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Habitat Management News

Reinstating Hornbeam pollards

The management of trees by pollarding has not been a significant part of commercial woodland or estate management for about two generations. The result is that pollards have been lost as they become overmature and collapse naturally or are felled. In some areas, action is being taken to reinstate the practice of pollarding for nature conservation, landscape or heritage reasons, with funding being available, for instance, through agri-environment schemes. The decision to reinstate pollard management could be a high-risk one, with the fear that the overmature pollards might react by dying rather than throwing out new growth from dormant buds. The study by Stuart Warrington and Rachael Brookes of the University of Hertfordshire into the recovery of Hornbeam Carpinus betulus following the reinstatement of pollard management at Knebworth Park, Herts (For. & Landsc. Res. 1:521-529), should give greater confidence to those proposing such action.

The study reported the response of 370 Hornbeam pollards of about 250-300 years old to the reinstatement of pollard management after a period of 55-75 years. The cutting took place in January and February 1991 to 1995 in 1ha compartments. Regrowth was assessed visually after a period of two to five years from cutting. The trees responded very well to the reinstatement of pollard management, with 93% of the trees surviving, a similar percentage to that recorded for Hornbeam re-pollards at Epping Forest, Essex. Trees with a larger bolling (by volume and to a lesser extent diameter and height) showed significantly better crown regrowth. Trees with missing or loose bark showed significantly poorer crown growth and it is advised that such trees are not pollarded. Crown reduction would be an option in such cases. The length of stub left after cutting (it varied from 0cm to100cm) was found to have no significant effect on regrowth. It is suggested that the poorer rate of survival found in other instances of the reinstatement of Hornbeam pollarding could be because they were cut in March and April when the sap was rising.

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