Conifer and mixed plantations

46% of Devon’s ancient woodlands are conifer plantations.

There are huge opportunities to manage them in ways that increase their wildlife value.

Goshawks and nightjars nest in conifer woodlands. Nightjars nest in areas opened up through felling.

What we need to do and where

Cod wood, Adrian Colston

Snapshot for conifer and mixed plantations

What wildlife-rich looks like:

Plantations are managed to provide a diversity of age and structure. This includes lots of standing and fallen deadwood, ancient trees, leaf litter, open and sunny flower-rich areas, wetlands and areas of dense scrub. Clear fell areas provide habitat for ground nesting birds such as nightjars.

Devon Special Species include:

Birds: Nightjars, tree pipit.

Moths and butterflies: Wood white

UK significance:

UK priority habitat: No

Statutory irreplaceable habitat: Planted ancient woodland and veteran trees

Wider benefits: Timber and wood fuel, health and wellbeing, carbon capture, water quality, flood resilience

1. About

Many of Devon’s conifer and mixed plantations were planted after the First and Second World Wars to meet increased demand for timber. Mixed include both conifer and broadleaved species.
 
Conifers such as sitka spruce, douglas fir, larch and western hemlock were commonly planted because they grow faster than native broadleaved species so are ideal for rapid timber production. Devon’s damp and mild climate is particularly suited to growing conifers and is where the Forestry Commission’s first conifer planting took place after the First World War.
 
Conifer and mixed plantations make up 23% of Devon’s woodland cover, currently covering around 20,500 hectares. They were largely planted on heaths and moors where land was less suitable for agriculture. Therefore, Devon’s large conifer plantations are on Dartmoor, Exmoor and the Pebbled Heaths, in Haldon and on the scarp slopes and plateaus of east Devon and the Blackdown Hills. Remnants of heathland vegetation can often be found in the woodlands.
 
In some places, ancient woodlands were felled and replaced with conifer. These sites are known as plantations on ancient woodland (PAWS). They have ancient woodland soils and are a priority for nature restoration through sensitive management. PAWS make up 46% of the total ancient woodland in Devon, covering about 1.1% of land.
 

(The benefits of continuous cover forestry – see if we can add this infographic as an image)

Health check

To be added before final publication of the LNRS to ensure that the most up to date information is used from NE and DBRC

Area

The National Forest Inventory identifies nearly 17,000 ha of conifer woodland in Devon, plus around an additional 3,500ha of mixed woodland. In total this makes up 23% of Devon’s woodland cover.

Forestry England (the public forest estate) owns and manages 5,591 ha of Devon’s conifer woodland.

It’s estimated there are 7,335 ha of PAWS in Devon, which is 46% of the county’s total ancient woodland, covering about 1.1% of land. 47% of Devon’s woodland is under management, 10.73% of which is PAWS.  

Designations

A number of significant woodland SSSIs are classed as mixed or conifer, including woodlands at Ausewell, Fingle, Bovey Valley, Haldon and Plym Valley on Dartmoor and Heddon and Great Wood on Exmoor.

Of the SSSI woodlands, around 67% are recognised as being in favourable condition and 31% as unfavourable or recovering.  Check  – all woodlands or conifers?

Key pressures and opportunities

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Timber

There is significant opportunity to grow high-quality timber in Devon. The income generated from conifers and mixed woodlands can do much to cross-subsidise landowners work on nature recovery.   

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Management

Careful management can restore native wildlife on PAWS. 

More recent plantations of conifer and mixed woodland can be managed to maximise both timber value and natural diversity – a mark of good forestry. Sympathetic woodland management (such as continuous cover forestry) can create a mixed age, species and height structure that provides significant nature recovery as well as timber and carbon benefits.

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Pests and Diseases

Site-specific and landscape-scale control of deer and squirrels is essential as they can cause damage that significantly reduces which tree species can be chosen and how likely they are to establish successfully. Rigorous biosecurity is also essential as pests and diseases continue to increase in number and frequency. For example, Phytophora ramorum and Phytophora pluvialis are threatening the productivity of conifer woodlands in Devon.    

