![]() ![]() Protecting hazel from deer browsing and encouraging its regeneration is a part of our Ancient Woodland restoration work which is a key focus in our new rainforest program. Hazel is one of the key native species that make up our temperate rainforest. There are ways to limit this impact, by working in more recent woodland with lower biodiversity and by only selecting individual stems rather than cutting the whole stool. In the west Highlands, coppicing can have a big negative impact. Scotland’s rainforests are some of the most important woodlands for lichens, mosses and liverworts in Europe. Scotland is home to 1,500 species of lichen, which is around 87% of all lichen species found in Britain. Stems of all sizes are needed on each stool so this succession can occur and progress to stems covered in moss and large leafy lichens. (Hermann) (Chelonethi: Cheloniidae) in two types of hazel coppice litter. In other parts of Britain hazel bark is often a light brown colour, however in the rainforests of Scotland the bark of young stems is typically a gorgeous silver colour caused by a lichen growing within the bark – which indicates the beginning of colonisation by a succession of different rainforest species. The relative merits of coppicing for many woodland invertebrates other than. Hazel provides an important home for lichens, mosses and liverworts. Traditionally, British oakwoods have been managed for coppice-with-standards the hazel is felled in rotation, young stems sprouting densely from the old stools. Note the deep layers of moss growing on the older stems to the far right. In the western highlands of Scotland, hazel coppicing is detrimental to the precious biodiversity of our rainforest habitats – particularly if all the stems from a stool are removed and if large patches are coppiced.Ī photo of a young hazel steam (centre) that has not yet acquired any lichens next to a more typical silver one with lichens growing on and in it (left). However, coppicing is not required for a hazel to thrive – it is quite capable of producing many young shoots without any management! Coppicing is the process of periodically cutting back young stems to the base of the stool to utilise the cut material and encourage regrowth. These long straight poles were historically used for barrel hoops, wattle and daub walls and fence hurdles. Hazel is a native broadleaf tree that typically grows as multiple stems from a single stump or ‘stool’. However, this form of management can be disastrous for the biodiversity that inhabits Scotland’s rainforests. The trunks are often covered in mosses, liverworts and lichens, and the fiery milkcap fungus grows in the soil beneath.Hazel coppicing was a traditional practice in lowland Britain and is often now carried out to support biodiversity that needs temporary open space in woodlands. This is because the pollen of wind-pollinated hazel is not sticky and each grain actually repels against another. However, bees find it difficult to collect and can only gather it in small loads. Hazel flowers provide early pollen as a food for bees. ![]() Hazelnuts are also eaten by woodpeckers, nuthatches, tits, wood pigeons, jays and small mammals. Not only are hazelnuts eaten by dormice to fatten up for hibernation, but in spring the leaves are a good source of caterpillars, which dormice also eat. ![]() Hazel has long been associated with the dormouse (also known as the hazel dormouse). Specialist management advice should be sought for this type of hazel woodland. Important habitats with unique, disturbance-sensitive bryophytes and lichens such as the ancient Atlantic hazel woods of Scotland's rainforest zone could be damaged by the introduction of a coppicing regime. However, note that coppice management of hazel is not recommended in all contexts. Coppiced hazel also provides shelter for ground-nesting birds, such as the nightingale, nightjar, yellowhammer and willow warbler. In managed woodland where hazel is coppiced, the open, wildflower-rich habitat supports species of butterfly, particularly fritillaries. Hazel leaves provide food for the caterpillars of moths, including the large emerald, small white wave, barred umber and nut-tree tussock. ![]()
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