Veteran Trees for the Future - North Wessex Downs Area of
Transcript of Veteran Trees for the Future - North Wessex Downs Area of
The Friends of the Pang, Kennet & Lambourn Valleys c/o Pang, Kennet & Lambourn Valleys Countryside Project (FWAG) The Old Estate Office, Englefield Road, Theale, Berkshire RG7 5DZ
Tel/Fax: 0118 9305336 Email: [email protected]
Website: www.pangandkennetvalleys.org.uk
Pang, Kennet & Lambourn Valleys Countryside Project is a partnership funded and supported by:Farming and Wildlife Advisory Group, West Berkshire Council, Englefield Estate, Environment Agency, and local
Parish Councils.© Images: John Bundy, Dickon Ainsworth, Dick Greenaway 2008
Veteran Trees for the Futuretrees with a story to tell and experiences to share
Bucklebury Common
Bucklebury Common is owned by Bucklebury Estate. It lies on a curving gravel ridge between the Pang and Kennet valleys and was once the bed of a large river. The soils are particularly acid and much of the Common was open heathland until the mid 20th century. The Bucklebury Heathland Project is working to recover and conserve the heathland. The acid soils favour birches, oaks and heathers. During World War 2 part of the Common was used to store military equipment.
North Wessex DownsArea of
Outstanding Natural BeautyDenford ManorLower Denford
HungerfordRG17 0UN
Bucklebury Estate
The Estate OfficeBucklebury House
BuckleburyBerkshireRG7 6RR
Tel: 01189 714187
Pang Valley Countryside
Project FWAGThe Old Estate
Office,Englefield Road,
Theale,RG7 5DZ
Woodland TrustAutumn Park,
Grantham, Lincolnshire NG31 6LL
www.woodland-trust.org.uk
Bucklebury Parish Council
All Saints, Upper Bucklebury
RG7 6SD
Tel: 01635 863581
email: buckleburyparish
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Newbury
Thatcham
Reading
Bucklebury
Hermitage
UpperBucklebury
Cold Ash
Frilsham
Beenham
Pangbourne
Yattendon
StanfordDingley
Woolhampton
Chapel Row
Oxford
BasingstokeAldermaston
B4009
B4009
A34
B4494
B4494
A4
A4
M4
M4
A340
A340
Swindon
London
A343
A329
A34
Theale
Tadley
A339
Veteran Trees can tell us tales of their lives, of when they were planted and what they provided for the people who lived near them.
They can tell how the land was used and give clues to the age of the landscape features they stand on. To add to this, their scars and rugged barks provide homes and food supplies for a multitude of wildlife from fungi and invertebrates to birds and mammals.
Veteran Trees for the Future need not necessarily be ancient trees now, but they will be trees with a significance for the local community or with particular historic or ecological importance. This is illustrated by the trees selected by the local people who chose the trees in this leaflet.
Veteran Trees are important and valued features in the landscape of the North Wessex Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty which sponsors the Veteran Trees for the Future project.
Woodland products were vitally important before railways and motor vehicles could distribute coal and before plastics were invented.
Pollard trees were cut off at about two or three metres above the ground so that animals could not graze the shoots which were harvested at regular intervals. Pollard oaks and beeches provided firewood and small timber. Acorns and beech mast were valuable food for animals in the autumn.
Coppice stools were cut near ground level and their shoots harvested at short intervals. Their shoots provided small timber for fencing hurdles and tool handles etc.
Generally the tenant had the use of the shoots of pollards and coppice stools while the lord of the manor owned the pollard trunks and coppice stools. Regularly cut pollards and stools live much longer than ordinary trees. Our oldest trees, like the Coronation Oak, are pollards.s.
However, you can make a reasonable estimate by measuring the girth at about 1.5m above the ground and then using the diagram.
The ‘girth’ is the tree’s ‘waist measurement’!
The curve gives the estimated age of a Maiden tree – a tree which has not been cut.
Pollarding slows the growth until the canopy re-grows. Add an extra third to their age.
Coppicing has the same effect. Take an average diameter of the stool near ground level and allow 0.3 metre for every century.
