CAS at Windsor Park: A Preview (part 2)
By Mark Chester
2018-09-03
Ahead of the Consulting Arborist Society visit to Windsor Great Park in October, I got to meet with Ted Green and enjoyed my own tour of part of the site. We could have explored more, as one can spend several days here and still find treasures anew. Our focus was examples of ancient tree management. What follows is a review of my tour. We will be looking in more detail at specific elements during our CAS visit.
In part one, I looked at some of the history to the site, the planting of Charles ll and the hollow trees that informed Ted’s pioneering exploration in to their potential. Ted has been working closely with Peter Wells, who founded Barcham Trees and has done much to advance our knowledge and understanding of root development and nursery tree production, and he was excited to show me the forest nursery.
As a child, Ted had watched the foresters who managed the Park planting seedlings of Scots Pine within the shadows of mature Scots Pine. They didn’t know why, but for some reason, these trees would thrive. As a student of fungi, and especially mychorizae, Ted has the answer. He explained that the older plants support the seedlings in their development. In his nursery, oak and beech are growing close to the mature specimens. They will then be transplanted with their root balls to their new homes. Ted’s own nursery is tucked away in a particularly dense forested area.
We then tracked through the undergrowth to a clearing where an historic boundary is still present. It had a ditch and originally a wooden pail fence, and marked the edge of the deer park. The fence has been replaced by an iron railing fence which managed to escape the collection of such features during World War ll. Just beyond sits the William the Conqueror oak. Sadly no longer biologically alive, this tree lived through much, and is now home to the many organisms that value its shell. One can sense what a specimen it must have been.
Ted then took me to one of his trial area, where trials originally started by the Nature Conservancy Council are on-going. The focus is on recreating insect habitats that would be found in dead timber. In one place, logs have been positioned either side of a leaf-filled centre, mimicking a hollow trunk. Elsewhere, logs have been sunk in to the ground to attract stag beetles. Early evidence is it is proving a success.
The William the Conqueror Oak.
One well-reported trial involved attaching hollow trunks to the sides of oak trees. The one Ted was associated with involved him filling the trunk with Beech leaves and sawdust and a feline victim of a road accident (for protein). When the trunk was explored some seven years later, it was found to have become home to many species associated with Beech, and a new species of fungi was on the mummified remains of the cat. The trunk was tied to the oak laterally, and years later remains a valued feature. Elsewhere, a trunk hung from an oak has fared less well. There is method in Ted’s approach.
Pioneering work by Ted to re-create a standing dead Beech tree.
Time to view work done by Professor Lynne Boddy and her students exploring the presence of fungi in Beech, and a young Turkey oak. This invasive tree has been posing a threat to the native English oak, and being host to the knapper oak gall, which is proving detrimental to the English cousin. We looked at one tree he had recently worked on. It was still thriving, and for a moment, Ted was puzzled. Then he spotted that some sap wood remained in tact! This one had thwarted him!
Our day at Windsor will include managing avenues, how to prop ancient trees, soil management and a chance to meet some very special trees.
A novel approach to creating a wood mouse nest! (It works)