The Belvoir Oak, Belfast
By Jim Mulholland
2019-04-15
The Belvoir Oak is estimated to be 500 years old and is possibly the oldest oak in Northern Ireland. Located in Belvoir Park Forest, Belfast, it is recognised as part of the country’s living heritage, having witnessed the growth of Belfast from a small settlement to the city it is today.
The oak has a completely hollow trunk, and a huge girth of 8 metres. It’s probably in the last stages of its life, yet still provides life to others. The rare bracket fungus, oak polypore (Piptoporus quercinus), pictured, was discovered on the tree in 2013 – the first ever finding of the fungus in Northern Ireland. Oak polypore is a heartwood rotting species that requires exposed, seasoned wood of mature or dead veteran oak trees and is restricted to medieval forests, deer parks and wood pasture. With loss of habitat, it is in decline in central Europe and is already extinct in many areas of northern Europe. In Great Britain, where records are extremely scarce, the species is considered endangered. The fruit bodies of oak polypore appear during the summer, but don’t last long, so monitoring the species can be difficult.
Belvoir Park Forest is home to a significant number of veteran oaks, suggesting that the estate, which was created in the 1730s, managed to escape the timber demand of the 18th and 19th centuries, and during both World Wars.
Around 270 trees in the forest have been found to have a girth of three metres or more, and nearly half of these are oaks. Genetic analysis of the old oaks at Belvoir has shown them to be very like native oaks found in old woods such as Breen in County Antrim, suggesting that they are of native stock rather than introduced.
The Ancient Tree Forum champions the biological, cultural and heritage value of Britain’s ancient and veteran trees, and provides advice on their value and management at www.ancienttreeforum.co.uk.