Restoring Ancient Woodland

. Site summary

Total woodland: approximately 15 acres (c. 6.1 ha).

Elevation: between 120-180 m above sea level.

Existing canopy: predominantly larch, Scots pine and Douglas fir plantation, with surviving ancient woodland areas/remnants.

Landform: the woodland occupies a spur, with steep slopes on the east, south and west sides. Approximately 8 acres consist of flatter ground across the top and northern parts of the site. There are underground springs on the east and west banks. 

Existing working infrastructure:

• Large plant storage shed 

• Biochar-making station 

• 2x temporary log stores 

• Moveable woodland welfare unit 

• Moveable office

• Moveable storage

• Tapped spring (east side)

Desired additions:

• Native tree nursery 

• Solar timber kilns and biochar drying area 

• Permanent log store

• Water reservoir/wildlife lakes 

• Managed coppice 

• Food-producing trees and shrubs 

• Dedicated fungi-growing area 

3. Proposed woodland zones

The intention is to create a mosaic of interconnected habitats rather than rigid blocks in accordance with biomimicry. 

A. Ancient woodland restoration — approximately 3–5 acres*

Protect surviving ancient woodland features and restore plantation-on-ancient-woodland areas.

Management should be relatively low intervention, with gradual conifer reduction, protection of natural regeneration, retention of deadwood and restoration of native woodland structure.

B. Native woodland conversion — approximately 4–6 acres*

Gradually convert plantation to diverse native woodland through selective thinning, natural regeneration and enrichment planting.

C. Coppice — approximately 1–1.5 acres

Create a productive rotational coppice for poles, stakes, craftwood, fuel, mushroom logs and wildlife habitat.

D. Food woodland / forest-garden edge — approximately 0.5–1 acre

Establish fruit trees, nut trees and edible shrubs within sunny glades and woodland edges.

E. Working woodland hub — approximately 1–2 acres

Accommodate the existing biochar operation, shed, timber/log storage, welfare facilities and proposed solar kilns.

F. Native tree nursery — approximately 0.25–0.75 acre

Grow trees and shrubs for the woodland restoration programme, ideally including material propagated from appropriate local native trees.

G. Water and open-habitat network — approximately 0.5–1 acre

Reservoir/wildlife lake, wet woodland, glades, scrub, rides and open habitat.

H. Fungi-growing corner

A smaller, shaded productive area associated particularly with the coppice and food woodland, providing dedicated space for cultivated edible mushrooms while keeping introduced fungi separate from the ancient woodland restoration areas.

4. Ancient woodland and PAWS restoration

The ancient woodland areas are the highest ecological priority.

Before substantial forestry work begins we are:

• Mapping and protect surviving native trees. 

• Identifing old coppice stools. 

• Identifing veteran and future-veteran trees. 

• Protecting woodbanks, ditches and historic boundaries. 

• Recording old tracks. 

• Identifing significant deadwood. 

• Surveying ancient woodland ground flora. 

• Identifying naturally regenerating native trees. 

• Recording important fungi and fungal habitats where possible. 

We will avoid blanket clear-felling within sensitive ancient woodland areas.

Instead, we will use gradual, targeted thinning to reduce plantation conifers without abruptly exposing the woodland floor.

We prioritise existing oak, hazel, holly, birch, rowan and other native regeneration when selecting trees for retention.

We are retaining substantial amounts of standing and fallen deadwood where it is safe to do so.

We will control regenerating non-native plantation species where they threaten native regeneration.

We will use enrichment planting primarily where natural regeneration is absent or insufficiently diverse.

5. Native woodland species framework

Final species selection should respond to soil, drainage, exposure and the composition of nearby semi-natural woodland.

Main canopy

• Sessile oak 

• Pedunculate oak 

• Silver birch 

• Downy birch 

• Selected retained Scots pine 

(The relative proportions of sessile and pedunculate oak should ultimately reflect soil conditions and the species occurring naturally in nearby old woodland.)

Secondary trees and understorey

• Hazel 

• Holly 

• Rowan 

• Crab apple 

• Wild cherry 

Woodland edges and scrub

• Hawthorn 

• Blackthorn 

• Hazel 

• Holly 

• Elder 

• Dog rose 

• Guelder rose 

• European spindle (Euonymus europaeus) 

Wetter ground

• Alder 

• Downy birch 

• Goat willow 

• Grey willow 

• Pedunculate oak where appropriate 

6. Coppice plan

Create a dedicated coppice of approximately 1–1.5 acres on suitable accessible ground outside the most sensitive ancient woodland areas.

