Flintshire Woodlands team tackles aftermath of Storm Darragh
Flintshire Woodlands staff are dealing with the aftermath of Storm Darragh, which caused windblow damage to forests in parts of Wales, the Midlands and Northwest England.
Gusts of up to 93mph were recorded in areas of North Wales, and one large conifer forest in Mid Wales, managed by Flintshire Woodlands, suffered extensive damage.
The team is now working to assess the full effects of the damage - but said the diverse age of the trees on the site had been an important factor in limiting the effects of the storm.
David Crozier, Senior Forest Manager with Flintshire Woodlands (the trading name of Scottish Woodlands Ltd in Wales and parts of England) said: "There was significant damage, and we are working hard to advance harvesting operations to clear up the windblow and get the site restocked."
He added: "On a positive note, the UKWAS-managed wood has a very varied age structure which limited the windblow to first rotation pre-1980's areas, which is less than 10% of the site. The age diversification of the site has undoubtedly saved it from much more widespread damage."
The Flintshire Woodlands team also saw the impact of Storm Darragh at its all-team meeting on an estate in Shropshire - which has around 350 hectares of woodlands, roughly one-third conifer, one-third broadleaf and one-third mixed woodland, as well as another estate in Cheshire, which has 250 hectares of woodland of similar species composition.
Senior Harvesting and Forest Manager, Alastair Squire said "Both of these estate woodlands are very attractive to walk through and have a large number of visitors each year. Ongoing management will need to be sympathetic to the landscape and ecology of the area whilst also ensuring that the woodlands remain productive and windfirm. Unfortunately, Storm Darragh has caused small to medium-sized areas of catastrophic windblow that now needs tidying up as a priority, particularly in areas of public access.”
