Скачать или смотреть Trial Exclosure: Hazel Coppice Ground Flora.

This is a single 2x2m fenced area put up to keep deer out of a small patch of woodland floor under a hazel subcanopy. The patch chosen is typical of the ground under the sub-canopy of 50-year-derelict hazel coppice in this ancient woodland. Deer are having an effect by browsing - you can see nibbled ivy, raspberry and the sparse brambles have all been browsed. So have the rare tree seedlings. But though the effect they have on regrowing coppice in this wood is extreme, how much effect are they actually having on the ground flora? I plonked this here in April 2024 when the bluebells were just coming into flower. Would have been better installed when the ground flora was dormant see this vid:
   • Ancient Woodland Ground Flora - Trampling ...   I used Tenax 'cos it is cheap and quick and casts no shade (and I asked for a roll as a leaving present when I went self-employed over a decade ago. Thanks, Molies! It has done 6 years of Dorset gates and now this.) Will there be any difference between 'inside' and 'outside' in April 2025? In April 2026? Does it matter? One exclosure of itself will not produce statistically significant data, but with photos taken at intervals from fixed photographic points. if there is an effect, it will give an indication that can be demonstrated.

If you buy or start manging a woodland, one of the bits of data you must have is the current effects of grazing/browsing, so even if you don't think you have deer present, an exclosure like this may cause a real surprise. In this wood, the effects of deer browsing are (bluntly) bleedin' obvious. But what is the deer population numerically? How do you accurately assess deer populations? By dung count? But they hide their dung and may drop it far from the area you are interested in - dung is rare under derelict hazel coppice (where I spend a lot of time) and damned difficult to find as it drops under the ivy leaves into the ivy mat. Why do so many questions arise from a a 3 minute vid about a bit of fence?

Subcanopy? Hazel can form a closed canopy through which standard (or canopy) trees poke up much higher. Even left uncut, hazel doesn't form a big tree.

The fixed photo posts were set up for a Gopro not a TG7, the GoPro has a wider view. The tweety noise seems to be an artifact of the camera, which is damned annoying given how expensive the little wretch was..... I bought it for marine work, it's good for that, but not great for shooting Youtube vids (grumble, grumble). I'm going back to a GoPro - the battery life is better, too.

Do me a favour, oh esteemed viewer? If you've read to here, please drop the word 'end' in the comments. If you think it all made sense, please say? Thanks.