Water Tower Wood Management Plan

Why does a woodland need a management plan? I did wonder at the time. It’s not a company with a board of directors after all.

Donald McPhillimy carried out a survey and produced a plan. The document was signed off on 17^th Dec 1999.

The soil condition was recorded thus;

The soil in the area, according to the Soil Survey of Scotland is Macmerry series, part of the Rowanhill Association. This is described as an imperfectly drained brown forest soil or gley derived from till from Carboniferous shales, sandstones, cement stones and coals with partially sorted surface layers. In other words, a fertile soil for a wide range of tree species. In fact, the soil on top of the bank has been affected by the construction of the tennis courts and is a very freely draining sandy loam with a lot of stones and 10cms of humous layer on the surface. The soil on the bank is patchy, deep in places and absent in others. At the bottom of the bank is silty alluvial soil between the rocky outcrops.

The flora and fauna was recorded as follows;

The ground flora is greatly affected by the interception of light by the tree canopy. Ferns and ivy are growing best in these conditions. There are a couple of clumps of rhododendron on the lower bank. Where there is more light, for example next to the steps at the east end, the vegetation is much more vigorous. There appears to be a good variety of herb species. There is also a vigorous shrub layer composed of young trees, elder, snowberry and bramble.

The woodland, all the way along the N Esk, is a haven for birds with many species of songbird present and owls and woodpeckers reported.

The old trees are likely to provide roosting sites for birds and Common Pipistrelle bats. Small mammals such hedgehogs, weasels, voles, field mice and shrews all likely to be living in such relatively undisturbed woodlands.

Some photographs were taken at the time by Donald. The area under the Scottish Power line is an area which caused some local concern recently - here is what it looked like on Dec 1999. Scottish Power have a wayleave permitting them to clear trees with epicormic growth habit from under the line at approx 10 yearly intervals or when there is a clear risk from tree branches near the line. I think that in 1999 this clearance work had recently been done. This is why there is a gap in the woodland looking up towards the tower.

The power line was moved a few metres to the North edge(nearer to the public steps which carry on up to the left of the bridge in this photo) last year as part of a longer term approach to keeping the regular clearance under the power line closer to the public footpath and allowing the undergrowth to regenerate on the bank on the other side. This will  make the regular scar from the line clearance contiguous with the gap required for steps. The regeneration species on the bank has turned out to be largely Elm which I understand will die off due to Dutch Elm disease – but that will take a long time and the Elm tree growth in the Spring is really beautiful. I have planted a few other trees in this area however, just to add some interest. Cherry, Rowan, Pear and Beech so far but I may move these and introduce a single additional native species rather than have trees which were not part of the original make up. I also really like Ash and 4 young Ash were removed when the power line was shifted. Trouble is I have a tendency to over plant and then need to thin stuff out later. With trees, and at my age in life, it might be someone else that will be thinning it out.

 Lots of under storey planting has also been carried out – holly, hawthorn, blackthorn and rowan. The holly and hawthorn nearer the public steps is doing well now that the light levels have increased. If Alan Krumholds is reading this, please register Alan and record the details of the under storey planting. That would be useful. If you can't post a comment then e mail me and I'll post it for you.

Another photo from 1999 

1.       Area “I” noted in the plan which is into the woodland just below the magnificent Beech trees at the top of the slope and on the corner of the tennis club. This photo shows the bones of the woodland at this time.

From Donald’s report

The majority of the bank is 100% stocked with pole stage ash, sycamore, elm, silver birch and beech, about 25 years old. It presumably dates to the loss of mature trees in a gale around 1975. There are a few larger beech and sycamore, covered in ivy. This is a healthy state of affairs, shown clearly in Photo I.

2.   Recent photo of the area close to the Power line where a dead Elm tree was leaning against a lovely Lime tree. The Elm has since been felled and the basal growth on the Lime has flourished this last year to fill the gap.

3. The wood pile created at the bottom of the slope using the wood from the dead elm tree.

3. Current photo of the area at the bridge and steps.

Finally, here are the conclusions from the woodland management report in 1999 and the actions thus far.

The main point of concern is the safety of the large trees next to the steps and electricity line at the eastern end of the wood. The view from the steps is very messy and could be greatly improved. The erosion of the bank next to the corner of the tennis courts is likely to increase very quickly and could become significant.** The informal access from the railway walk needs to be discouraged. There are two small areas of Rhododendron ponticum, which could spread.

Most of the woodland is in a healthy condition with a good age structure including a number of old, large trees. Biodiversity is high as a result. It is further enhanced by the dead wood standing and on the ground, and the lack of disturbance caused by the steepness of the banks. The LBAP target bird and bat species will make use of the cavities in the old trees for nesting and roosting purposes. The small mammals will benefit greatly from the lack of disturbance.

** I am going to pick up on this in future posts because I have a real concern about the erosion on the banking and the water management from the tennis courts and the tennis club house. This is something I am keen to explore and ensure everything that can be done, is being done, to protect this woodland from future erosion. After all, I live there.

Proposals and their actions thus far;

1.       Carry out a tree health survey on the trees near to the public footpath and electricity wires.

Completed

2.        Commission a professional tree surgeon to remove the dead branches and make safe. Leave standing dead wood where possible.

Completed – some dead wood removed and re piled at the bottom of the slope. Dead leaning tree felled and wood used to create an additional wildlife pile.

3.       Tidy up the north east corner repairing or replacing the fence and cutting back the overhanging shrubs. Dead timber could be stacked against the edges to make a natural looking barrier.

Completed – most of the fence wires replaced and tightened although not all. Natural barrier constructed.

4.        Fell one poor quality beech and high prune the surrounding trees next to the area of erosion marked *. This will let in the light and increase the vigour of the ground vegetation which should stabilise the area. Some additional drainage may be necessary to lead surplus water safely away.

Tree work completed but additional drainage measures still not sorted out.

5.       Keep the mature trees standing for as long as they are safe.

6.       Eradicate the rhododendron.

Largely completed but there are more areas of rhododendron and it is really hard to access these.

7.       Discourage access from the railway line.

Donald McPhillimy Friday, 17 December 1999