Carrifran Wildwood Project Native woodland restoration in the Southern Uplands of Scotland Management Plan Prepared by the Wildwood Group of the Borders Forest Trust Editors: Adrian Newton and Philip Ashmole Contacts: Dr Philip Ashmole, Project Co-ordinator Hugh Chalmers, Project Officer Willie McGhee, Director, BFT Borders Forest Trust, Monteviot Nurseries, Ancrum, Jedburgh, Roxburghshire, Scotland TD8 6TU. Tel. 01835 830750, Fax 01835 830760, email: [email protected] Further information on the project can be obtained by visiting the Wildwood website at:- http://www.carrifran.org.uk 1 CONTENTS Preface 5 1. Introduction 6 1.1 Mission statement 1.2 Context and history of the Wildwood project 1.3 Ethos and general approach 1.4 Development of the management plan 2. Description of the site 12 2.1 Location 2.2 Status of the site 2.3 Physical characteristics 2.3.1 Climate 2.3.2 Hydrology 2.3.3 Geology 2.3.4 Geomorphology 2.3.5 Soils 2.4 Biological characteristics 2.4.1 Current distribution and status of woodland 2.4.2 Vascular plants 2.4.3 Vegetation 2.4.4 Bryophytes 2.4.5 Fungi and lichens 2.4.6 Mammals 2.4.7 Birds 2.4.8 Fish 2.4.9 Other vertebrates 2.4.10 Insects and other invertebrates 2.5 Archaeology 2.6 Land use 2.6.1 Historical 2.6.2 Current 2.7 The existing landscape 2.7.1. Landform 2.7.2. Landcover 2.8 Access and recreation 3. Objectives and general approach 27 3.1 Long-term objectives of Carrifran Wildwood Project 3.1.1 Ecological objective 3.1.2 Long-term development of the woodland 3.2 Medium-term objective 3.3 Management structure 3.4 Management approach 3.5 Financial management 3.5.1 Approach to fundraising during the land purchase 3.5.2 Fundraising and financial management during the restoration phase 3.6 Management of access and recreation 2 3.7 Education and research 3.7.1 Education 3.7.2 Interpretation 3.7.3 Research 4. Woodland establishment plan 36 4.1 Woodland composition 4.2 Woodland structure 4.2.1 Use of existing ESC to define appropriate woodland composition 4.2.2 Use of existing NCV communities to define appropriate woodland composition 4.2.3 Comparison of the two approaches 4.2.4 Selection of woodland communities for restoration 4.2.5 Spatial structure 4.2.6 Planting density 4.3 Proposed distribution of woodland communities to be established 4.4 Treeline 4.5 Mountain shrub communities 4.6 Open ground, peatland and freshwater communities 4.6.1 Area to be left open 4.6.2 Peatland 4.6.3 Freshwaters 4.7 Grazing management 4.8 Establishment and maintenance 4.8.1 Natural regeneration 4.8.2 Direct seeding 4.8.3 Protection from herbivores 4.8.4 Ground treatment and weed control 4.8.5 General approach to establishment 4.8.6 Provision of planting stock 4.8.7 Nursery approaches 4.9 Management for biodiversity 4.9.1 Species introductions 4.9.2 Habitat features 4.9.3 Incidence of disturbance 4.9.4 Towards a habitat network 5. Detailed management prescriptions 71 5.1 General information 5.2 Woodland Grant Scheme application submitted in October 1999 5.3 Second WGS application (to be submitted in January 2004) 5.4 Treeline Woodland WGS applications 5.5 Planting schedule summary 6. Environmental impact assessment 78 6.1 Physical characteristics 6.1.1 Hydrology 6.1.2 Geology 6.1.3 Soils 6.2 Biological characteristics 3 6.2.1 Vascular plants 6.2.2 Bryophytes 6.2.3 Fungi and lichens 6.2.4 Mammals 6.2.5 Birds 6.2.6 Fish 6.2.7 Insects and other invertebrates 6.3 Archaeology 6.4 Landscape 6.4.1 Short and medium term changes to the landscape 6.4.2 Boundary fences 6.4.3 Deer fences 6.4.4 Visual impact of tree cultivation 6.4.5 Long-term changes to the landscape 6.5 Socio-economic impact 6.6 Monitoring 7. References 88 Appendices 1. Climate data for Eskdalemuir 2. Vascular plant flora 3. Vegetation: list of NVC communities 4. Bryophytes 5. Fungi 6. Birds 7. Species reintroductions 8. Monitoring 9. Application of Ecological Site Classification to Carrifran 10. Deer management 11. A description of farming life at Carrifran 12. Hydrological assessment 13. Landscape assessment 14. Research at Carrifran 15. Analysis of constraints and opportunities 4 Preface This Management Plan describes the plan for woodland restoration at Carrifran as of October, 2000. It represents the fourth main iteration of a document which was begun some three years previously. Much of the text is the same as the Environmental Statement which accompanied the application to the Forestry Commission for support under the Woodland Grant Scheme in late 1999; however, the structure has been amended to provide a more coherent narrative. By late 2000, as the process of restoration had already begun, some minor amendments to the original management plan had already been made – evidence of the adaptive management approach in action! These changes are indicated in the