Approximate Ageing Curve for Oaks growing in Open Conditions
Trees in woodland will be older for the same dimensions. For pollard and coppiced oaks add 30% to the age indicated by the girth.
Beech and ash follow approximately the same curve up to about 150-200 years
Veteran trees are trees with a story to tell and experience to share
Dating Veteran Trees and Coppice Stools This is not an exact science!
7.0
6.0
5.0
4.0
3.0
2.0
1.0
0
Gir
th (
m)
0 100 200 300 400 500Approximate Age (years)
Sessile oak.Acorns on the twig.
Sessile oak English oak Beech
English oak.Acorns on stalks. Beech
Map no. Tree species and description Girth (m) 2008 Estimated age 1 Sessile oak – pollard 6.9 520+ 2 Oak stub 5.85 600 3 Beech – multi-stemmed maiden 5.04 260 4 Beech – multi-stemmed 4.01 ??? 5 Oak - pollard 3.97 260 6 Beech – multi-stemmed 4.72 ??? 7 Oak - maiden 4.07 210 8 Oak - maiden 5.43 330 9 Oak - pollard 3.21 200 10 Oak stub 4.50 325
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13 Wellingtonia / Less Than 150
What species and age do you think these two trees are? We challenge you to go out look and measure! Our estimate is on the Friends’ web site www.pangandkennetvalleys.org.uk
Conservation Volunteers
This
ele
gan
t B
eech
is
abo
ut 1
50 y
ears
old
Reproduced by permission of Ordnance Surveyon behalf of HMSO.
OS Licence Number: 100002091
Oak
stu
b
this
tre
e is
pro
babl
y 60
0 ye
ars
old
and
may
ha
ve b
een
a bo
unda
ry
mar
ker
This
Oak
po
llard
is
prob
ably
200
yea
rs o
ldPo
llard
oak
ab
out
260
year
s ol
dTh
is e
leg
ant
Bee
ch
is a
bout
260
yea
rs o
ld
This
mu
lti-
stem
med
b
eech
m
ay b
e th
e re
sult
of
seve
ral b
eech
nut
s ge
rmin
atin
g in
a
squi
rrel
’s h
oard
Ano
ther
mul
ti-st
emm
ed
bee
ch w
hich
may
hav
e gr
own
from
a c
oppi
ce
stoo
l
Big
Fo
ot.
An
Eng
lish
O
ak p
lant
ed a
bout
16
80 a
t t
he w
este
rn
end
of T
he A
venu
e
Wel
ling
ton
ia
wer
e fir
st in
trod
uced
in
185
3 so
thi
s gi
ant
cann
ot b
e m
ore
than
15
0 ye
ars
old
A p
olla
rd o
akat
the
wes
t en
d of
the
A
venu
e is
abo
ut 2
10
year
s ol
d
Wh
at s
pec
ies
and
ag
e is
th
is t
ree?
Wh
at s
pec
ies
and
ag
e is
th
is t
ree?
The
Co
ron
atio
n O
ak.
This
po
llard
ed
sess
ile o
ak
star
ted
life
in T
udor
tim
es
and
is a
bout
520
yea
rs
old.
In 1
902
Edw
ard
VII’
s co
rona
tion
was
ce
lebr
ated
with
a p
icni
c in
its
shad
e by
120
0 pe
ople
This
oak
stu
bst
ands
on
the
Com
mon
bo
unda
ry b
ank
and
is
prob
ably
a b
ound
ary
mar
ker.
It is
at
leas
t 32
5 ye
ars
old.
It is
priz
ed a
s a
clim
bing
tre
e
23
59
46
10
117
812
1 ki
lom
etre
N
1 13
Vet
eran
Tre
esTh
ese
are
Vet
eran
s re
cord
ed
for
the
Wo
od
lan
d T
rust
A
nci
ent
Tree
Hu
nt.
Fo
r m
ore
in
form
atio
n g
o t
o
ww
w.A
nci
entT
reeH
un
t.o
rg.u
k
KEY
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5455
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5753
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