Ardvar Woodland SAC - Update

Following a visit in December 2015, I posted in January 2016 about why a woodland categorised as a Special Area of Conservation. is judged to be in an unfavourable declining condition due to 'overgrazing by large herbivores'. The post covered some history, background, news stories, articles, letters, quotes etc and ended -

It will be interesting to view the agreed Deer Management Plan covering the Ardvar woodland SAC and in a few years time visit to view what effect the deer management plan has on woodland regeneration.

A year on it seems appropriate for an update.

Natura 2000 Ardvar woods map - Special Area of Conservation

Firstly a clarification on nomenclature: The Ardvar woodland SAC area also covers the areas designated as Site of Special Scientific Interest SSSI, both are legally protected.

Illustration from the Deer Management in Scotland: Report to the Scottish Government http://www.snh.org.uk/pdfs/publications/corporate/DeerManReview2016.pdf

16.6.2016 Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) issue a report Deer Management on the Assynt peninsula and of particular interest is the report background and an authorative timeline of events.

Background
6. The woodlands of Ardvar SSSI and SAC, notified for upland birch woodland and old, sessile, oakwood habitats respectively, are in unfavourable condition as a result of prolonged grazing pressure from red deer. This has led to an impoverished ground flora, poor age structure with senescent trees and little regeneration beyond seedling stage. The condition of the woodland has been unfavourable declining since formal monitoring began in 2004. A woodland age-profile study (Beck, 2007) indicated that much of the woodland was in urgent need of action to secure regeneration. In 2010 marked seeding monitoring suggested that a high level of deer damage was still occurring and that management measures put in place were not being effective. A recent survey (Clements, March 2015) shows that there has been a slight improvement recently in habitat condition with pulses of growth to sapling stage. These comprise approximately 15 - 20 hectares (5 - 7%) locally in pockets across the site and within the three main ownerships (although concentrated around Loch Nedd to the west of the site). However this is in areas that are fairly inaccessible to deer and the overall condition of the designated woodland remains unfavourable declining. 

Annex 4: Timeline
2008 - Woodland Profile Survey - highlights herbivore pressure at Ardvar.
2009 - Voluntary Section 7 Control Agreement (S.7) over 5 years established by the Deer
Commission for Scotland (DCS) between Ardvar Estate and John Muir Trust (JMT). (Assynt Crofters Trust) ACT declined to participate.
2012 - agreement breaks down and is deemed to have failed.
May 2013 - all three properties invited to join new S.7. Agreement is not secured and a
subsequent attempt at professional mediation also fails.
Early 2014 - Minister for Environment Paul Wheelhouse MSP informed that mediation
attempts between JMT and Ardvar Estate had failed and case was heading towards
imposition of a Section 8 Control Scheme (S.8).
May 2014 - SNH Board agreed Management Team’s preferred option to move the woods
into unfavourable recovering condition. Involved series of fenced exclosures on all three
properties accompanied by a S.7 across the whole of the APSG area. Key feature of
proposed approach was that it would address the long term woodland management needs
after fencing was removed. Accepted that if this was declined, S.8 may be required at some stage to implement proposed management solution. SNH Board wished message to be promoted to all parties and to include a clear steer about the possible use of Land
Management Orders and S.8.
September 2014 - relations re-established with the three properties; native woodland
adviser contracted to develop Woodland Management Plan, including fencing proposals.
March 2015 - Woodland Management Plan and fencing proposals agreed; negotiations
commenced for implementation of fencing plans with property owners (and crofting common grazing occupiers).
June/July 2015 - Assynt Peninsula Steering Group (APSG) failed to secure agreement for a Deer Management Plan across the wider Assynt peninsula amid disagreement within the group and between the group and SNH.
August 2015 - we notified our intention to seek a S.7 signalling the start of a statutory 6 month consultation period in which to secure a voluntary Agreement. Three months into the consultation, reservations about the S.7 process and distrust between parties was signalling that it would be difficult to get agreement.
October 2015 - SNH provided Environment Minister Dr Aileen Macleod MSP with a briefing on Ardvar situation in advance of giving evidence to the Parliament's RACCE Committee on the deer provisions within the Land Reform Bill.
November 2015 - SNH Chairman met with representatives of ACT to listen to concerns over S7 and explore underlying reasons. Chairman met separately with owner of Ardvar Estate later that month to listen to his views and concerns. Chairman also had dialogue with JMT over the Ardvar situation in August 2015 at a stakeholder meeting.
January 2016 - SNH Chairman and Director of Operations briefed the Environment Minister.
February 2016 - by end of the 6 month period we had only 3 signatories; broad consensus with S.7 underlying aims and objectives but members unwilling to commit until after a spring deer count.
March 2016 - count maps, figures and proposed cull targets provided to APSG. Members
again asked to sign S.7 but this yielded no additional signatories.
28 April 2016 - final attempt to get parties to sign S.7 to enable the SNH Board to consider whether further regulatory action required under S.8. No further signatures received and remainder confirmed their opposition to signing S.7.

