Effects of afforestation on upland plant communities and implications for vegetation management

Abstract

The British National Vegetation Classification (NVC) was used to describe the vegetation of Kielder Forest, an upland forest in NE England. Eighteen NVC units were recognised in the forest, of which nine accounted for the majority of the unplanted area. Under the crop, only five communities were recognised; 17% of stands had no ground vegetation whilst a further 40% had too little ground vegetation to allow for a satisfactory fit to any recognisable unit. Comparison with vegetation surveys carried out in southern Scotland showed acid grasslands to be much more prevalent there while wet and dry heath were less frequent than in Kielder. A sequence of vegetation changes was identified in the early development stages of second rotation crops. With recognised vegetation unit, through a flora similar to the pre-afforested vegetation of the area, to a vegetation with closer affinities to native Oak-Birch woodland. This development is halted at canopy closure when the ground vegetation is shaded out. Plantation stands fitting closest to native oak-birch woodland are characterised more by the species they lack than by the species which are common to both. Variation in the floristic composition of stands within forests are related to both natural variability, as related to soil and altitude, and to forestry induced changes including changes in landuse, drainage and ploughing and shading by the trees. The natural and management induced changes in the vegetation communities recognised in the forests are summarised and the identity of forest variants of native woodland associations are proposed in which groups of species are consistently over- or under-represented. The value of vegetation classification in conservation management planning is considered through the development of a series of management units based on the broad vegetation types and physiographic features of Kielder Forest before broadening the discussion to consider a wide range of possible management objectives and factors which may influence their successful implementation.