Trees at Kinver Edge part two: Small numbers of large ones.

The last blog gave some musings on the large number of small trees at the site…..

Larger trees with spreading crowns are uncommon at Kinver
Edge, and extreme branches of oak have a tendancy to die-back
when faced with competition. 

Kinver Edge’s sandy patch off Compton Road has a good, if rather young example, of pendunculate oak Quercus robur. In the open, the tree has been able to develop a spreading crown and pay attention to girth; rather than a desperate fight for height and light. Such trees – having generous crowns, and a notable girth – are relative rarities at Kinver Edge, owing to the former pastoral use of the site.

Diameter at breast height (DBH) can be used
to calculate ages of trees.

An investigation, working with volunteers, is planned for 2012 to map the locations of many trees of significant girth: the DBH, or diameter at breast height. From these results it may be possible to see certain trends in location, especially when coupled with other archaeological evidence. There are at least two obvious former hedgerows, one of holly Ilex aquifolium and one of crab apple Malus sylvestris, marking former field edges but now consumed by secondary growth in the absence of grazing livestock. With both cases the surrounding ground levels also support the hypothesis, and historic map evidence lends further weight.

 

Maybe our more significance oaks were left to provide shade for livestock within the, allegedly, stone walled fields: producing a random distribution? Or maybe they grew up to survive the now disappeared hedgerows: showing more obvious lines? Either way, they are present, although it is a case of can’t see the trees for the wood.

A mysterious line of laid crabapple runs parallel to a wide
linear depression. Maybe a former track?

Some of Kinver Edge's larger oaks line a
public footpath off Kingsford Lane.

Trees at Kinver Edge, part one: Large numbers of small ones.

The woodland at Kinver Edge is dominated primarily by two species of trees: silver birch Betula pendula and penduculate oak Quercus robur. A few other species form minor components, such as ash Fraxinus excelsior and beech Fagus sylvatica; and a small number of areas are dominated by sycamore Acer pseudoplatanus and aspen Poplar tremulus.

Homogenous age birch thickets.

The majority of the oak-birch woodland is young in nature, having in the most part developed with the end of the site's agricultural use during the 20th century. Within this natural regeneration, the impact of human intervention can be detected in some places, whilst in others it is apparent by its absence. Dense almost homogenous-age stands of birch exist as a testimony to a historic sudden local occurance, such as removal of grazing; elsewhere older similar stands have been thinned to create copses of wider spacing, but similar ages. This approach is less random than would occur naturally as short lived birch would periodically struggle against its neighbours and succumb to the competition.



Oak woodland thinned for future harvest.



By design, this intervention method is still being applied today with the intention of producing a commercial oak crop in decades to come. The added value in this being that thinning and re-spacing creates a temporarily open canopy, allowing field layer plants to flourish before giving way to more vigorous growing bramble and bracken.



Without suitable management, valuable
open habitat is lost to bracken

Dotted throughout the woodland it is possible to find a series of open glades which have come to be dominated by bracken Pteridium aquilinum; although small amounts of characteristic heath and acid grassland species still exist in a few. Common heather, or Ling Calluna vulgaris, wavy hair-grass Deschampsia flexuosa, and heath bedstraw Galium saxatile, can still be found. However, all require active management of the intense competition from bracken and tree growth in order to continue to add to the site's diversity.



Open heathy glades are valuable and rare habitats, but
require intense management to prevent their loss. Isolation
of open areas can be devastating to populations of the country's
rarest vertebrates and invertbrates.



In terms of management for biodiversity, questions need addressing as to the most effective approach for locally and nationally important species: the answers will not be popular with everyone. They may seem counterintuitive, as selected removal of noticable amounts of trees to maintain open areas, and to create connecting grassy rides can be perceived as contradicting a misconception of what nature conservation is.

Sling Pool

Around the Trust’s Clent Hills property lie a number of

hidden valleys through which streams run and where water mills once hammered flat the scythes of the local agricultural economy. Part of this local industrial heritage, a small dam, is now in the custody of the National Trust.

It is in the nature of lakes and ponds that over time, with leaf fall and material carried in the flow of rivers and streams, open water will often give way to woodland. The process known as succession is in full effect at Sling Pool. Open water has given way to redbeds established in the accumulation of silt, and without future intervention the conditions for the growth of trees such as alder and willow will exist.

Water is a  force to be reckoned with though. A surge can have the power to scour away what can take decades, if not centuries, to develop. This, however, merely resets the clock and cannot halt what may be inevitable. To some extent, conservation management seeks to imitate the effects of nature, to maintain habitat in one form or another, and to halt the process of succession. Dredging silt to maintain open water, removing scrub to maintain grassland, grazing heathland to prevent reversion to woodland.

Loving the Alien?

