Welcome to the new Parish Tree Wardens

After 25 years of amazing service to the Parish, Sally Elliott is retiring as Tree Warden for Woodbury Salterton - to be replaced by local resident Dave Rose.  Here Sally reflects on a few current concerns about trees.  Despite her modesty, she is a fount of knowledge and passion, and will continue to campaign on local issues relating to the natural environment, especially to trees and soil - some of which will be covered in future blog posts.

Dog Lane, August 2015

We need trees!

It is sometimes overlooked that the legacy of arboreal beauty inherited by the present, owes much to the vision of informed and purposeful planting in the past.  Will the present leave a similar legacy to the future?

Trees are not merely beautiful.  It is no exaggeration to say that the future well-being of the planet depends on them.  Trees stabilise soils and climate, absorb carbon while releasing oxygen, are central to the ecosystem and biodiversity, offer shade and shelter, and mitigate flooding.  We need trees as never before, and we need more of them!

Field trees and woodland
Castle Lane, July 2016

Loss of tree cover over the past few decades has motivated the formation of national and local organisations with the aim of redressing the deficit.  The Woodland Trust has worked tirelessly to raise awareness, protect Ancient Woodland, and establish new woods.  Increasingly, small community-based groups have involved schools in promoting and planting trees in their areas.  

The Tree Warden scheme

One of the most significant developments in this context was initiated and co-ordinated by the Tree Council.  Their Tree Warden Scheme was launched in 1990, largely in response to the Great Storms of 1987 and 1990, when millions of trees were lost.  The volunteer scheme forms a national network linked to Parish Councils and other local authorities, and has been a tremendous force for good.  In the first 20 years, many thousands of volunteers have devoted nearly two million hours a year to trees, with time worth about £15 million.  How impressive is that !

Working with and through the Parish Council, a warden's duties include :

• Organising and taking part in planting and identifying new  planting sites.
• Monitoring local trees, reporting on damage and disease.
• Ensuring adequate protection and aftercare for new plantings
• Engaging with the local community, especially schools.
• Leading on local environmental projects.
• Generally promoting trees and their importance.

In 1991, Woodbury Parish Council appointed a warden for each of the three villages within its boundaries.  Sally Elliott in Woodbury Salterton was one of those original volunteers, and is only now retiring - very reluctantly.  However, she will still be on hand to advise if needed.  John Treasaden in Woodbury is also retiring after years of contributing much to the local tree-scape.  The present Exton warden, Peter King, is continuing in his post. 

  

Tree Wardens John Treasaden and Peter King
planting a flowering pear on Woodbury Village Green
October 2014

Two new Tree Wardens

The Parish is very fortunate that two young volunteers have stepped forward to fill the posts left by Sally and John.  

Dave Rose is the new warden for Woodbury Salterton, having earned his stripes initiating and co-ordinating the wildlife area on Parkhayes Plantation.  

Parkhayes Plantation April 2015

Tony Bennett is taking over as Tree Warden in Woodbury.  He and his wife Claire set up Wild Woodbury earlier this year, a 30-year project to maintain and enhance habitats for wildlife in the parish.  

Bird-feeding station installed by Tony Bennett of
Wild Woodbury and pupils at Woodbury Salterton School
January 2016

Both Dave and Tony are full of energy, enthusiasm, new ideas, and an ability for fast learning!  They have already had a good start: through the kind invitation of a resident, they were recently able to walk a local smallholding and view the wide range of habitats the owner has created over several years, through his own labour, skill, and knowledge.  

New tree-planting on a local smallholding

New woodland has been created and existing woods extended, in which the planting of saplings regenerating from healthy trees has been particularly important.  Newly-planted and extended hedges act as connecting corridors.  Ponds and drainage ditches have been dug, and wild flower areas encouraged.  The peaceful, secluded beauty of these few acres of land throbs with life, and bears testimony to immense dedication.  During the walk, many questions were asked, much was learnt, and much was admired.

Tree disease

Amid the good news it is hard to introduce the bad, but reality must be faced.  A plethora of tree pests and diseases are affecting some of the most common and beloved species that grace the countryside and our everyday lives.  Some are spreading fast and are a cause of mounting concern.  