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Invasive species

Invasive species, such as laurel and rhododendron, are usually controlled in plantations. However, it’s vital that this control continues.

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Climate

Climate change is having a number of affects. Increased adverse weather events, such as droughts and storms, make it harder to manage woodlands and can prevent new woodlands from establishing. Climate change can also affect which species will thrive and which won’t. Therefore, people creating new woodlands are uncertain which species to choose.

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Carbon

The most effective way to use trees to manage carbon is to get them to grow quickly and then harvest the timber and use it to replace carbon-demanding materials (such as concrete) in construction. Growing under the Woodland Carbon Code also provides opportunities to generate income from new mixed woodlands.

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Recreation

Plantation woodlands and new mixed woodlands are relatively robust habitats suitable for a wide range of recreational uses. The very best, such as Haldon Forest Park, provide a mix of nature, landscape, recreation and timber.

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Funding

The Forestry Commission provides funding to support woodland management planning and grants to create new mixed woodlands.

2. What we need to do and where

Priority

Better (wildlife-rich), resilient conifer and mixed plantations that are connected to a network of habitats across Devon, benefiting ancient woodlands, Devon Special Species and achieving wider benefits such as carbon capture, water resilience and health and wellbeing.

See Find out more for links to more detailed information including management advice.

Actions for conifer and mixed plantations

Sustainably manage existing conifer and mixed plantations for wildlife

  • Obtain ecological advice to understand the condition of woodlands and the actions needed to maintain or enhance their condition. Obtain silvicultural advice to develop and implement a woodland management plan in line with national best practice and guidance, see Find out more.

Management actions to include: 

  • Maximise timber production alongside other environmental benefits.
  • Manage and expand remnant features, priority habitats (such as remnant heathland) and species.
  • Adopt low-impact silvicultural systems including continuous cover forestry.
  • Ensure a range of stand structures that includes diverse ages, species and vertical forms and permanent and temporary open spaces that allow for open, scrub and edge habitats.
  • No, or low levels, of invasive non-native species.
  • Keep deadwood and leaf litter in place.
  • Manage pests and diseases.

Undertake informed, gradual and targeted restoration of plantations on ancient woodland sites (PAWS)

  • Use site assessments to inform restoration and management practices which increase naturalness.
  • Restore native tree, shrub and herb species.
  • Retain and enhance historic and natural features such as hedge banks, mature native trees and ancient and veteran trees.
  • Gradually transition plantation to resilient and predominantly native broadleaved woodland as quickly as is ecologically appropriate.

Design all new conifer and mixed plantations to maximise their wildlife value.

Design new conifer and mixed plantations to benefit wildlife in line with the United Kingdom Forestry Standard (UKFS) and Forestry Commission Woodland Creation Offer to maximise opportunities for public funding.

Where appropriate, clear areas of conifer and mixed plantation (non PAWS) to restore other wildlife habitats such as heathlands.

  • Many conifer and mixed woodlands have been planted on wildlife-rich habitats such as heathlands. In some cases they can be managed as a woodland and heath mosaic. However, sometimes it will be preferable to restore large areas of heathland from conifer, especially where this will link areas of fragmented heathland.  
  • For further information about when it is appropriate to convert forest to open habitats please see When to convert woods and forests to open habitat: operations note 68 – GOV.UK

Develop and implement collaborative, landscape-scale approaches to squirrel control and deer management, including the development of supply chains and new markets for venison.

  • There’s a need for landscape-scale control measures for deer and grey squirrels. To succeed, programmes need an individual or organisation that can provide the impetus and co-ordinate sustained action over an extended area.

Survey, research, awareness

Promote sites where conifer and mixed woodlands have been successfully managed for wildlife, such as Haldon Forest Park, Fingle and Auswell woods.

Other relevant actions

Follow the links below to see links to relevant pages including Devon Special Species.

Where to focus action

Wildlife will benefit from these actions being implemented across Devon. However, actions are prioritised to the following High Opportunity Areas. See Mapping .

