Know the area. From somewhat long ago. Looks like just a worse than usual case of the wrong planting at the wrong time for the area. The Bedford to Cambridge via Huntingdon area in general suffered from inappropriate, incapable, improperly planned roadside work in my memory.
Planting on an embankment isn't going to work without ongoing care I wouldn't have thought. Planting in a cutting is going to be tricky, as the soil is going to be subsoil or even rock. In our area I would say that the road builders have not even taken account of the microgeology which has resulted in having to come back to sort out continual problems with cutting sides slumping and rock falls.
Planting has to be done at the right time of year, the saplings need to be correctly treated (roots kept moist until moment of planting for instance) and ongoing care needed. Even in the best cases about 10% failure is expected so 'beating up' is usually carried out a few years after initial planting. Whoever was responsible for that project needed to enlist the help of someone that knew at least the basics.
plastic tubes have no place in planting, lose a few to bunnies or lose most to confinement while filling the world with plastic, no contest
plant seeds, small cheap and easy
plant lots of assorted seeds by throwing. some will not thrive, the ones that do are suited to the area they landed in
tis more effective than sack and spade, my little forest is in its mid 50s it is starting to look quite promising
that was /is on some very challenging surfaces and locations, the established stuff is creating soils and capturing water
Agree about seeds thriving in the right place. We do mainly natural regeneration in the wood and those that survive are likely to do well. The ones that don't are in the wrong place/get eaten or get overshadowed by the more vigorous ones. Unfortunately our garden also makes attempts at natural regeneration, so they have to be removed.
In some cases, tubes are a good idea, but the have to be taken off at the right time and then reused or recycled. There are some made of cardboard now which are far more eco-friendly. I think wool was tried but it collapsed far too early although it did make a good mulch.
natural is good but geoengineering at a natural x 20 effective rate is needed if natural might need a millennium of no human interaction to get to a similar stage
most places are the way they are because of human interaction that might be best reversed or adapted to
Man has been utilising most of the British Isles for thousands of years. We can see in the woods the various stages of development. There are obviously planted or more probably seeded oak trees, beech avenues, hazel coppice, and some hardwood plantation. The woods may have been there for over 1000 years, but under it all are Bronze Age field systems, so was all or partly denuded of woodland at that time. Even in the 20 years we have been working there we have seen natural changes. We are trying to restore some coppice areas, open up clearings for natural regeneration in the plantations to give a range of species and ages, and thin the plantations too. The oak trees we are mainly leaving, but sadly the beech seem to be coming to the end of their life. One dropped a large branch the other day; we heard it go and it made a rather loud crash.
View Latest Posts