Historic coppice stools discovered within the ancient woodland should are being assessed for restoration.

Principal coppice species

Hazel would form the backbone of the coppice.

It can produce:

• Biochar 

• Bean poles 

• Pea sticks 

• Stakes 

• Hurdle material 

• Craft material 

• Kindling 

• Mushroom-growing logs 

• Hazel nuts 

• Wildlife habitat 

Willow could be incorporated into wetter areas.

A limited number of oak standards will be retained above the coppice to produce a traditional coppice-with-standards structure.

We will divide the coppice into approximately 7–10 small coupes.

One coupe could then be cut each winter, creating a continually changing habitat:

freshly cut coppice → young shoots → dense young coppice → mature coppice → cutting again

This also provides a regular supply of appropriately sized woody material for woodland products and mushroom cultivation.

7. Food trees, nuts and edible shrubs

Food production will primarily occupy sunny woodland edges, glades and the productive area surrounding the nursery rather than being introduced into sensitive ancient woodland.

The objective is to create a productive woodland edge or loose forest-garden system.

Larger fruit and nut trees

Potential species include:

• Apple, particularly Devon/local heritage varieties 

• Pear 

• Plum 

• Damson 

• Sweet chestnut where appropriate 

• Walnut

Smaller fruit/nut trees

• Crab apple 

• Cherry 

• Medlar 

• Quince 

• Hazel/cob 

Edible shrubs

• Blackcurrant 

• Redcurrant 

• Gooseberry 

• Raspberry 

• Blackberry selections 

• Elder 

Native food and wildlife species

• Hazel 

• Hawthorn 

• Blackthorn 

• Crab apple 

• Elder 

• Wild strawberry  

open productive area → fruit/nut trees → berry bushes → fungi area → hazel coppice → native scrub → native woodland → ancient woodland

8. Fungi and mushroom management

Fungi is an explicit part of the woodland restoration strategy.

There are two different objectives.

A. Restoring wild woodland fungi

Across the ancient and native woodland areas, encourage naturally occurring fungi through habitat creation rather than introducing commercial species.

This includes:

• Retaining fallen trunks 

• Retaining large branches 

• Leaving some standing deadwood where safe 

• Leaving old stumps 

• Maintaining deep leaf litter 

• Creating shaded deadwood piles 

• Minimising unnecessary disturbance to woodland soils 

• Avoiding excessive machinery movement 

• Maintaining humid woodland conditions 

• Encouraging diverse native tree species and ages 

These measures should help support decomposer fungi and the mycorrhizal fungi associated with living woodland trees.

Mushroom spawn will not be deliberately introduced into the ancient woodland restoration areas.

B. Dedicated fungi-growing corner

A separate productive fungi area will be created close to the coppice and food woodland.

This should be relatively shaded, sheltered and humid but still easily accessible.

It could contain:

• Inoculated hardwood mushroom logs 

• Mushroom log stacks 

• Partially buried logs 

• Standing inoculated stumps where suitable 

• Woodchip mushroom beds 

• Shaded propagation areas 

Suitable material arising from coppicing and woodland management will become a productive resource rather than waste.

Over time, the fungi corner could become an attractive and educational feature as well.

9. Working woodland hub

We will keep the existing and proposed working infrastructure as compact as possible.

This should include:

• Shed 

• Biochar station 

• Log storage 

• Timber processing 

• Welfare unit 

• Solar kilns 

• Associated vehicle access 

We will design timber flow so material moves efficiently:

woodland extraction → sorting → useful timber → solar kiln/storage → firewood/coppice products/biochar/mushroom logs

We will retain an appropriate fire-safe working clearing around the biochar station.

Solar kilns will be positioned according to actual year-round solar exposure, taking account of surrounding woodland and the hills to the east, south and west.

10. Native tree nursery

We will create a small nursery close to the working area and proposed reservoir.

It should be:

• Easily accessible 

• Sunny enough for propagation 

• Close to water 

• Protected from deer and rabbits 

• Convenient enough to receive regular attention 

The nursery could propagate:

• Oak 

• Hazel 

• Rowan 

• Hawthorn 

• Holly 

• European spindle 

• Crab apple 

• Other appropriate native trees and shrubs 

Where possible and appropriate, we will collect seed from healthy trees within the local landscape.

The nursery will supplement rather than replace natural regeneration.

11. Reservoir / wildlife lake and wet woodland

The reservoir should perform several functions:

• Nursery irrigation 

• Water resilience 

• Potential firefighting reserve for woodland/biochar operations 

• Wildlife habitat 

• Landscape feature 

• Creation of wet woodland habitat 

Its precise position will follow the site's actual contours, drainage and hydrology.