Birch wood, Ardvar SAC ~2015

28.6.2016 Scottish Natural Heritage posted a blog: Deer Management on the Assynt peninsula

30.6.2016 the 160th Scottish Natural Heritage Board Meeting discussed the Assynt Peninsula Deer Management and the open session minutes indicate that after some discussion it was agreed to

".. allow Assynt Peninsula Sub-Group (ASPG) a further ten months to demonstrate that it can manage the deer population collaboratively through the voluntary approach." With "two additional conditions, that an update on progress and delivery is presented to the Board in November 2016 and that SNH will reserve the right for early regulatory intervention if necessary."

On the same day SNH issued a press release - Last chance for Assynt deer management group

In October 2016 Scottish Natural Heritage issued Deer Management in Scotland: Report to the Scottish Government. Unsurprisingly Ardvar stands out as a notable failure to manage the deer population for conservation.

Deer Management in Scotland: Report to the Scottish Government 

In November 2016 Deer Management on the Assynt peninsula: Update on Progress report was issued.

November 24th 2016 The John Muir Trust generally welcomed the SNH Deer Management report to the Scottish Government. The JMT have previously written about the enthusiasm of Sporting Estates for high deer populations and the conflict of interest with conservation.

Ardvar SAC / Loch Nedd SSSI ~ 2008

On 6.1.2017 The Assynt Crofters Trust issued Response by the Assynt Crofters’ Trust (ACT) to the SNH Report ‘DeerManagement in Scotland’. The ACT employed a 'consultant' who sadly seems to have missed the salient point that the Ardvar woodland SAC designation is for its remnant old oak woodland :

91A0 Old sessile oak woods with Ilex and Blechnum in the British Isles. This complex of woods represents old sessile oak woods at the extreme north of its range in Scotland. The site includes the extensive and diverse Ardvar Woodlands, which are mainly birch-dominated with oak throughout, and the woodland at Loch a’Mhuilinn, the other component of this complex, to the north, which has small areas dominated by oak. The area of woodland at Loch a’Mhuilinn lies on the north-west coast of Sutherland near sea level where the effects of exposure on the growth form of some of the oaks are particularly well-demonstrated. The oaks are of special interest because they are the most northern remnant of native oak woodland in the British Isles. Both sites are very important rich oceanic bryophyte sites with good examples of the macrolichen Lobarion community. 

The absence of oak saplings or signs of oak regeneration from the 'consultants' report at least provides further evidence to underpin the SNH condition monitoring reports of an unfavourable declining condition for the Ardvar complex of woods. No doubt the SNH will point that out to the ACT in due course.

A rare oak, Ardvar SAC ~ 2015

Hopefully the SNH will also report in due course on the success of the Assynt Peninsula Deer Management Plan for the Ardvar woods.

The Black Wood of Rannoch - October 2016

I had briefly visited the Black Wood of Rannoch, back in May and decided then, that it warranted a return visit(s). Events conspired to present an opportunity to further explore the woodland, during a weeks stay in Kinloch Rannoch, in late October with the potential for autumnal colour.

Surprisingly for a woodland, there is plenty of literature on the Black Wood of Rannoch and the surrounding area. Through documents, surveys and maps, woodland historians have pieced together a history of the wood, identifying major timber felling events and periods of regeneration. Archaeologists have recorded iron working sites, charcoal platforms, lime kilns, saw pits, saw mills and occupation sites, to provide an indication of the level of natural resource exploitation. Scientists have published papers and reports on numerous aspects of the ecology and species that inhabit the woodland. Judging by the number of old painted stakes, marker posts denoting transect lines and new orange spray painted stakes, the Black Wood is an area of ongoing scientific research and monitoring activities.