Many people will remember how Dutch elm disease ravaged this Parish and virtually wiped out the country's stock of elms during the 1960s and 1970s.  Now the oak and ash are also under severe threat from 'acute oak decline' (AOD), and 'ash die back' (Chalara).  The Forestry Commission has a distribution map of the spread of ash die back, which is updated regularly, and shows that ash die back has reached our part of Devon in the last two to three years.  The Woodland Trust and the Forestry Commission both have good pictures of the symptoms of both these diseases, and relevant information.  

One particular fear is that non-woodland trees - growing in small copses and in hedges bordering lanes and fields, and featuring prominently as landscape stalwarts - may succumb to these diseases before replacements are established.  Without prompt action, the consequences in terms of landscape and wildlife are unthinkable.

          

Hedge tree competition

In response, working with the Woodland Trust and the Tree Council, the Devon Hedge Group has launched a Hedge Tree Competition to persuade farmers and landowners to establish and manage hedge trees to benefit wildlife and the landscape.  The competition encourages farmers and landowners in regenerating their hedges by allowing promising hedge saplings to grow up, and by planting new hedge stock, while caring for existing mature trees.  Sally has already approached a few local farmers but would welcome help with spreading the competition's message as widely as possible.

An example from Woodbury of good hedge-tree husbandry:
a well-trimmed hedge and trees allowed to grow to full height.
Approved by the Devon Hedge Group as excellent.
January 2016

Positive news

We end on a positive note, however, courtesy of a tree named 'Betty'...  A recent article in the national press, reported that plant scientists have discovered a handful of ash trees in a Norfolk forest which have remained in good health despite being surrounded by wilting victims of die back.  Clippings were taken from the finest - estimated to be 200 years old - for laboratory analysis.  And so it was that Betty came into public focus - since it became clear that she had all the signs of stubborn resistance and could be bred to repopulate the land.

It is to be hoped that the scientists succeed with their invaluable work, and development of resistant strains are found for oak and other vulnerable species, thereby securing a rich legacy with which to adorn the future.

In the meantime, we wish our new Tree Wardens very well!

The demise of the Turkey Oak on the Plantation

The great and distinctive Turkey Oak on the Plantation in the middle of Woodbury Salterton was recently found to have progressive internal fungal rot.  Unfortunately in this condition it presented a danger to the public, especially as it was growing on the edge of Village Road - so, with sadness and regret, the Parish Council decided it needed to be felled.  The work was done in sections over two days, 9th and 10th of February, by skilled tree surgeons from local company Ace Arboriculture - with Parish Tree Warden Sally Elliott standing by to make this visual record.  

Further below we present more information about Turkey Oaks in general, and this one in particular - including an interesting assessment of its age, and its possible relation to the development of the Plantation as a village open space.

Turkey Oaks (Quercus cerris) are vigorous, fast-growing, strong, and tall - potentially reaching 40m high.  They are not native, but were introduced from the Balkans and Turkey in the 18th century.  At that time they were well-regarded as ornamental parkland trees (of which this one was a fine example).  They were also expected to be valuable for construction, but were later discovered to split and warp when seasoned, and so were relegated to use for fencing and firewood.

Turkey Oaks were widely planted in this country and began to naturalise: the first one recorded in the wild was in 1905.  Since then there has been a large increase in numbers, and they have aggressively colonised more sandy soils, to the detriment of native plants.  In Europe they are extensively naturalised, and appreciated for their fast growth.  

Most cultures in Europe also regarded these trees highly because (like oaks in general) they were considered sacred to many gods, including Zeus (Ancient Greek), Jupiter (Roman), and Dagda (Celtic) - each of whom ruled over thunder and lightning.  

The trunks of Turkey Oaks are long, straight and grey, with various plates and fissures forming as they mature.  Orange-coloured fissures near the base of the trunk are a distinctive feature.  The wind-pollinated catkins are a source of pollen for bees and other insects.  The acorns are large and round, orange towards the base with a green-brown cup.  They are densely covered in soft, long, mossy bristles, which are especially conspicuous in winter.  The acorns are very bitter, but are eaten by jays and pigeons.  Squirrels usually only eat them when other food sources have run out.

