NATURAL FOREST REGENERATION

Rowborough Downs

An area of lower-lying Moor, undergoing dramatic reforestation.

During World War II, this 190 metre high ledge on the edge of Dartmoor was used as an air-base and was at that time treeless. What a difference 7 decades have made. But from what I can gather; burning the Moor on a large scale only stopped in the 60's.

As you can see below; the land is still grazed. A few sheep too, sometimes. Nowadays they just burn bits and tend to leave most of the trees. Naturally the downs would, at this stage in reforestation; be far more gorsey, as other areas are. But it's nice to be able to comfortably walk about in this very scenic area.

Rowborough Downs occupies both sides of the road for most of the stretch of the A386, between Plymouth and Tavistock and is a vast plateau heathland.

Reforestation

All over Rowborough Downs many baby trees are springing up from the protective armour or Gorse, Bramble, Dog rose and/or Bracken. On its lower slopes and where it goes into part of the Walkham Valley; it is already woodland.

Succession

Reforestation happens in a succession, with one group of plants taking over from another group.
First its just grassland, Herbaceous plants add to the nutrient content, then small thorny shrubs arrive, then shrub trees, then big (what I call main-sequence)trees. And you can see it all here on Rowborough Downs.

I come here mostly for 2 reasons: Firstly to study Reforestation and secondly for tree collecting purposes. Mainly Hawthorn trees. They are very abundant here. I generally get them from where they've seeded themselves under bigger trees and cannot possibly reach maturity or from where they are causing an obstruction or blocking a foot-path.

Introductions

What I am about doing is introducing the right ingredients (species) to where they are not naturally present. Rowborough Downs is surrounded by well wooded countryside and has many species close by, which can and do spread onto it. The high moor by contrast has Beech, Spruce, Larch and Sycamore. The Sycamore is an invasive North American weed. They are not yet out of control, on the high moor, but it would be awful if they alone formed the forest of DartMoor, as they have done at Boscastle, among many other places.

Natural Forest Regeneration In a Hedge

A NEW THIN STRIP OF WOODLAND FORMS GRADUALLY AT THE SIDE OF THE ROAD!

Nature in this climate wants to make forest. This was once, not all that long ago, just a strip of grass by a stone wall. Of course; this can be seen on a much wider scale on any long disused piece of land or all around the edges and valleys of Dartmoor. But here; it just captures it nicely, in one little space.

Here, right next to where I broke down on the edge of the moor yesterday, is a small section of hedge, which shows many of the stages of early forest regeneration; Herbaceous plants and grasses still line the edges, small shrubby plants can be seen in profusion, mainly Gorse and Bramble and the through them the first trees emerge. Here small Hawthorn, Rowan and Blackthorn are beginning to get quite big. If I were to note the vegetation here in say 20 years time, I wonder if Birch, Oak and Hazel would have got here by then.