Tree protection
Glorious Woodlands will provide tree protection by fitting individual shelters or guards around each tree, or by fencing the entire area, or by a combination of both.
Glorious Woodlands will check the shelters or guards at least twice a year. This is to make sure they are secure in the ground and weeds have not started to grow inside. Tree protection comes alongside weed control and guards or shelters do not prevent weeds. As part of our periodic checks, we will remove any weeds.
Why have tree protection?
Treeshelters increase the growth rate and chances of survival for newly planted trees. Glorious Woodlands will use tree shelters with bare-rooted transplants or cell-grown stock. We will make sure the transplant is considerably smaller than the height of the shelter at the time of planting.
A disadvantage of tree shelters is the lack of wind movement causes the stem diameter and root growth to grow at a lesser rate compared to the height of the tree.
Damage from mammals
Glorious Woodlands will speak to locals in your area to gather the likelihood of damage to your newly planted trees from deer, rabbits and voles. Deer are very common in rural areas and are becoming increasingly common in urban fringe areas. Glorious Woodlands will check for rabbit burrows as this provides guidance on rabbit damage. Voles are present in most areas, populations increase rapidly in years were grass is left to grow long. Voles are reluctant to cross bare ground so Glorious Woodlands will conduct weed control measures to reduce vole damage.
Regulations for protecting against mammals
As part of your woodland maintenance plant, Glorious Woodlands will discuss controlling deer and rabbits in your area following the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2017 and the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.
Types of tree shelters:
A shelter is a solid, twin-walled, transparent tube.
A guard is a mesh product.
Shelterguards are mesh with transparent film that disintegrates before the mesh.
Spirals are mainly used for protection against rabbits in fenced areas.
A strimmer or vole guard is useful for fitting to newly established trees as necessary when shelters, guards and spirals are outgrown.
Height guide for protection against mammals:
Glorious Woodlands will protect trees against voles using a guard 20cm tall.
To protect against a rabbit we will implement a height guard of 60cm.
Roe and muntjac deer need a height guard of 1.2 metres and larger deer such as red, sika and fallow deer need a height guard of 1.8m to ensure the tree’s protection.
Sheep need a height guard between 1.5-1.8 depending on the breed.
Fencing:
Glorious Woodlands will use standard fencing materials to construct tree guards, this is especially useful for protecting against grazing stock.
For deer protection, often we recommend fencing instead of shelters as they are more robust.
Unfortunately, fencing can hinder the natural movements of non-target species in a woodland, such as badgers, foxes and game birds.
A balanced ecosystem requires some grazing so you may request Glorious Woodlands to mow grass and shrubs if rabbits and deer are blocked out.
A disadvantage of fencing is that species can become fenced in instead of fenced out, Glorious Woodlands will add a gate or ramp to allow any trapped wildlife safely out of the fenced area.