Granny Pines and regeneration, in the Black Wood

Geology, Glaciation, Climate and Soils

The geology underlying the Black Wood is predominantly Dalradian metasedimentary rocks, though away from streams, bedrock exposures are limited.  The area has been repeatedly inundated by glacial ice during the Quatenary, the last time during the Loch Lomond stadial. The littoral of Loch Rannoch provides evidence for the origin of glacial debris, as amongst the metasedimentary rocks of local origin, are pale speckled granite rocks that originate from the Moor of Rannoch granite pluton to the west of Loch Rannoch. Analysis of glacial landforms has allowed Geomorphologist to hypothesise that an Ice Cap ~1 Km thick, formed over Rannoch Moor during the Loch Lomond stadial, with outlet glaciers spreading out across the landscape. The study of glacial landforms has led some to hypothesise that there were areas of cold and warm based Ice and that the cold based Ice may have preserved relict landforms from previous episodes of glaciation.  When the climate ameliorated, the Loch Lomond stadial glaciers retreated and the Ice Cap down wasted, leaving behind an extensive assemblage of glacial till, morainic debris and glaciofluvial deposits, mantling the land.

Stream exposure of inclined bedrock and riparian woodland

The metamorphic bedrock underlying the woodland is relatively impermeable and rainfall drains through the superficial deposits and soil layers. The Loch Rannoch area receives a mean annual rainfall of ~1.5 metres and higher amounts over adjacent elevated ground. Away from forestry tracks and wandering along animal track ways that contour the slopes, there are a surprising number of spring lines and flushes encountered.

Flush mosses 

The nature and topography of the woodland floor has generated a range of soils: mainly podzols, gleys and peats. The diverse nature of the ground topography and soils has created a mosaic of micro-habitats within the Black Wood of Rannoch, exploited by flora to produce vegetation communities in ground and field layers of: mosses, rushes, sedges, grasses, herbs, shrubs and bracken.

Woodland history

The general consensus amongst woodland historians is that once upon a time the Black Wood extended further west, east and south. The combination of over grazing and unsustainable tree felling, reduced the wood to a core area, with Gaelic place names, Old maps, remnant Scots Pines, hinting at the former extent of the wood. Matters could be far worse, if it wasn't for enlightened individuals in times past, initiating programs of woodland regeneration, but on the whole it has been a case of gradual decline. From 1947 the Black Wood, has been managed by the Forestry Commission and what exists today reflects the good and not so good aspects of the Forestry Commissions management of the woodland, that they in turn took ownership of. Conservation areas, regeneration and expansion of the Caledonian Forest are the good aspects and Management plans are in place to underpin a number of objectives and ambitions.

Scots Pines and Birch

The not so good aspects of the FC's management are being revisited, non native trees removed and native trees of local provenance planted. A significant area of the Black Wood has also been designated as a Special Area of Conservation and Site of Special Scientific Interest, legally protected and specific management plans cover these areas.


Granny Pines

Granny Pine and Birch

The Granny Pines define the special nature of the Caledonian Forest, their size and morphology, adding presence and a visual indicator of a woods age. The Granny Pines in the Black Wood have been dated by dendrochronology to the late 17th C. To my eyes, some of the Granny Pines have a form akin to pollarded Oaks, with large spreading crowns and as with Oak woodlands there is also Wood Sorrel growing beneath then amongst the needle litter. The survival of Granny Pines has been attributed to their unsuitability for timber.

Woodland floor under a Granny Pine

Hummocks

Anyone wandering 'off piste' in native Pinewoods will encounter 'hummocks' and the Black Wood of Rannoch is no exception, with 'Hummocks' covered in bilberry and heather, sometimes with a Scots Pine or Birch tree growing on them. Some hummocks are of a substantial size, others are in an embryonic state, with a blaeberry/moss cushion colonising a pine stump.

Hummock forming on pine stump

As far as I could tell, the majority of 'hummocks' in the Black Wood, do not appear to be erratic boulders blanketed in vegetation and instead are most likely formed from relict pine tree stumps, although a case could be made for wood ants nests also making a contribution. Conventional wisdom suggests the formation of a 'hummock' takes some time and they are a feature of Caledonian Pine woods with a long history of continuous woodland cover.

Hummocks

Bones of the Forest and windthrow

Foresters indoctrinated in 'modern' forestry at the old Forest schools, would no doubt be aghast at the scruffy nature of the Black Wood, there are a visible number of snags and fallen deadwood in the conservation areas within the Black Wood. The snags and windblow are a positive development for biodiversity and the organisms who are dependent on deadwood for habitat. Standing deadwood is a particularly important resource as the decay rate is slower than fallen material on the ground. The slower decay rate in standing deadwood is exploited by different organisms, to those that breakdown fallen wood on the ground, which in turn means increased biodiversity.

