The Transitional Vulnerability And Resilience Paradox: Woodland Transitions In Murray Park

The woodland is predominantly birch, which has colonised a clear-felled conifer wood over the past 90 years. Scattered through the birch are exotic conifers and Scots pine, many planted in the 1960s and 1970s. Storm Arwen in December 2021, followed by two further storms, caused extensive windthrow, particularly in the waterlogged and dense, even-aged conifer plantations of the school forest plot. When a section of dense woodland falls, the remaining trees lose the mutual shelter they once relied on, leaving them far more exposed to the next storm. With climate projections indicating that such storms will become increasingly frequent, this vulnerability is only set to grow.

The management plan sets out a gradual transformation toward a more diverse woodland where oak becomes a significant component alongside hazel, alder, Scots pine, rowan and hawthorn. The target is a four-layered structure: canopy, shrub, field, and ground layers that provide greater resilience against storms, support more wildlife, and better reflect the native woodland character of the region.

In March 2022, a community planting event planted 600 trees: 224 common oaks, 140 silver birches, 135 aspens, 42 alders, 28 rowans, and 28 goat willows. These are the opening moves in a transformation that will take a generation to complete.

Oak trees take 30 to 40 years to reach maturity in UK conditions, and considerably longer to develop the full canopy and deadwood habitat structure that supports maximum biodiversity. Hazel grows faster, typically within 7 to 8 years, which makes it a useful bridging species. But the overall transition from birch and conifer dominance to mixed broadleaf woodland culd be a 25- to 50-year process. UK woodland restoration guidance describes a phased approach in which broadleaved regeneration may reach a secure condition only well after a decade, and assumes effective deer management and regular intervention.

At Murray Park, roe deer are frequently seen and there is clear evidence of browsing damage to tree saplings. Culling is impractical given the park's high daily public use. Tree tubes are required for every planted sapling, but the free tree packs come with spiral guards that are not tall enough to deter deer, so brash from thinning operations is being used as makeshift barriers. Every sapling that deer strip back represents time lost in the transition.

Murray Park is not uniformly dry. Two burns run through the park; the central area supports wet woodland with alder and willow, and Marnoch pond is an on-stream water body already vulnerable to siltation. When trees are removed, whether by storm or by planned thinning, the canopy no longer intercepts rainfall or evaporates it. Forest Research has documented that conifer canopy can intercept over 600mm of rainfall annually, and that felling produces the largest reduction in water use where there is no understorey to compensate. At Murray Park, the clearance of windblown conifers and the ongoing birch thinning may raise the local water table across already wet compartments, increasing waterlogging and surface runoff. Woodland paths that are wet and slippery may become wetter.

The positive side is that a wet woodland is one of the richest habitats in Britain, supporting large numbers of invertebrate species. The plan to plant alder around the wet woodland to create carr habitat is ecologically sound. But the practical tension between wetter ground and accessible paths, particularly the all-abilities trail, will need ongoing attention.

Red squirrels are the most visible concern. They currently rely on a mix of conifer seeds and broadleaf food sources. Removing conifer blocks reduces winter food availability for many years before hazel and oak become productive. The plan sensibly proposes retaining larger conifers where safe, but retained trees that have lost the shelter of their neighbours are themselves more exposed to future storms.

Woodland birds present a mixed picture. The greater spotted woodpecker and treecreeper benefit from standing deadwood, which the plan retains wherever it is safe. Spotted flycatcher, a species of conservation concern, uses the kind of open glades that thinning creates. Woodcock, which feed in the wet woodland, need undisturbed ground that the extensive path network currently makes scarce.

Invertebrates and fungi may benefit most. In Murray Park, many fungal species, including abundant chanterelles, depend on mycorrhizal relationships with birch and pine, which may persist as long as mature examples of both are retained through the transition. Scotch Argus butterfly uses damp grassland habitat that may expand as the canopy opens and light reaches the ground flora.

So this will require areas to be at different stages: some in early establishment, some in mid transition, some in mature retention. The mosaic is itself a form of resilience.

Murray Park will look different for the next 20 years; it may be more open, more obviously managed, with tree tubes and brashy, muddy clearings where dense canopy used to be. That is not neglect. It is the necessary cost of building a woodland that can absorb what the next decades of climate change are likely to bring. The more the community of Alford understands and supports that process, the better placed the park will be to move through this vulnerable middle ground toward the woodland it is becoming.