Northern Ireland Outdoors Forum - Hiking, camping and more
General => General Chat => Topic started by: sjh1 on June 28, 2013
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Posted more or less the same thing in the Rewilding thread but think this could do with a thread of its own.
Regarding conservation organisations and management plans the Mourne Mountains Landscape Partnership Plan is a prime example of confusion. It focuses heavily on scrub clearance. To be clear, 'scrub' is young naturally-regenerating woodland. Ireland is the least wooded part of Europe and our conservation plans focus on clearing any trees that are making a comeback!
Page iv here http://www.mournelive.com/documentbank/uploads/MMLP%20LCAP%20Part%201.pdf has the overall vision which among other things dishearteningly suggests...
"Farmers and large landowners will be co-operating in using a range of techniques to clear scrub, keep invasive species at bay and maintain native plants in good condition as well as the iconic dry stone walls that criss-cross the area." (NB. 'invasive species' here means any vegetation encroaching onto tidy, cleared grazing land ... not only non-native species as you might think)
Some of the management techniques suggested for Annalong Wood (the cleared and burnt area) on page 118 (see here http://www.mournelive.com/documentbank/uploads/MMLP%20LCAP%20Part%202.pdf) are, "invasive clearance, grazing, cutting, seeding, prescribed burning". This in order to create an artificial heathland habitat. Disappointed to see this area of Annalong Wood is going to be managed at all, I was hoping it would be allowed to regenerate naturally with native trees taking over from the planted conifers. Instead the powers that be will be replacing one unnatural land-use with another.
The report also suggests that the Mournes are both overgrazed and undergrazed. Overgrazed yes, but in terms of natural grazing levels to suggest anywhere in the Mournes is undergrazed is ludicrous.
Strangely after all the focus on clearance of natural vegetation there is this small section on page 122 (see here http://www.mournelive.com/documentbank/uploads/MMLP%20LCAP%20Part%202.pdf)...
"Parallel to this [protection of 'Mournes' Juniper], native tree species found in the Mourne uplands will be grown from seed, providing saplings for local landowners to reintroduce into areas which are not grazed, such as gullies and river islands."
It makes absolutely no sense to clear regenerating vegetation from one area only to artificially plant it in another. Indeed it is always better to let scrub and woodland grow naturally rather than planting trees. All the best to whoever has to find ungrazed gullies and even river islands in the Mournes too. Maybe they will fence a few off but I doubt it.
This is all in a conservation report which should aim to protect biodiversity (wildlife). All it is doing is preserving an artificial farmed landscape that is largely useless for wildlife.
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So they cut/graze/burn most naturally occurring woodlands which contain all manner of long established small flowers, fungi etc that are vital to the long term life of a real woodland and it's inhabitants. Then plant some new woods made up of just a couple of conifer type species on an over grazed barren patch so what? The grey squirrels and family gravel walking trails can be put in?
Good to know the clever suited folks in their shiny offices have their fingers on the pulse of the natural environment as always.....