A red-pink hue is evident throughout Sling Pool, pervading the reedbed and apparent in the woodland. Although some small part of this is greater and rose-bay willow herbs, the greatest contributor to the rouge palette is Himalayan balsam: an exotic, "escaped" from private collections, which has now become widespread - in part thanks to the curious intervention of some members of the public with a desire to improve nature by distributing seeds in uncolonised areas. Conventional management is to pull the balsam before or whilst in flower, to prevent the spread of its sprung seeds which can be catapulted several metres from the parent plant if disturbed.

"It doesn't belong here....it's taking up space which an indigenous plant could use.....it is so successful it outcompetes everything else".

Flowers of Himalayan balsam and seed pods.

Local populations of invertebrates, in particular bees, are oblivious to arguments about indigenous plants and invasive exotics. So whilst we anguish about processes of reducing the extent of the sweet smelling invader, and the costs and logistics of large scale operations to recreate areas of open water, bees at Sling Pool are quite literally filling their boots - or pollen sacs - with the glut of nectar which has come about through an absence of - what is deemed to be - appropriate management.

Natural Play takes shape.

The natural play area at Nimmings on the Clent Hills is taking shape, with softwood trees being removed and converted to make bridges, steps, and seating; and new fencing erected to define the play area. During the consultation one thing which children said they wanted was a treehouse, of sorts.

Bob the Warden has sketched out the design for a raised platform to wrap around a large oak tree, and this will be installed in the next few weeks.

National Trust Green Acadamies Project

From Dee, the GAP Project Officer




Summer 2011 step building project at Kinver Edge.



Green Academies Project is a Big Lottery/ Natural England funded project delivered in partnership with National Trust, Bournville College, Warwickshire Wildlife Trust and 3 Estates Youth Project/ Birmingham Youth Services. It is a five year initiative that has allowed National Trust to explore new ways of working with Volunteers and our wider local community. “For Ever, For Everyone”, means that we should be reaching out as an organisation to everyone in our community and asking the question, “How can our offer be relevant to you?”

Curtis and Jerome - building steps and erecting a handrail.

Through GAP, young, unemployed people from South Birmingham are working at the Clent Hills as volunteers, while being supported by Bournville College in gaining accredited training that will help them into employment into the future. The youth service act as a gateway to our target communities and are able to refer, recommend or signpost young people to the project. While Bournville College are accessing new students, the Youth Service have more ways in which to support and signpost young people and we in turn are benefiting from reaching new audiences and volunteers that can help us manage our sites. It is this mutual benefit that has helped GAP to go from strength to strength and ensure that much of the work will continue well after the funding has come to an end.

The courses we are running are NVQ’s in practical conservation, although the skills learned by young people are very transferable. There are opportunities for progression onto higher level qualifications through Bournville College and there is also a two year traineeship that will start in September.

In addition to the formal training that is being offered through Gap, there are also many other informal training and leisure opportunities available through our activities and events programme. These include volunteer taster sessions for community groups, schools and families, workshops in Green Wood Working and Hedge Laying, Wild Camping, Bushcraft skills, Enrichment days and Nature Trails.



Aaron and Theon - who are currently building
a children's play area at Clent Hill.



Through Consultation with Primary schools we are also creating a new Natural Play Space at the Clent Hills to encourage more families to see the site as a resource for them. As well as groups of young volunteers, two young people that have trained through GAP have been working on the construction of this new space with the support of Bob, The Warden of 17years.

“I’ve been enjoying this project because I’m building it for kids and building lots of different things. They are gonna enjoy themselves here because it’s a woodland which means they will really feel like they are outdoors in nature. I’m gonna be proud of this play area when it’s done but I am most proud of the Layed Hedge that I did at the entrance of Clent. That was really interesting and it looks good.” Theon, GAP Trainee  

GAP is a great example of how effective partnership working can benefit everyone who has a stake in it. On a bigger scale, we are recognising the value that our local community has to offer and investing in the skills that will be needed in the future to sustain the work that we do.  

Flickr sites

We have just begun two Flickr sites for the Clent Hills and Kinver Edge. So if you have any interesting pictures of wildlife, picnics, sunsets, or anything to celebrate Clent Hills or Kinver Edge, please feel free to upload.








Search for:

NT Clent Hills

http://www.flickr.com/groups/1686829@N20/

NT Kinver Edge.

http://www.flickr.com/groups/1713501@N21/

Hello from National Trust Birmingham & Black Country Countryside Team

Hello and welcome to the first of our blogs from the Birmingham and Black Country Countryside Team, here at National Trust.

We hope that this spot will be an opportunity to communicate with a particular audience about what is happening at our sites, and also how we manage them.

As a team we manage nine sites stretching from Knowle in the east to Kinver in the west. Although most people will be more familiar with Kinver Edge and the Rock Houses, and also the Clent Hills.

You can friend these sites on Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/NT-Kinver-Edge-and-the-Rock-Houses/167847646603468

https://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/NT-Clent-Hills/214703261878305