Invasion of the woolly herbivores

Autumn’s now in full swing here in Cannich. The glen is turning various shades of golds and browns and the slightest breeze sends flurries of leaves drifting down from the birch trees. Our aspen trees up by the waterfall have turned a bright yellow and the ground below is becoming carpeted in their leaves, which have a particular kind of smell, almost spicy. As the growing season is coming to an end, I thought I’d give a summary of the beginnings of regeneration that have sprouted in Comar Wood during the year.

There are several different areas that have been cleared of spruce or opened up in the last two years. These include ground around the house, the new tracks, small areas where I have removed patches of poorly-growing spruce trees and perimeters of ancient woodland remnants where edge branches have been removed from the surrounding spruce trees. Some of these areas are starting to show a promising amount of new growth, both of tree seedlings and of native ground flora species. Unfortunately, growth is being hampered by two sheep who found their way into the woodland back in July.

There are quite a number of semi-feral sheep that wander round the local area. We completed repairs to the existing (old) boundary fence at the end of last year. We also put up a new fence and gates along our front entrance, where there was no existing fence. The only part of our land that is not fenced is the western boundary that runs along the burn. The burn here is a steep-sided gorge and I had assumed that no sheep would bother to try and cross, given that there are extensive, unfenced woods on the neighbouring land.

After enjoying over six months of sheep-free existence, I noticed that two sheep had appeared in the wood. I’m not sure how they got in, but I guess it was across the burn. Initially very timid, they would run for cover as soon as anyone approached, so were impossible to herd back out. Eventually they started coming closer to the house and became a bit tamer, so we were able to shoo them out of the gate. A day or two later they were back in again! I guess they must see the wood as their patch. We have now got them out about five times, with them usually appearing again the next day. This is quite frustrating and a seemingly rather futile process. I have an optimistic hope that one day, when we get them out, they will decide to move on to pastures new. There is very little for them to eat in the wood now that growth is slowing right down. The alternative would be to fence along the burn, which would entail a fair bit of work and expense.

The grazing exploits of just two sheep have had quite a damaging effect on the regeneration. It is difficult to know exactly what would have happened without sheep, but there is evidence of their nibbling all over the place, with grassy growth being grazed right back. In the cleared areas around the house I had re-planted with native trees and shrubs last winter. Many of these are establishing well, but many have been nibbled by the sheep, setting them back a bit. The sheep have also been grazing down emerging grasses and herbs that have started to grow in these areas. The good news is that, as expected, there is now plenty of natural tree regeneration starting to appear. Numerous birch seedlings are springing up, together with some bird cherry, hazel, spruce and larch. I expect more will continue to appear next year.

Areas alongside the new tracks are beginning to green up. Clusters of foxgloves are growing in several places and should flower next year, providing foraging opportunities for bees in the woodland. Other plants now growing alongside the tracks include violets, tormentil, yellow pimpernel, wood sorrel, wood sage, buttercup, heather, woundwort, mosses, grasses, ferns and bramble, as well as tree seedlings (birch, alder, rowan, bird cherry, spruce and larch). Spruce seedlings are abundant in some places. Sheep nibbling, especially of grasses and bramble shoots, is again evident in these areas.

While we may not want dense tree regeneration alongside the tracks, it is interesting so see how these cleared areas are developing over time. It provides a clue indicating what to expect when we eventually start clearing patches of spruce. In the management plan the intention is to use a combination of natural regeneration and planting to regenerate these areas, so for planning purposes it is useful to know how this might develop. The masses of spruce seedlings appearing suggests that spruce regen is going to be significant, but at least we can plan for how to deal with it.

Two small areas where I had cleared poorly growing spruce are not showing as much evidence of regeneration, although some tree seedlings are appearing. These areas were cleared more recently than the track edges, so are a bit behind. Borders of remnant native woodland, where edge spruce trees have had their side branches pruned off, are showing some signs of regeneration in the bare ground that the spruce branches had been shading out. This is typically from plants like wood sorrel and ferns, which were struggling to survive under the branches, now staring to flourish, as well as plants from the adjacent native woodland spreading into the newly opened up margins.

All in all, the regeneration is showing a promising start. I wasn’t sure how long things would take to green up, but I am pleased at the diversity of plants starting to appear. Hopefully thing will only get greener! However, the effects of just two sheep on this growth has been more severe than I would have imagined and goes to show how important it is to manage herbivores. Deer are also present in the woodland. Although they are rarely seen and evidence of deer browsing is limited, I’m really not sure whether they are a threat to regeneration.

Understanding and managing herbivores will become imperative in the future to allow natural regeneration of the woodland after we start to remove blocks of spruce. Keeping the sheep out would be a start!