Reynolds Wood - Brogborough

Long term intentions

The long term intention is to retain the current structural diversity, habitat diversity and historical diversity over the total 98 ha. This will in turn advance all four of the Trust's corporate objectives of increasing new native woodland, increasing enjoyment of woodland, restoring and improving biodiversity of woods and no further loss of ancient woodland.

The majority of the Reynolds Wood planting is flourishing and beginning to achieve something close to canopy closure in many areas. Management options to develop this new native woodland to mimic the older habitat in Holcott wood will be adopted.

These options will include:

Areas of limited intervention away from access routes

Respacing and thinning of certain earlier maturing tree species.

Ride edge coppicing next to created rides and important features such as hedges and watercourses.

Areas such as compartments 2d, 2e and 2f which have not flourished will receive particular attention to ensure tree survival, this will include measures to control deer browsing.

The current hedge management will continue and through the combination of laying, coppicing and replanting of hedges the existing hedge pattern will be maintained.

Ride management in Reynolds Wood will be developed to increase structural diversity of the sward by variable cutting of ride margins.

Ponds will be managed on a cyclical basis to retain all valuable stages of pond development on the site.

The created grassland is to be maintained through mowing and grazing with the intention of improving species diversity through the removal of nutrients over the years.

It is hoped that the arable influence still apparent over Reynolds Wood at present will be lessened over the years as the woodland/grassland habitats develop and stabilise.

Holcot wood is a complex woodland; the intention is to retain the existing structural diversity that has developed already.

Many of the older compartments have not been managed for at least 100 years. Compartments 4a and 4b most recently coppiced in the 1980's and late 1990’s will be managed under a mixture of ride edge coppice, coppice with standards and a small area of high forest management. High forest regeneration will be accomplished away from the coppice areas through a longer cycle of felling and natural regeneration over a 250 year rotation which gives approximately 0.5 ha of regeneration every 20 years

Compartments 4c and 4d will be retained as limited intervention areas natural processes will be allowed to influence and develop the wood structure.

Compartment 4e is to be managed to favour a blackthorn understorey as this is the site of the Black Hairstreak butterfly colony, shading canopy trees will be felled or ring barked to allow blackthorn to regenerate, some small areas of blackthorn to be layed to retain their capacity as breeding sites.

Compartment 4f, 4g and 4h to be respaced favouring the native broadleaved species and thereafter managed as high forest.

Rides between 4a and 4b, 4g and 4h/d and 4g and 4e to be maintained as wide rides with coppiced edges. A biennial mowing regime along the bridleway to south of Holcot will also be incoprorated in the conservation ride management regime.

The central glade will be mown to provide a variety of short and long vegetation communities for invertebrate interest.

It will also be important to built up a more accurate picture of the species and habitats present over the whole wood though survey and monitoring. Areas to be investigated to include Holcot rides and grassland, development of the regeneration area south of Holcot Wood, Black Hairstreak survey.

The importance of the wood as an integral part of the Community Forest should also recognised through the upkeep of paths and rides and the provision of on site interpretation.