Restocking with broadleaved species during the conversion of Tsuga heterophylla plantations to native woodland using natural regeneration

Abstract

The removal of conifers planted during the twentieth century on sites that had been woodland for many centuries, with the intention of restoring native broadleaved species, is an important aim of forestry policy in Great Britain. Current guidance generally advocates gradual removal of plantation trees using continuous cover silviculture and restocking by natural regeneration, but methods are largely untested. This study investigated natural regeneration of trees and shrubs at sites where western hemlock had been established either pure or in mixture with native broadleaved species. Western hemlock had been cleared from 70% of the sites. There were c. 10–300 stems ha−1 providing canopy cover of 10–90%; the predominant broadleaved canopy trees were ash, beech, birch and oak. The ground flora of all sites was species poor; bramble was the predominant vegetation type overall, but grasses, rushes and shrubs were relatively more abundant on open sites. A total of 15 native tree species were regenerating, birch was most common and at most sites there were few valuable broadleaved timber species. Although combined numbers of seedlings and saplings varied from 200 to 20,000 ha−1, large areas of most sites had few regenerating trees and <10% of their area was becoming restocked with timber species. Relationships between seedling numbers and site characteristics were complex and varied with species, but there was a consistent positive relationship between the presence of nearby parent trees and the frequency and abundance of seedlings. The results indicate that the current reliance on natural regeneration may be unwise especially for those broadleaved species such as oak and beech which are valued for their timber.