Plot 3 : Bel’s Wood

My offer has been accepted on plot 3. There is quite a way to go with completing the purchase which will take 6-8 weeks (target late October 2020). The plot is about 8hectares, on a slope and has a mixture of trees, bracken and gorse (2m high in many places) and both are preventing further trees from becoming established. There is a stream running through it and a road running along the bottom. There is no access point currently and it is not fenced off from the neighbouring plots. More details on the site will follow but not until the ownership has been acquired.

Planning a strategy for Bel’s Wood

There are three complementary goals:

1. Increase carbon sequestration

2. Increase biodiversity

3. Use the plot as an amenity 

1. Carbon sequestration

One of the aims for acquiring land is to increase carbon capture and a make a small but positive contribution to carbon neutrality by 2040. One national policy is ‘planting more trees’ and hence my desire to plant a new wood on land that has been used for grazing. There are grants available to support tree planting for carbon sequestration and flood management.

But as ever it is more complicated that than this simple headline policy. There have been a few research articles published / reported regarding tree planting and carbon sequestration recently. In Scotland they have followed up 39 years after trees were planted and it was found that planting birch trees on peat bogs reduced the total carbon captured compared to land left undisturbed. 

[https://news.mongabay.com/2020/08/in-the-scottish-moorlands-plots-planted-with-trees-stored-less-carbon-than-untouched-lands-study/amp/?__twitter_impression=true&s=08 ]

Key comment: ’But planting trees in areas that have never been forested, a practice known as afforestation, can release carbon stores, resulting in a net loss of carbon from the ecosystem.'

Then today an article in Ecologist [https://theecologist.org/2020/sep/02/sheep-farms-could-convert-woodland.]  advises that sheep farmers should leave their land to rewild with seeds from native trees becoming established over time. They can then sell carbon credits instead of making money from farming. Interestingly comments on Twitter in response to this article reported that a piece of land left to rewild and no longer grazed by sheep in Swaledale, Yorkshire had not become any different after 7 years suggesting that greater intervention is needed there (specifically planting trees and protecting them from predators).

Question

• How interventionist will I be with Bel’s wood?
• Should the bracken and gorse be cleared, partially cleared or left?
• What is the baseline carbon capture of the current site ?
• Was the land previously a forest?

            2. Biodiversity

The Wildlife Trust have mapped loss of native flora and fauna nationally.
[https://nbn.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/State-of-Nature-2019-England-27-09-19.pdf]

Headlines from their report is that 13% of species in England are threatened with extinction and since 1970, 36 species have become extinct. Living in a rural area, and with the land being inside the Lake District National Park means that it fairs better than most parts of England. The mapping exercise reported on indicates that it is less than 80% in tact in terms of native biodiversity.

They have published a useful document ‘Towards a Wilder Britain - creating a nature recovery network’ which advocates a strategic approach to land management and the use of state subsidies to improve the way land is managed.
[https://www.wildlifetrusts.org/sites/default/files/2018-06/]

The Wildlife Trust also advocates Nature Recovery Networks which emphasise coherent planning and networking of green spaces for nature to thrive ie not islands of wild land but linked spaces so animals can move between them. [Nature_recovery_network_final.pdf ]

The National Biodiversity Network (an organisation dedicated to sharing data on wildlife sighted across the UK.) publishes a searchable map which shows what flora and fauna has been spotted in any area. Looking at the 2km radius around Bel’s Wood there have been 261 species logged - 87 different birds, 12 mammals, 75 insects and 44 plants. This is a fantastic resource although nothing has been logged in the 8 hectares of Bel’s Wood or within 0.5km. The site does not appear to log trees. This requires further investigation. There are red squirrels noted about 5km north of Bel’s Wood which means bringing some coniferous trees into the wood (there are none now) could be valuable to improve their habitat and bring the squirrels further south. Owls (long eared, little and eurasian eagle) and curlew have been noted 5km away and swallows and cuckoos within 2km.
 

Question:
- Do I need a full benchmark which would take a year to cover all seasons to create a strategy for the site or can that be developed in parallel?

- Can I rely on this the NBN benchmark map for the surrounding area’s species and use this to target those I want to encourage onto the site?

Options:

1. The Wildlife Trust offers a day course on how to complete a biodiversity benchmark [https://www.wildlifetrusts.org/help-manage-land/biodiversity-benchmark]

2. Points to experts including in South Lakes to approach 
[https://www.wildlifetrusts.org/blog/sue-young/national-nature-map-uk]

3. Use the mapping service available via The National Biodiversity Network
[https://nbn.org.uk/record-share-explore-data/start-recording-wildlife/ ]
This is an organisation

       

3. Amenity

The third purpose of owning the land is as an amenity. This is by far the easiest element as it has the features I was looking for

1. Skies are darker than in Kendal and therefore better for star gazing if I can find a handy parking space and flat enough / dry enough piece of land to use my telescope and I don’t crowd out the skies with trees entirely.
2. Sleeping out (bivvy) on my own and with friends and have fires. Use the upper parts of the plot to get the views and be away from the boggy areas. Maximum 29 nights a year.
3. Quiet enjoyment - bird watching, learning plants and insects and sharing this with others. Climbing the odd tree 😀
4. Not allowing bird shooting, grazing or other farming use on the site to give nature a chance to reclaim the land.

Question

- What are the implications of the land being in the Lake District National Park and restrictions on usage?