Hello. Looking for our woodland

[oldclaypaws]

We have just had some meetings with Woodland Trust and so far there is no sign of the larch disease in that area

Matlock.(2011)
Derbyshire & Peak District. (2014)
Forest of Bowland (2014)

In 3 years its gone from the SouthWest to Aberdeen.

http://www.forestry.gov.uk/pdf/Pramorum-outbreak-hectared_GB_Aug_14.pdf/$FILE/Pramorum-outbreak-hectared_GB_Aug_14.pdf

[Campievanner]

Thank you all for your advice and encouragement.

[SitkaSpruce]

Chalara is still very noticeably in the West. You should be ok for now in Doncaster. I've got mature larch again on the East of the country. It will need thinning soon and I will diversify then to avoid a big hit if Chalara arrives. If yours was planting in the 50s then it will also be ready to be thinned/ harvested. Bluebells suggests an old wood so you may choose to replant something different.
NB- you should check for yourself what trees your potential wood is made up of. Quite often the tree species are misidentified.
Enjoy your wood!

[oldclaypaws]

I think that's a typo and you meant to say Ramorum. Chalara is another one to watch out for though, which has been very much in the news- not a good idea to buy a wood made up of predominantly Ash trees, they could get hit too, although the media hysteria over Chalara was perhaps exaggerated, its slow spreading and was mainly affecting recently planted woods using imported saplings. In the case of getting Ramorum on larch or Chalara on Ash, the FC will issue an order for you to fell the lot, although the timber can still be used. Who knows what else will come along in the future, which is why any single species wood is a risk- always safer to have a mix. If my Oaks got something, I'd have a Hazel Copse, which is why I'm thinning and replanting with a variety of other natives- its insurance against the unknown.

[smojo]

Who knows what else will come along in the future, which is why any single species wood is a risk- always safer to have a mix. If my Oaks got something, I'd have a Hazel Copse, which is why I'm thinning and replanting with a variety of other natives- its insurance against the unknown.

Although the Woodland Trust is very much oriented to only planting native species in PAWS woodlands, they also recognise that climate change is an issue to take into account. Some native species which flourish now in certain areas may not do so in the future. Many books I have read have stated that sweet chestnut doesn't grow in the North. Well I have two very mature ones and a recent visit to a WT wood in Barnsley revealed numerous very large specimens growing and now producing plenty of regen from the nuts. I have a small area I want to replant with mixed coppice species and s. chestnut will among them.