Conifer and mixed plantations

46% of Devon’s ancient woodlands are conifer plantations.

There are huge opportunities to manage them in ways that increase their wildlife value.

Goshawks and nightjars nest in conifer woodlands. Nightjars nest in areas opened up through felling.

What we need to do and where

Cod wood, Adrian Colston

Snapshot for conifer and mixed plantations

What wildlife-rich looks like:

A wide variety of native and conifer tree species managed to provide diversity of age and structure in the woodland. In broadleaved woodlands this includes a mosaic of habitats with areas of light and shade, lots of standing and fallen deadwood, ancient trees and open areas with new growth, leaf litter, open and sunny flower-rich areas and areas of dense scrub. Wetlands and streams form part of the mosaic. Edit wording with woody grp

Focus Species:

To discuss at woodland meeting  Nightjars.

UK significance:

UK priority habitat: No

Statutory irreplaceable habitat: Planted ancient woodland and veteran trees

1. About

Many of Devon’s conifer and mixed plantations were planted after the First and Second World Wars to meet increased demand for timber. Mixed include both conifer and broadleaved species.
 
Conifers such as sitka spruce, douglas fir, larch and western hemlock were commonly planted because they grow faster than native broadleaved species so are ideal for rapid timber production. Devon’s damp and mild climate is particularly suited to growing conifers and is where the Forestry Commission’s first conifer planting took place after the First World War.
 
Conifer and mixed plantations make up 23% of Devon’s woodland cover, currently covering around 20,500 hectares. They were largely planted on heaths and moors where land was less suitable for agriculture. Therefore, Devon’s large conifer plantations are on Dartmoor, Exmoor and the Pebbled Heaths, in Haldon and on the scarp slopes and plateaus of east Devon and the Blackdown Hills. Remnants of heathland vegetation can often be found in the woodlands.
 
In some places, ancient woodlands were felled and replaced with conifer. These sites are known as plantations on ancient woodland (PAWS). They have ancient woodland soils and are a priority for nature restoration through sensitive management. PAWS make up 46% of the total ancient woodland in Devon, covering about 1.1% of land.
 
Add wildlife value of conifer / mixed woodlands through discussion in woodland meeting – goshawks, nightjars breeding in clearfell areas on Dartmoor / Haldon etc.  Wood whites at Cookworthy?    

Health check

To write following discussion through public consultation.

Area

The National Forest Inventory identifies nearly 17,000 ha of conifer woodland in Devon, plus around an additional 3,500ha of mixed woodland. In total this makes up 23% of Devon’s woodland cover.

Forestry England (the public forest estate) owns and manages 5,591 ha of Devon’s conifer woodland.

It’s estimated there are 7,335 ha of PAWS in Devon, which is 46% of the county’s total ancient woodland, covering about 1.1% of land. 47% of Devon’s woodland is under management, 10.73% of which is PAWS.  

Designations

A number of significant woodland SSSIs are classed as mixed or conifer, including woodlands at Ausewell, Fingle, Bovey Valley, Haldon and Plym Valley on Dartmoor and Heddon and Great Wood on Exmoor.

Of the SSSI woodlands, around 67% are recognised as being in favourable condition and 31% as unfavourable or recovering.  Check  – all woodlands or conifers?

Key pressures and opportunities

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Timber

There is significant opportunity to grow high-quality timber in Devon. The income generated from conifers and mixed woodlands can do much to cross-subsidise landowners work on nature recovery.   

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Management

Careful management can restore native wildlife on PAWS. 

More recent plantations of conifer and mixed woodland can be managed to maximise both timber value and natural diversity – a mark of good forestry. Sympathetic woodland management (such as continuous cover forestry) can create a mixed age, species and height structure that provides significant nature recovery as well as timber and carbon benefits.

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Pests and Diseases

Site-specific and landscape-scale control of deer and squirrels is essential as they can cause damage that significantly reduces which tree species can be chosen and how likely they are to establish successfully. Rigorous biosecurity is also essential as pests and diseases continue to increase in number and frequency. For example, Phytophora ramorum and Phytophora pluvialis are threatening the productivity of conifer woodlands in Devon.    

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Invasive species

Invasive species, such as laurel and rhododendron, are usually controlled in plantations. However, it’s vital that this control continues.

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Climate

Climate change is having a number of affects. Increased adverse weather events, such as droughts and storms, make it harder to manage woodlands and can prevent new woodlands from establishing. Climate change can also affect which species will thrive and which won’t. Therefore, people creating new woodlands are uncertain which species to choose.

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Carbon

The most effective way to use trees to manage carbon is to get them to grow quickly and then harvest the timber and use it to replace carbon-demanding materials (such as concrete) in construction. Growing under the Woodland Carbon Code also provides opportunities to generate income from new mixed woodlands.

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Recreation

Plantation woodlands and new mixed woodlands are relatively robust habitats suitable for a wide range of recreational uses. The very best, such as Haldon Forest Park, provide a mix of nature, landscape, recreation and timber.

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Funding

The Forestry Commission provides funding to support woodland management planning and grants to create new mixed woodlands.

2. What we need to do and where

Priority

Better (wildlife-rich) conifer and mixed plantations that are connected to a network of habitats across Devon.

It’s particularly important to restore plantations on ancient woodland sites due to the greater potential benefits for wildlife. 

See Find out more below for detailed guidance and sources of funding and advice.

Actions for conifer and mixed plantations

Manage existing conifer and mixed plantations for wildlife, in particular for Focus Species.

