Woodland Restoration:
Techniques
The four priority woodland habitat types in the project (alluvial woodland, bog woodland, woodland associated with limestone pavement and yew woodland) each require specific restoration approaches. The project will develop and demonstrate, by example, best practice in woodland habitat restoration in Ireland.
A number of training days for Coillte staff and contractors working on the LIFE sites are on-going to demonstrate the restoration techniques specific to each site. In addition, members of the project team have visited other similar LIFE-Nature projects to learn from their experiences.
The principal restoration techniques used in the project include the following:
- Removal of non-native trees
- Control of invasive exotic shrubs
- Natural regeneration of native species
- Reinstatement of natural water regimes
- Control of animal grazing and trespass
- Manual planting of yew trees
- Ecological Monitoring
- Hydrological Monitoring
- Raising public awareness of priority woodland habitats
