Contents
Introduction and Objectives
Methods
Discussion
Preamble
Map of ancient woodlands in Stirling District
Ground-truthing of The Ancient Woodland Inventory
Definitions of woodland types used in the Ancient Woodland Inventory
Past Management
Determination of ranges of woodland communities
Identification of factors compromising the nature conservation interest
Owner/occupier contact and assessment of opportunities in reversing trends in habitat loss or degradation
Conclusions and Recommendations
Priority woodlands and management options.
Bibliography
Appendix
1 National Vegetation Classification Communities encountered during the field survey
2 Areas of NVC communities found in each site
3 Location maps for all sites
4 General description of 10km grid squares
5 Woodland recording sheets and instructions to surveyors
6 A copy of the owners attitude questionnaire used during the surrey
The nature conservation value of a woodland can be related to the length of time that the site has been wooded and the nature of its current tree, shrub and ground cover. Methods for identifying ancient semi-natural woods are well developed for England and Wales. The same principles have been applied in Scotland but the nature of the historical sources used and of the woods themselves made it desirable to adopt a more sophisticated classification than in southern Britain. A Provisional Inventory of Ancient, Long-established and Semi-natural Woodland (NCC) was produced for Stirling District in 1986.
The purpose of this project was to survey the Ancient Woodlands listed in the Ancient Woodland Inventory for Stirling District with the following objectives.
To survey all the ancient woodlands identified in the project brief and produce
1. National Vegetation Classification maps of the botanical communities present and completed Woodland Record Cards
2. An assessment of the nature conservation value of each site based on all the available information.
3. Analysis of the results with respect to the representation of the different woodland types and communities present within Stirling District.
4. Preparation of management objectives for each site identifying opportunities for enhancement of the nature conservation resource.
There was also an opportunity to
Contact owner/occupiers and assess the opportunities for reversing trends in habitat loss or degradation
Identify the factors compromising the nature conservation interest
Produce a summary of site problems plus management requirements.
Several Ancient Woodlands in Stirling District were not surveyed as part of this project. These sites included a number around the east side of Loch Lomond which were included in a separate project (Dargie and Simpson, 1992). There were some 239 sites covering some 3323 ha from the ancient woodland inventory which formed the basis of this survey.