resurgence in green woodworking.

I'm trustee of a group that looks after a couple of bits of woodland in my spare time and have do something of a long term ambition to make traditional mixed woodland management at least pay for itself even if not turn in a profit.

Planting Elm is a no no as it's hoped that Dutch Elm Disease can be controlled by isolating it.

 

[Corset]

Interesting stuff that about wood and timber.
So in summary not much is happening to deal with the long term. Anywhere have some mature walnut trees i would love to see what one looks like?
Owen

 

[MrJay]

There's plenty around, but you have to go looking. You won't find a convenient walnut plantation. They pop up in parks and gardens all over.

The Forestry Commission has been leaning towards native hardwoods as a crop in recent years, but it takes a while to happen. Lots of woodland hasn't been managed for the last 50 odd years, so there's a profusion of oak, ash and sweet chestnut timber out there that's gotta come down at some point.

 

[Pete W]

Go here:
http://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/

Join, make a difference, save a tree (so we can cut it down and use it later)