The deciduous woodland

A feature of the Black Wood is the prevalence of Birch, Rowan and Willow trees, that add diversity and a welcome splash of autumnal colour. Whilst Birch dominate some woodland areas, it seems that the Rowan trees are good indicators of the grazing level, in one enclosure where deer have been excluded for some while, it is now dominated by Rowan, in stark contrast to the numbers of Rowan trees in the wider woodland. Having typed that there are numbers of Rowan seedlings on the ground under trees where birds have roosted and this might indicate a further reduction in grazing animals/pressure. With very little imagination, it is easy to extrapolate how Highlands woods and the wider landscape might appear with a reduction in grazing of herbivores, to conservation levels.

During the visits, significant numbers of Fieldfares were seen feeding on Rowan berries and blaeberries, plants that rely on avian dispersal and the reason why Rowan saplings, Blaeberry and Cowberry. can be seen growing as epiphytes on Granny Pines.

Fungi

I had anticipated some native Pine woodland specialists and was not disappointed.

Scaly Tooth fungus (Sarcodon squamosus)

Gypsy mushroom (Cortinarius caperatus) and Ostrich-plume Feather-moss (Ptilium crista-castrensis)

Fly agaric (Amanita muscaria)

Unidentified solitary Amanita fungus and Five-ranked Bog-moss (Sphagnum quinquefarium)

I thoroughly enjoyed my visits to the Black Wood of Rannoch, although only exploring a small fraction of its extent, there was still plenty of subject matter to photograph, much to ponder and the unique atmosphere of a native Pinewood in autumn to savour. Definitely a place to return to again.

Sugar Loaf Woodlands Special Area of Conservation

The wind finally dropped, even so the weather was not very inspiring for the hills, with extensive hill fog forecast, so a visit made to an upland wood that I hadn't visited since 2014. The wood is part of the 2,136 acres of the Sugar Loaf Mountain Common, donated to the National Trust in 1936 by Sybil Margaret Thomas, Viscountess Rhondda.  The wood is also one of 4 unit areas that comprise the Natura 2000 site, the Sugar Loaf Woodlands. A Special Area of Conservation (SAC) and Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).

Oak Moss (Evernia prunastri) 

As with most woods the origin and history of the oakwood can only be speculated at; its name Deri, is Welsh for Oak; the nearby town of Abergavenny has an ancient association with iron working and leather tanning, industries that required charcoal and oak bark. There are also a number of charcoal platforms of varying floor/platform area. Many of the oaks show signs of coppicing and high coppice/low pollarding. The earliest Ordnance Survey 6" to the mile map show the wood extent similar to the present woodland. Some sessile oak trees have the look and character of veteran trees, with some possibly of ancient tree status. Woodland tends to pose many questions but few definitive answers.

A sessile oak that appears of some age with regenerating woodland as a backdrop.

A closer look

I thought there would have been some evidence in the more exposed aspects of the wood of storm damage, surprisingly aside from some windblown deadwood and twigs, there was only a cleft bough as testament to winter 2015/16 storms.

A wind blown bough

On the gentler slopes wind had scoured the woodland floor revealing patterned ground, with alternating curvilinear bands of moss and leaf litter in some areas of the wood, the attentions of a mole revealed clean soil with no stone fragments. As the features appear natural and not the result of any agricultural activity I am aware of,  I would hazard a guess at solifluction or hill creep as the process. In other parts of the wood there are lobes of stone, that hint at a more extreme climate in the past.

Molehills and patterned ground

The steepness of the hill slope encourages natural layering of branches for oaks in more open aspects of the woodland.

Natural branch layering

Even in winter it is an interesting woodland to wander around.

Trees with character

As of 15th February 2008 the wood has a core management plan after the Conservation Status Condition of this wood was assessed as Unfavourable (2007), due to:

• Grazing having a strong role in preventing some of the canopy regeneration and in creating a sparser ground flora; 

• Some areas within the SAC/SSSI remain as open areas, especially on the fringe of the site. Whilst having some open areas is beneficial for a range of species, not all these open areas are of benefit to either the SAC or SSSI features; 

• The even-aged and dense canopy in much of the wooded area. This is creating very densely shaded ground, field and shrub layers and is one of the barriers to regeneration of saplings and ground flora. However, more canopy gaps would be expected in the long term as the canopy trees die, or through storm damage in the more exposed parts of the site; Canopy regeneration is a key attribute for signifying the functioning, habitat quality and sustainability of most woodland types, including sessile oak woods. The grazing within all 4 units has suppressed the regeneration of native woody species and in combination with past coppicing has resulted in a uniform age structure. The areas of Sugarloaf woodlands not subjected to continuous grazing, appear to become densely populated with saplings of all species. This may demonstrate that the main factor restricting natural regeneration of woody species in Sugar Loaf Woodlands is grazing and that current grazing levels are incompatible with sustainable semi-natural woodland at this site. The conservation objectives state that the canopy should be composed of locally native trees and, apart from a beech woodland area within Unit 1, the canopy of Sugar Loaf Woodlands is currently dominated by oak throughout. Where beech is present its seedlings tend dominate the regeneration and without management to control these locally non-native seedlings, this will further cause parts of the SAC feature to fail.

