Windblow, Restocking, and Jays

This stand used to be one of the most beautiful and stable stands at Dronley Wood. That stand, planted in 1960, was dominated by Scots Pine. The soil in this area is a freely drained Brown Forest Soil. The soil conditions are sub-optimal and caused the development of shallow root plates. Unfortunately, storm Arwen (Malik and Corrie) hit Dronley Wood in the Winter of 2021. Large parts of the stand got severely damaged by windblow by gusts exceeding 80 miles per hour. The windblown and leaning trees had to be felled and extracted. The result was a devastating picture but also created a great opportunity.

We planted oak clusters with silver birch and lime. We expect additional natural regeneration like Beech, Douglas Fir, Scots Pine, and Sitka Spruce from mature stands nearby. We want to increase the percentage of Oak further by encouraging Jays to carry out the direct seeding for us. We set up jay trays in the windblown areas. The seed trays are filled with acorns during autumn and become our “seed trees”. The local children help us to collect the acorns.