We've wrapped up cataloging the Ash trees along the Orchard's roadside embankment as part of our prep for applying for the Forestry Commission Felling Licence. Each tree has been numbered, measured, and checked for Ash Dieback symptoms. We were a bit shocked to find 93 trees (Ash, Elm) packed into that narrow strip of land (Plot 131782 1b). Now, we're just waiting to see if we get approval. As part of the application, we also had to lay out our plans for restocking the areas where the trees will be felled, opting for native broadleaf species that won't grow as tall as the Ash.
On October 22, 2024, we captured some drone footage over the Ash trees. The ones hit by dieback have already dropped most of their leaves, leaving their branches bare. We have a stored waypoint flight path for the drone (DJI Mini 4 Pro), allows us to accurately repeat flights and take photos in the same location, give or take a few inches. These are ideal for progress monitoring of the Ash Die Back.
As part of our survey, we needed to figure out the height of the standing trees to estimate how much wood we might end up cutting. You can't just grab a tape measure or a stick for this kind of job—especially with the trees growing on a steep 45-degree slope! But now, we're excited to have a Nikon Laser Forestry Pro 2 Hypsometer. It lets us measure the trees from a distance, making things way easier.
Update 5/11/24
Today we had a visit by the Forestry Commission to check the details of our application for a Felling Licence. The visit went well and we expect to receive the licence within 5 weeks time.
No comments:
Post a Comment
We automatically delete any SPAM comments. All comments are subject to moderation before publishing. Any SPAM is individually reported to Google as such, this reduces the offending site's Google Ranking.