Management actions to include: 

  • Maximise timber production alongside other environmental benefits.
  • Manage and expand remnant features, priority habitats (such as remnant heathland) and species.
  • Adopt low-impact silvicultural systems including continuous cover forestry.
  • Ensure a range of stand structures that includes diverse ages, species and vertical forms and permanent and temporary open spaces that allow for open, scrub and edge habitats.
  • No, or low levels, of invasive non-native species.
  • Keep deadwood and leaf litter in place.
  • Manage pests and diseases.

Manage and restore plantations on ancient woodland sites for wildlife, particularly for Focus Species.

FC to add any detailed actions here for PAWs if needed. Otherwise we combine this with the action above.

Design all new conifer and mixed plantations to maximise their wildlife value.

Design new conifer and mixed plantations to benefit wildlife in line with the United Kingdom Forestry Standard (UKFS) and Forestry Commission Woodland Creation Offer to maximise opportunities for public funding.

Where appropriate, clear areas of conifer and mixed plantation (non PAWS) to restore other wildlife habitats such as heathlands.

  • Many conifer and mixed woodlands have been planted on wildlife-rich habitats such as heathlands. In some cases they can be managed as a woodland and heath mosaic. However, sometimes it will be preferable to restore large areas of heathland from conifer, especially where this will link areas of fragmented heathland.  
  • See Heaths, mires and rush pasture mosaics.
  • Consultation question – advice on wording to use here. Do we need to be more specific? Have organisations identified areas where heathland restoration from conifer would be most beneficial?  Can we list or map them?

Promote best practice

Promote sites where conifer and mixed woodlands have been successfully managed for wildlife, such as Haldon Forest Park, Fingle and Auswell woods

Other relevant actions

See Focus Species pages for more detailed actions and information. 

Discuss which species we should include here. 

Where to focus action

Wildlife will benefit from these actions being implemented across Devon.  However actions are prioritised to the following High Opportunity Areas (in bold). See Mapping for the LNRS Viewer and information on how areas have been mapped.

Woodland management and restoration:

  • All existing conifer and mixed woodland plantations, especially PAWS. 

Creation of nature-rich conifer and mixed woodland plantations:

  • Woody buffer and expansion zones, especially those that will expand ancient semi-natural woodlands. The Forestry Commission’s Priority Habitat Network mapping for the English Woodland Creation Offer fund has been used to ensure consistency and alignment with funding streams.   Is this relevant to conifer?

Woodland management and creation:

  • Temperate Rainforest Restoration Zones
  • Mammals: Bechstein’s bat woodland zone
  • Birds: Pied flycatcher and wood warbler woods
  • Butterflies: Wood white, pearl-bordered fritillary, high brown fritillary, heath fritillary
  • Natural Flood Management

It’s important to ensure that woodland creation does not damage or destroy existing wildlife-rich habitats, including rough grasslands used as foraging areas for bats and birds. Some of these habitats are shown on the LNRS Viewer but many aren’t mapped and survey is always needed.

Advice should be obtained before any woodland creation in the following High Opportunity Areas to ensure that it will not harm existing wildlife:

  • All High Opportunity Areas in the wildlife-rich grasslands group on the Viewer
  • All High Opportunity Areas in the Heath, mire and rush pasture mosaics group on the Viewer
  • All High Opportunity Areas in the Upland bog, heath and mire mosaics group on the Viewer
  • Coastal habitats and Coastal Wildbelt
  • Dartmoor rare bird nesting areas
  • Dartmoor and Exmoor whinchat zones
  • Teign Gorge rock spiders
  • Potential estuarine high-tide roosts (see wintering estuary birds layer)
  • Greater horseshoe and grey long-eared bat sustenance zones
  • Marsh fritillary and the narrow-bordered bee hawk-moth zone
  • South Devon arable plant zone

Consultation question:  is the list above clear and helpful?  How could it be better set out?  Is anything missing?

3. Inspiration

Case studies

Case studies and Where to visit will be agreed following discussion through public consultation period and then finalised.

There’s lots of great work going on across Devon for conifer and mixed woodlands. For example:

Fingle Woods

A number of organisations are managing mixed and conifer woodland for nature recovery.  The Woodland Trust and National Trust woodlands at Fingle Woods show how detailed techniques have been used to restore planted ancient woodlands.  

Managing mixed plantations

Excellent examples of how to manage mixed plantations and planted ancient woodlands include Perridge Estate and Clinton Devon Woodlands. Both demonstrate exemplary management based on a continuous cover approach.

Forestry England sites

Forestry England sites include  Haldon, Plym Valley and East Devon

Where to visit

Always follow the Countryside Code and keep to footpaths and sites that are managed for public access. 

Good places to see conifer and mixed plantations are:

Woodland Trust and National Trust woodlands at Ausewell and Fingle. Forestry England sites include Haldon, Plym Valley and the woods in east Devon near Honiton.

For information on visiting these and other sites that are open to the public please see the Explore Devon website.

4. Find out more

Add more links and tidy up, and finalise following discussion through public consultation.

Targets

Nature Rich

Long Term.  Woodlands in active management for biodiversity, climate and sustainable forestry

Short Term.  70% of woodlands in active management by 2030

More, Larger and better connected

Long Term.  Expanded as part of 16.5% woodland cover by 2050

Short term.  Part of 3,000 ha’s of new woodland by 2030

At least 15% of plantations to be managed for wildlife (as per UK Forest Standard).

Useful links

Forest Research advice on management of native and ancient woodland is at FR Guidance

Forestry Commission guidance on woodland creation is at FC woodland creation guidance

Confor guidance on both management and creation is at Confor guidance

Woodland Trust Guidance on Woodland Restoration is at Woodland Trust Guidance

Woodland Trust Guidance on woodland creation is at Woodland Trust Creation Guide

Detailed advice and support on management can be found on Continuous Cover Forestry.

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