Burnham Beeches Management Plan 2010 - the City of London ...

4 objectives & Methodology - Conservation
4.1.3 Heathland & Mire
What Do You Like Most?
The southern part of Burnham “Love the duckboards
Beeches was formerly an open over the mire”
landscape, maintained by 2009 public consultation
grazing livestock, but lack of grazing over recent
decades has resulted in growth of secondary woodland
over most of it. A series of projects over the last 25
years has demonstrated that restoration is possible but
that ongoing management is needed to restore and
then to maintain it in good condition. Birch seedlings
and bracken in particular need regular attention.
The legacy of several small scale clearances is a series of
small woodland belts that break up the area; these
need to be removed to restore the overall feel and to
make ongoing management easier. In addition it is
desirable to extend the open habitats so that previously
cleared/thinned areas near the Stag and the Juniper
Heath areas are linked.
Extending the heathland habitat to the roadside areas
increases the extent of this important habitat and will
allow easier management of tree safety work. It will be
a refuge for visitors walking around the road that feels
open and safe with good visibility on either side and
create a view of the reserve from outside, increasing
the sense of experiencing somewhere special.
Maintaining a diversity of habitat including all
successional areas may require scrapes and hollows to
be made by hand at intervals. Scrub is a valued habitat
for many species of bird, mammal and invertebrate but
should be encouraged largely along the edges of the
open areas. It will need regular cutting to keep it at an
ideal height.
Guidelines for work (heathland/mire restoration and maintenance)
It is anticipated that the work will require a mixture of different methods. Some can be
carried out with staff/volunteers while others may require large machinery. Tree felling and
major mechanical work should be carried out between the end of October and the end of
February with the following exceptions:
s Bracken control should be carried out in July/August after a check of the area for
late ground nesting birds.
s Weed wiping should be done in June when it is most effective but great care
should be taken to avoid ground nesting birds. To minimise the risk to reptiles it
should be done on a hot day (so they can quickly move away).
s Manual clearance of young, regenerating birch can be carried out in midsummer
(August) as long as care is taken to avoid any nesting birds with second broods.
All blocks of trees to be surveyed for bat roosts before clearance work, following the bat
policy protocols. Surveys for reptile hibernation and egg sites should be carried out in
clearance areas the year before works are undertaken.
Some trees should be retained: these should ideally be fruiting and flowering trees such as
rowan, whitebeam and hawthorn, or occasional large oaks. Willow and aspen are valuable
for wildlife and some must be kept. Regrowth from stools and suckers are readily browsed
and may need protection such as dead hedging for 2 -3 years. Some dead wood should be
also be retained, ideally stacked so not to hinder any future work. Stumps of deciduous
trees should be treated with herbicide or removed by grinding.
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