text. It should be emphasized that this document does not represent a final word on how restoration will be achieved at Carrifran, but rather a flexible set of blueprints which will need to be adapted to changing circumstances, as the project develops. However, one of the key aims of this Plan was to state clearly the long-term objectives and overall ethos of the project, so that our successors will be able to understand what we hoped to achieve at the outset. This document was compiled from the collective input of members of the Wildwood Group of the Borders Forest Trust. The following people contributed to the series of discussion meetings of the Ecological Planning Subgroup on which this statement is based, and/or commented on draft versions of it: Stuart Adair, Crinan Alexander, Michael Allen, Anna Ashmole, Myrtle Ashmole, Philip Ashmole, Ian Carr, Hugh Chalmers, Jeremy Cunningham, Kinnaird Cunningham, Lynn Davy, Derek Dunsire, Nick Fiddes, Ann Goodburn, Peter Gordon, John Hamilton, Jim Knight, Jim Lockie, Fi Martynoga, Michael Matthews, Willie McGhee, Douglas McKenna, Chris Moffat, Pam Moncur, George Moffat, Ray Murray, Bill Mutch, Adrian Newton, David O'Neill, Andrew Raven, Derek Robeson, John Rogers, David Rook, Chris Sawers, Alex Smith, Pip Tabor. Additional members of the Wildwood Group contributed to the development of the document in other ways. The illustrations in this statement are mainly the work of Myrtle Ashmole, Jim Knight and Adrian Newton. Graham Pyatt kindly provided the ESC maps. The photographs were taken by Philip Ashmole. The Wildwood Group is indebted to the following individuals who have supported the development of the management plan on which this document is based, by so generously offering their time and expertise: Dick Balharry, Fiona Doake, Peter Duncan, David Goffin, Peter Harrison, Kate Heal, Alasdair Hendry, John Hunt, Felix Karthaus, David Ledger, David Long, Peter McCracken, John Mayhew, Douglas McKean, Chris Miles, Gordon Patterson, George Peterken, Elizabeth Pickett, Graham Pyatt, Rob Soutar, Muir Sterling, Richard Tipping, Gunardjo Tjakrawarsa, Roy Watling and Peter Wormell. Apologies and thanks are extended to other people who have helped in significant ways but who are not listed here. It is difficult to communicate the excitement that we collectively shared when on the 1st January 2000, work on establishing the Carrifran Wildwood finally began, after years of hard preparatory work by the many people involved. The maps and plans described here suddenly started to take shape in the form of trees planted in the ground, and as 2000 progressed, we were greatly encouraged by the speed of progress and the tremendous on-going support received from volunteers. Our heartfelt thanks to everyone who has helped to start turning these dreams into reality. Adrian Newton & Philip Ashmole, October 2000 5 1. Introduction 1.1 Mission statement The Wildwood Project aims to re-create, in the Southern Uplands of Scotland, an extensive tract of mainly forested wilderness with most of the rich diversity of native species present in the area before human activities became dominant. The woodland will not be exploited commercially and human impact will be carefully managed. Access will be open to all, and it is hoped that the Wildwood will be used throughout the next millennium as an inspiration and an educational resource. 1.2 Context and history of the Wildwood project The project is a response to the increasing worldwide realisation that in areas where natural ecosystems have almost entirely disappeared, conservation of surviving relict fragments needs to be complemented by more positive action. In extensive ecologically degraded areas there is a compelling case for re-creation - as far as this is possible - of some areas of natural habitat. These can act as refuges for native wildlife, provide inspiration for people who value wild places and demonstrate the value of positive action to restore the environment. At the start of the new millennium, the Carrifran Wildwood project accepts the eloquent challenge of biologist and conservationist Edward O. Wilson (1992): "We should not knowingly allow any species or race to go extinct. And let us go beyond mere salvage to begin the restoration of natural environments, in order to enlarge wild populations and stanch the hemorrhaging of biological wealth. There can be no purpose more enspiriting than to begin the age of restoration, reweaving the wondrous diversity of life that still surrounds us." On a more local scale, many residents in the Southern Uplands of Scotland have become increasingly uneasy at the fact that their familiar, beautiful, but mainly naked countryside is ecologically devastated, with only a fraction of the biodiversity that was once present.