Image sourced from Wikipedia

The leaves are distinguishable from native oaks by being narrow, with variable pointed lobes and deep cuts close to the midrib.  

Images sourced from Wikipedia

The tree hosts the knopper gall wasp, and acorns may often be found with a single exit hole in them.  The larvae provide early food for birds, but unfortunately they damage the acorns of native English Oaks (Quercus robur). 

The Turkey Oak is useful as stock for numerous cultivars to be grafted onto.  Notable among these is the locally developed Lucombe Oak (Lucombeana), raised by William Lucombe in his Exeter nursery from the 1760's, and widely planted throughout Devon.  It also hybridises with Cork Oak, producing a medium to large semi-evergreen tree, with less thick bark than the latter.  

The Woodbury Salterton tree had puzzled Sally for quite a while, since its leaf-shapes were so variable, and for a long time she thought it was a Lucombe oak.  A few weeks before the tree was felled, she picked this sample and saw that the leaves seemed to be of both Turkey and Lucombe oak!

Note the variation in the leaf shapes on a single twig

We are very grateful to the tree surgeon, Sean Ficken, for explaining this phenomenon:

"I would say that looking at the leaves in the picture it's probably Turkey Oak.  However, Turkey Oaks and Lucombe Oaks are very difficult to tell apart.  There are two types of Lucombe, type A and B.  The type A's are normally more common around our area and probably traced back from the original plants in around 1762.  In my experience I've noticed that Lucombe Oaks have a smaller, more squat form and longer boughs, and as long as the winter is not too harsh they remain virtually evergreen.  By contrast the Turkey Oak is tall and gun-barrel straight.

"True Lucombe Oaks (Quercus x hispanica 'Lucombeana') are clones of the original tree, but the term 'Lucombe Oak' is also often used to refer to any hybrid between Turkey Oak and Cork Oak (Quercus suber), and there are many different hybrids.  The more lobed leaf could be seen as similar to a Quercus x hispanica 'Diversefolia.'  

"But it could also very easily be a leaf from a 'Lamass growth flush,' which in itself is a very interesting phenomenon of oak trees.  Oaks have basically evolved over time to produce a secondary show of leaves in the summer - as you will find that a lot of the leaf-chewing insects such as tortrix viridana (leaf roller) lay their eggs on buds and hatch at the same time as the buds emerge into leaf, then strip the tree of its leaves!"

The black markings on the stump are known as pseudosclerotial plates.  They are formed by the tree as a defence mechanism against disease, and are an interaction zone or battle line between sound and diseased wood.  Sean said, "Wood-turners like them, as long as the timber hasn't degraded too much; they regard it as spalting." 

He also explained that, "The top sections of the main stem showed that at one time the tree used to have two co-dominant leaders.  This simply means that the main stem split into two, but from the cross sections of timber the two stems were growing too close together, making them 'included.'  At some time, one of these stems has failed, leaving the other to become the dominant main leader.  Over the years this has been hidden away within the annual rings that the tree puts on whilst it grows." 

The tree was about 70m (55ft) tall and initially thought to be about 120 years old, but Sean continued, "I would say from looking at the stump that the tree was quite a bit older than first thought - maybe 160/170 years old."  He concluded somewhat lyrically, "As an arborist it is very interesting for me to examine the cross-sections of old timber, as it can give a year by year account of what was happening at that time, through the Great Wars etc ....  They are indeed the silent scrap books of time.  Very interesting to know what that tree must have seen over its life span."

His dating of the tree is intriguing as it suggests that it could have been planted at the same time as the well-house/water-conduit on the Plantation was built and given to the village by local benefactor Miss Marianne Pidsley of Greendale House in 1847.  This was also the year of her death, almost 170 years ago, so there is a possibility our Turkey Oak was part of her memorial.  It was certainly a handsome tree - part of local life since the mid-nineteenth century - and its demise leaves a gap in the village scene.