Identification

Title

Community Forest Species Trial (Rockbeare 1998)

Alternative title(s)

Abstract

A series of species trials were set up to investigate the establishment and early growth (up to 14 years old) of 44 native and non-native tree species on a variety of different site types in lowland Britain. On good quality lowland afforestation sites, Platanus x hispanica (London plane) established and grew more successfully than the native trees tested, and may be an example of a species that could theoretically be established in anticipation of future climate change. Experiments on a variety of community woodland sites indicated that a range of exotic species, such as X Cupressocyparis leylandii (Leyland cypress), may have the potential for establishing a woodland cover on poorly restored land where few other trees would grow. However, on less challenging, better restored sites, a wide range of native species also grew successfully. Further long-term and larger scale trials on a wider variety of sites are required to confirm the potential of the species tested for British conditions. The results from these experiments also showed that relative growth rates of different species can vary through time, highlighting the danger in making premature judgements about species suitability based solely on very early tree growth. See also: Willoughby, I., Stokes, V., Poole, J., White, J.E.J. and Hodge, S.J. (2007) The potential of 44 native and non-native species for woodland creation on a range of contrasting sites in lowland Britain. Forestry, 80 (5): 531-553. Attribution statement:

Resource type

dataset

Resource locator

http://data.defra.gov.uk/Forestry/FC_OpenData/FR/Community+Forest+Species+Trial+(Rockbeare+1998).zip

protocol: WWW:LINK-1.0-http--link

name:

description: Data download

Unique resource identifier

code

57ebd6a8-08d0-46c6-9253-547c27854df6

codeSpace

Dataset language

eng

Spatial reference system

code identifying the spatial reference system

http://www.opengis.net/def/crs/EPSG/0/27700

Classification of spatial data and services

Topic category

environment

Keywords

Keyword set

keyword value

OpenData

Keyword set

keyword value

England

Keyword set

keyword value

Science

Research

Climate

Keyword set

keyword value

plant species

survival

originating controlled vocabulary

title

GEMET - Concepts, version 2.4

reference date

date type

publication

effective date

2010-01-13

Geographic location

West bounding longitude

-3.3340000000000005

East bounding longitude

-3.328

North bounding latitude

50.745

South bounding latitude

50.739

Extent

Extent group

authority code

code identifying the extent

http://data.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/doc/country/england

Temporal reference

Temporal extent

Begin position

1994-04-25

End position

1998-11-13

Dataset reference date

date type

creation

effective date

1998-11-13

date type

revision

effective date

2004-02-13

Frequency of update

notPlanned

Quality and validity

Lineage

Non-native species were selected for their potential to establish a woodland cover and produce timber on difficult and degraded sites. The native species Q. robur was included for comparison. One- to two-year-old bare root plants were used, except for P. nigra which was cell grown. Stock was sourced from reputable supplies or grown from seed at Headley Research Nursery, UK (51° 08 ′ N, 1° 51 ′ W). Trees were planted at 1.8 × 1.8 m spacing, and each 14.4 × 14.4 m plot contained 64 trees, with assessments carried out on all trees. There were three replicates of each of the 17 species, laid out as three randomized blocks, giving 51 plots in total. Acer campestre L. (field maple) was planted around any plot edges not abutting other treatments. Acer campestre was also used to replace any dead trees in all the species plots, to maintain conditions of even competition. Herbicides were used to keep a 1-m^2 area weed-free around each tree from April to August for each of the 5 years the experiment was maintained. Height (to the nearest 0.1 cm), stem diameter (to the nearest 0.1 mm) at 5 cm above ground level and survival were assessed after planting and at the end of each growing season. Planting date: February 1994 Elevation (metre above sea level): 159 DAMS: 13 WHC: 4 Continentality: 8 Annual average rainfall (mm): 950 Annual average growing degree days (>5°C): 1747 Annual average soil moisture deficit (mm): 143 Topography: Gentle slope, artificially raised above surrounding land Underlying geological formation:Mesozoic and Palaeozoic siltstone and shale Soil: Old capped silt pond. Inert material to an unknown variable depth, heavy clay/sand, thin loam topsoil Previous land use and vegetation: Working silt lake for nearby quarry for over 20 years; capped with landfi ll and 2 – 5 cm topsoil; very little vegetation, nearby vegetation is gorse, birch, uddleia, rush, annual grasses Protection: Rabbit and roe deer fence, vole guards where necessary Initial site preparation: Wing tine ripped to a depth of 0.5 – 1 m; rabbit and deer fenced

Conformity

Data format

name of format

Open format | Comma Separated Values file (CSV)

version of format

NA

Constraints related to access and use

Constraint set

Use constraints

Contains Forestry Commission information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Constraint set

Limitations on public access

There are no public access constraints to this data. Use of this data is subject to the licence identified.

Responsible organisations

Responsible party

organisation name

Forestry Commission

email address

mapping.geodata@forestry.gov.uk

web address

http://www.forestry.gov.uk/

description: Forestry Commission Website

responsible party role

pointOfContact

Metadata on metadata

Metadata point of contact

organisation name

Forestry Commission

email address

mapping.geodata@forestry.gov.uk

responsible party role

pointOfContact

Metadata date

2020-03-19

Metadata language

eng