Ughill Farm - Dead-wood habitat creation (3)

Works to be completed: - Use monolithing to create stable, long-lasting deadwood habitats by removing main branches while retaining standing trunks. - Apply veteranisation techniques to selectively damage and attach deadwood to living trees, encouraging gradual decay and habitat formation. - Redistribute cut branches and limbs to create lying deadwood features in the tree planting and wet-woodland projects. Overarching aims of the works: - Extend the decline of mature trees to maximise their ecological value. - Enhance woodland biodiversity by creating a variety of deadwood habitats. - Support fungi, beetles, hoverfly larvae, bats, and breeding birds such as redstart and little owl. - Improve woodland resilience by introducing diverse stages of aging and decay. Value to the community and/or environment: - Creates long-term habitats for key woodland species, increasing biodiversity. - Demonstrates best practice in sustainable woodland management. - Supports research into deadwood retention as a tool for ecological restoration. - Reduces risk of sudden tree falls while maintaining valuable habitat features.