Rather than creating a purely utilitarian rectangular reservoir, we will create an irregular naturalistic design incorporating:

• Deeper water-storage zone 

• Shallow shelves 

• Gently sloping margins 

• Sunny open-water margins 

• Wetland vegetation 

• Willow scrub 

• Alder/wet woodland 

The ecological transition will become:

open water → marginal plants → willow → alder → birch/oak woodland

12. Rides, glades and open habitat

The objective is not to cover every available acre with closed-canopy woodland.

We will maintain an interconnected network of:

• Woodland rides 

• Glades 

• Coppice coupes 

• Reservoir margins 

• Scrub 

• Food-producing clearings 

• Fungi areas 

• Woodland edge 

Where possible, we will use existing extraction routes rather than disturbing additional woodland.

We will allow rides periodically to widen into sunny glades and scalloped woodland edges.

13. Circular woodland economy

One of the central ideas behind the plan is that conservation and productive woodland management should support each other.

The cycle becomes:

Plantation restoration

↓

Timber and woody material

↓

Useful construction timber / solar kiln
Coppice products
Firewood
Mushroom logs
Biochar feedstock

↓

Biochar + nursery + water

↓

Native tree propagation and woodland restoration

↓

Future native woodland, coppice, food, fungi and wildlife

The productive woodland therefore helps finance and physically support the restoration of the less intensively managed ancient woodland.

14. Indicative 20-year programme

Year 1

Map woodland compartments.

Verify ancient woodland/PAWS boundaries.

Survey trees, flora and significant fungal habitats.

Assess soils, drainage and hydrology.

Map infrastructure and access.

Identify future coppice, food, fungi, nursery and reservoir areas.

Years 1–3

Begin first targeted plantation thinning.

Protect natural regeneration.

Establish tree nursery.

Establish first coppice coupes.

Create fungi-growing corner.

Improve principal rides.

Begin producing mushroom logs from appropriate management material.

Plan reservoir.

Years 2–5

Construct reservoir/wetland if appropriate and approved.

Establish food woodland.

Begin formal coppice rotation.

Plant gaps where natural regeneration is insufficient.

Develop solar kiln area.

Expand fungi production.

Years 5–10

Second-stage plantation thinning.

Allow extensive native regeneration.

Continue coppice rotation.

Manage fruit/nut trees.

Monitor fungal diversity and deadwood.

Manage browsing and competing vegetation.

Years 10–15

Continue selective conifer removal.

Recruit future veteran trees.

Increase structural diversity.

Continue food, coppice and mushroom production.

Years 15–20+

Move increasingly toward continuous-cover native woodland management.

Maintain cyclical coppice.

Harvest fruit/nuts.

Maintain fungi production.

Continue nursery propagation.

Retain and increase deadwood.

Monitor ancient woodland recovery.

15. First-year working checklist

• Confirm Ancient Woodland Inventory/PAWS boundaries. 

• Divide the woodland into numbered management compartments. 

• Map significant native trees. 

• Map veteran/future-veteran trees. 

• Identify historic coppice stools. 

• Map woodbanks, ditches and old tracks. 

• Carry out a spring/early-summer ground-flora survey. 

• Undertake a baseline fungi survey if possible. 

• Assess soil, drainage and exposure. 

• Assess deer, rabbit and grey-squirrel pressure. 

• Mark approximately 1–1.5 acres for coppice. 

• Divide coppice into future rotational coupes. 

• Identify sunny ground for food trees and shrubs. 

• Identify a sheltered/shaded fungi-growing corner. 

• Select the nursery site. 

• Survey solar exposure for the solar kilns. 

• Investigate hydrology and permissions for the reservoir. 

• Prepare a formal woodland management plan. 

• Confirm felling-licence and other regulatory requirements before substantial work begins. 

16. Monitoring

Every 2–3 years, we will record:

• Native/non-native canopy proportions 

• Native natural regeneration 

• Tree species diversity 

• Ancient woodland flora 

• Browsing damage 

• Squirrel damage 

• Deadwood quantity and diversity 

• Veteran-tree recruitment 

• Coppice regrowth 

• Coppice yields 

• Fruit/nut production 

• Nursery production 

• Tree establishment rates 

• Reservoir/wetland condition 

• Wild fungi observed 

• Mushroom production 

• Timber outputs 

• Biochar feedstock arising from restoration work 

Over time, this should give us a record not simply of how many trees have been planted, but of whether the woodland ecosystem itself is recovering.