From the Action Plan : Summary of Conservation Measures

All of unit is on Sugar Loaf Common and therefore open to grazing, restricting canopy regeneration and extent and luxuriance of ground flora, very difficult to achieve "correct" grazing levels with current tools available. 

I can find no further updates or reports subsequent to the 2008 report.

A Special Area of Conservation has legal protection to ensure that habitat is maintained in a favourable condition. However, the woodland falls within an area of common land, that allows registered members of the Sugarloaf Commoners Association (SCA) to graze animals on the Sugar Loaf Mountain common. A record exists in the Commons Register of a Commons Commissioner Decision dated 1988 "In the matter of Sugar Loaf Mountain Common, Llantillo Pertholey and Llanfoist Fawr Communities and Abergavenny Town, Monmouth District, Gwent." Relating to registrations disputes made under the Commons Registration Act 1965. The following is a screen shot copied from the document.

The Commons Commissioner report raises a few questions not addressed in the hearing, notably the Sugarloaf Commoners Association enthusiasm in 1988 to inflate the numbers of registered grazing sheep from an already unsustainable number of ~15,000 to 18,643, grazing 2,136 acres of land. The Commoners Association were notified by a letter produced in evidence that the woodland was registered as a Site of Scientific Interest (SSSI) in 1985. Judging by a sampling of Decision reports in Commons Registers, the Commons Commissioner was unusually active in the 1980's ruling on Commons Registration disputes, noting the area of Common Land and the surprising numbers of livestock registered under Common grazing rights.

I am uncertain how much common land there is in Europe, but in Wales 8.4% of land is registered common or 175,000 Hectares and in England 3% of land is registered common or 370,000 Hectares.

The New Naturalist book 'The Common Lands of England and Wales' provides an insight into the history and rights associated with common land. The origin of common land is unknown with some suggestions of common land originating in Roman, Iron age, Bronze age or in the Neolithic. The rights of commoners to common land is complex and has even proved challenging to the authority of reigning Monarchs imposing their will.

In June 2006 The State of Common Land in Wales - an indicative study was issued by RSPB Cymru. The following extracts are from the Report Executive Summary

Reform of the management of common land in England and Wales is currently being considered in Westminster and new legislation is expected to follow. Reform has been driven primarily by (i) the need to secure attainment of the UK Government’s target to have over 95% of SSSIs by area in England in favourable condition by 2010 and (ii) the wish to facilitate entry by commoners into agri-environment schemes, and so help secure the sustainable agriculture management of common land in general. 

Various reports in the last fifteen years have set out the need for improved management and protection of our common land; however, there are few current data available to give a clear view of the condition of commons in Wales. This report is an attempt to collate sources on common land in Wales and to assess the state of a small number of commons in Wales. These commons are not a representative sample of commons in Wales; rather, they are presented as a series of illustrative case studies. We also draw some conclusions for the implementation of the new legislation in Wales. 

The report provided an insight into the correlation between common land and protected habitats

45% (79,000 ha) of common land is designated as SSSI
There are 57 SSSIs in Wales that are wholly or mostly (80% - 100% by area) on common land344 commons in Wales that are 80% - 100% by area SSSIs

From information available on 38 of the 57 SSSI's that were wholly or mostly (80% - 100% by area) on common land the following was reported :

• 71 Species Features of the SSSI - 1 was in a Favourable Condition, 3 were in Unfavourable Condition and 67 were in an Unknown Condition
• 85 Habitat Features of the SSSI - 17 were in a Favourable Condition, 39 were in Unfavourable Condition and 29 were in an Unknown Condition

In 2006 UK Legislation was introduced in the form of the Commons Act 2006. The Welsh Government implementation of the 2006 Commons Act appears to be progressing at a pace commensurate with the scale and complexity of Common Land in Wales and in 2012 issued some guidance on frequently asked questions of Section 46 Unauthorised Agricultural Activities. There are also incentives in place for commoners to manage the land to ensure favourable conservation status of SAC/SSSI features and it now remains to be seen if the Unfavourable Condition of Sugar Loaf Woodlands SAC woods improves to a Favourable Condition.