Ring Barking in the Conifer Plantation

Friday, January 3rd 2025

Within Foxglove Covert LNR is an area of very dense conifer plantation made up of two conifer species; Scots Pine (Pinus sylvestris) and Sitka Spruce (Picea sitchensis). The high density planting in this woodland means little light reaches the woodland floor, and therefore there are very few understory plants. As it is, the plantation supports a low diversity of plant and animal life.

In some areas of the plantation, canopy cover is slightly less dense, so grasses and shrubs like Common Gorse (Ulex europaeus) and Holly (Ilex aquifolium) are present. These glades are small and still lack much light, so the understory, while present, is underdeveloped.

Recently, Foxglove Covert LNR has been granted a felling license by Forestry Commission England which will allow us to ring bark (also known as girdling) a small portion of the trees in this plantation. Ring barking kills a tree slowly where it stands. This will allow us to thin out the dense areas and create glades within the plantation.

Ring barking involves taking off the bark of a tree in a ring around its trunk. This can be done using tools such as draw knives and axes.

Ring barking cuts into the vascular cambium of the tree. This prevents the flow of nutrients between the roots and foliage of the tree,  which eventually kills it. The image below is of a tree which had been ring barked approximately one year ago.

Over the span of years, the foliage on the tree will drop, opening up the woodland canopy and allowing more light to reach the woodland floor. A more open canopy will massively improve the biodiversity of the plantation, by allowing a varied understory of shrubs, grasses and wildflowers to develop. The ring-barked trees themselves will also support diverse wildlife, including fungi, insect, bat and bird species.

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