What do foresters do?
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What do Foresters do? How did it change with time?
Foresters manage woods and forests. When does a wood become a forest is a question which really has no answer, but Chopwell Wood covers 360 hectares (890 acres) so it is a large wood or a small forest. Chopwell Wood has been about this size for 2000 years, but it was managed for commercial forestry purposes from the 18th century when it became the Chopwell Plantation. In 1923, when the Forestry Commission took over full management of Chopwell Wood, there were about 40 foresters working there. In 2008 there are three or four Forestry Commission workers who spend some time in Chopwell. You will be investigating why this change in number has taken place.
A foresters aim is to get right the three R’s : the right trees; in the right place; for the right reasons. A forester decides which trees to plant and why, where to plant them and then looks after them until they are ready to be felled.
Get ideas together to answer these questions:
- Try and say how things have changed between the 1920s and modern day
- How long do trees take to grow?
Growing trees is a long-term business. The fastest growing conifers take about 40 years to grow before they are ready for felling. Deciduous trees take a lot longer, with for example, oak trees taking about 100 years to reach maturity. - Why were lots of trees planted in the 1920s?
Recovery from depleted timber stocks due to the First World War. Timber was needed for pit props in coal mines, telegraph poles, railway sleepers, in the construction of buildings, for furniture, fences, sheds and all sorts of wooden products from toys to fruit bowls, and for making pulp from which paper is made. Fast growing conifer trees served these purposes. - Why in the 21st century do we continue to plant trees?
In the 21st century forestry is multi purpose. There is a still a commercial timber trade but forests increasingly serve recreational purposes like walking, cycling and horse riding. Forests are landscaped to provide a pleasant scenic environment for leisure activities and the screening of buildings. Areas of forest are kept for the conservation of wildlife, wild plants and the trees themselves. Forests provide jobs in tourism and leisure management as well as forestry in looking after the trees. Trees also do a very important job in terms of climate change; they absorb carbon dioxide and produce oxygen. - What are the seven important stages in the growth of a tree?
- Choose seeds
- Plant seeds
- Raise saplings (baby trees )in a nursery
- Planting saplings in prepared ground
- Tending and caring for the young trees
- Thinning / brashing / pruning
- Harvesting (felling)
- Why do tree seeds need to be well chosen?
The need for well-chosen seeds has changed little over time. Seeds need to be chosen that are suitable for the type of soil the tree will be grown in, and this will lead to healthy growth, well-developed roots, and a good shape to the tree. It will also give some resistance to disease. Seeds collected locally are often the best, although there are now national seed orchards. Natural regeneration in which the trees self-seed is not always successful and needs supplementing with trees grown in nurseries. - How did nurseries and tree planting change from 1920 to beyond 2000?
Nurseries in the 1920s were small and local. Seeds were planted by hand and there would be a few hundred in a nursery. The young trees would spend one or two years in a nursery before being planted out. All the ground preparation for planting out such as digging the soil and clearing away other plants was done by hand using spades and trowels. In the 21st century thousands of tiny trees are developed in tubes, called cell tubes, and then planted out using specialist machinery. The land might be ploughed and suitable drainage put in.
The forester needs to decide how far apart to plant the saplings. They are typically placed 1 metre apart, but the spacing will depend on the type of tree. At 1 metre apart, 10000 trees can be planted per hectare. Planting saplings close together, helps the young trees to grow straight and also provides the forester with some choice when it come to thinning and discarding the poorer trees.
- Caring for growing trees
What do young growing trees need protection from?
How are they protected?
Young trees need protecting from:
wildlife, particularly deer and rabbits which will try to eat them
wind and frost
a shortage of water (drought)
invasive plants competing for space and nutrients from the soil,
pests and diseases
theft
Protection from wildlife has changed little since 1920, and is done by fencing off the young trees. More modern methods include individual tree protection, such as putting tubes round them made of special materials. This also gives some protection from wind and frost. Suitable irrigation ditches would be dug by hand in the 1920s and by machinery in the 21st century. Also large scale watering machines are now available whereas in the past this would be done by hand.
Invasive plants would be weeded out by hand using trowels in the 1920s. Although this method might still be used, modern methods are more like to be chemical based, and the invading weeds would be killed with a suitable herbicide. In the past many trees would be lost to pests and diseases. insecticides and fungicides have been developed with which to combat these. The theft of newly planted trees by people who want them for their garden or to sell on is a more recent problem. Fencing helps to reduce theft.
- Thinning
What is thinning?
Which trees are thinned?
Thinning is the removal of some of the young trees to leave space for others to grow.
The forester picks the unhealthiest looking trees to remove.
Thinning results in the remaining trees being strong and healthy when fully grown. - Brashing
What is brashing?
Why are trees brashed?
When a tree is brashed its lower branches are cut off. It stops the young trees branches interlocking as they get bigger. Brashing also allows for the trees to be thoroughly inspected for any signs of disease or pests. - Pruning
What is pruning?
Why are trees pruned?
Pruning is the shaping of a tree by cutting off certain branches.
Trees are pruned to produce a straight trunk, which is better for the production of timber.
Thinning, brashing and pruning were done by hand saws and secateurs in the 1920s. These are still in use today, but chain saws are also used which are much quicker. - Harvesting
What is harvesting?
Why are trees harvested?Harvesting is also called felling or cropping. Trees are first cut down and then the branches are cut off; the tree is said to be delimbed. The tree trunk and main branches are then cut up into long lengths or logs. The logs are taken to the roadside to be collected.
In the 1920s trees might be felled used a big axe (a felling axe) or two men working together, would saw it down with a two-man saw. In modern day chain saws are used. In some big forests, such as Kielder Forest on the Scottish borders, there are big harvesting machines that can cut a tree down, and delimb it, in a few seconds.
In the 1920s horses were used to drag the logs to the roadside using chains. Horses are still used in small enclosed woodlands, but in a big forest like Kielder, the harvesting machine can pick up a big log and put it straight on a lorry.
After harvesting, the logs are taken for processing to timber mills to be cut up. Some wood would go for pulping to be made into paper.