  • Plantations on ancient woodland sites and other conifer plantations (existing)
  • Woody habitat expansion areas (Warning: the mapping includes scattered small areas which are not continuous with woodlands. These will be removed after the public consultation when the map is reviewed)  

Actions should also be guided by the following Opportunity Areas:

  • Mammals: Bechstein’s bat
  • Birds: Pied flycatcher and wood warbler woods
  • Butterflies: Wood white, pearl-bordered fritillary, high brown fritillary, heath fritillary
  • Water quality and flood risk opportunity areas

Advice should be obtained before any woodland creation takes place in the following High Opportunity Areas and Species Opportunity Areas to ensure that it won’t harm existing wildlife:

  • All areas in the Wildlife-rich grassland mosaic group
  • All areas in the Heath, mire and rush pasture mosaics group
  • All areas in the Upland bog, heath and mire mosaics group
  • Coastal habitats and Coastal Wildbelt
  • Dartmoor breeding wader recovery zones
  • Whinchat zones
  • Wintering estuarine birds
  • Teign Gorge rock spiders
  • Greater horseshoe and grey long-eared bat sustenance zones
  • Marsh fritillary and the narrow-bordered bee hawk-moth zone
  • South Devon arable plant zone

Important: Always check that actions won’t conflict with statutory requirements (for example, statutory wildlife sites such as SSSIs or scheduled monuments) or harm existing wildlife habitats, the historic environment or landscapes. See the Environmental considerations page for more information.

3. Inspiration

Case studies

Case studies and Where to visit will be agreed following discussion through public consultation period and then finalised.

There’s lots of great work going on across Devon for conifer and mixed woodlands. For example:

Fingle Woods

A number of organisations are managing mixed and conifer woodland for nature recovery.  The Woodland Trust and National Trust woodlands at Fingle Woods show how detailed techniques have been used to restore planted ancient woodlands.  

Managing mixed plantations

Excellent examples of how to manage mixed plantations and planted ancient woodlands include Perridge Estate and Clinton Devon Woodlands. Both demonstrate exemplary management based on a continuous cover approach.

Forestry England sites

Forestry England sites include  Haldon, Plym Valley and East Devon

Where to visit

Always follow the Countryside Code and keep to footpaths and sites that are managed for public access. 

Good places to see conifer and mixed plantations are:

Woodland Trust and National Trust woodlands at Ausewell and Fingle. Forestry England sites include Haldon, Plym Valley and the woods in east Devon near Honiton.

For information on visiting these and other sites that are open to the public please see the Explore Devon website.

4. Find out more

Add more links and tidy up, and finalise following discussion through public consultation.

The Devon Tree and Woodland Strategy (2024) can be found on the Devon Local Nature Partnership website

Sustainable management guidance

Undertake management in accordance with United Kingdom Forestry Standard (UKFS) and

Achieve accreditation for sustainable timber supply from UK Woodland Assurance Scheme Home – UKWAS or Grown in Britain.

 Forestry Commission Woodland Management Guidance to maximise opportunities for public funding. 

Woodland Condition Assessment.

Forest Research advice on management of native and ancient woodland is at FR Guidance

Forestry Commission guidance on woodland creation is at FC woodland creation guidance

Confor guidance on both management and creation is at Confor guidance

Woodland Trust Guidance on Woodland Restoration is at Woodland Trust Guidance

Woodland Trust Guidance on woodland creation is at Woodland Trust Creation Guide

Detailed advice and support on management can be found on Continuous Cover Forestry. Also see an infographic – The benefits of continuous cover forestry

Targets

Nature Rich

Long Term.  Woodlands in active management for biodiversity, climate and sustainable forestry

Short Term.  70% of woodlands in active management by 2030

More, Larger and better connected

Long Term.  Expanded as part of 16.5% woodland cover by 2050

Short term.  Part of 3,000 ha’s of new woodland by 2030

At least 15% of plantations to be managed for wildlife (as per UK Forest Standard).

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