In 2022, The Prospectory and friends began an informal, natural regeneration experiment in a 3.7 acre field above Talybont on Usk in the Brecon Beacons. The field adjoins 7.6 acres of steep, mixed woodland; a combination of oak, birch, hazel and hawthorn. Until September 2021, the field was grazed by a small flock of sheep but these have now gone.
Natural regeneration occurs when existing trees and shrubs release seeds that germinate successfully to produce new growth. Scrub and woodland provide the vital services of storing carbon and supporting biodiversity. As a process, natural regeneration is as old as woodland itself given it’s how trees have reproduced, unassisted by us, throughout their millions of years of evolution. Yet, when expanding woodland in the UK, planting has become the cultural norm.
I had originally considered planting trees in the field but reading around the subject and discussing with people more knowledgable than me, I decided to try a natural regeneration experiment instead. The reported advantages over tree planting are claimed to be:-
- UK’s native tree species have a wide genetic diversity. When new generations of trees are the offspring of those already thriving in the local area, they are likely to be more resilient to a changing climate, pests and diseases.
- Natural regeneration can create more natural landscapes and species mixes which can be far more beneficial for wildlife.
- These trees have more beneficial mycorrhizal (root) fungi, which help with water and soil nutrient uptake, and sharing resources between trees.
- They show adaptation to locally prevalent environmental conditions, often surviving better than planted trees.
- Their final distribution will be determined by which seeds succeed based on the immediate soil conditions where they land rather than planting formats determined in advance.
After planting 20,000 trees in the US, one researcher remarked “The ones that grew best were mostly ones we didn’t plant, they just grew naturally on the ground we had set aside for planting. Lots popped up all around. It was a good reminder that nature knows what it is doing.”
From my point of view, as a life long experimental psychologist (not an ecologist), there are 3 things which particularly appeal to me about a natural regeneration project:-
- Enjoying unpredictable outcomes – no-one knows what exactly will happen – what diversity and what surprises will emerge? Even with the most controlled experiments I’ve ever designed, the most powerful learning has been in the surprise effects of some unintended aspect of the experiment.
- Understanding messiness and natural diversity. Natural regeneration can elicit a negative reaction because (like unmown lawns or grass verges) people see it as “scrubby, messy, uncontrolled and uncared for”. But is what we perceive as “messy” simply a culturally determined view? Nature can be messy but in that biodiversity lies its strength and resilience – a key part of the environmental reset we need. Unfortunately, the UK government’s new biodiversity metric does not value scrubby landscapes dominated by bramble, thistle and ragwort (often key features of rewilding projects). Instead it logs them as a sign of “degradation”.
- An open-ended experiment where nature is in charge and I am just a student observor and occasional minor role participant.
The Experimental Plan
This is still evolving and, I’m sure, will continue to do so.
The sheep have been removed and the field is now undisturbed. We have selected 4 corners of the field (next to either woodland or hedges) labelled below as Talybont Bottom Corner (TB), Talybont Top Corner (TT), Aber Bottom Corner (AB) and Aber Top Corner (AT).
We have planted hazel poles at these 4 points as markers and plan to take photographs 4 times a year: March, June, September and December to record any changes. The photographs will consist of both the view looking across the entire field from that point and a small area of ground immediately around the pole.
In addition, with the help of a friendly ecologist, we hope to document the plants and seedlings growing in each of these 4 quadrants once a year.
Warning : The experiment will certainly outlive my likely life span! Here’s one which started 60 years ago!
Spring 2022 photographic record – photos by Jon Dixon
Summer 2022 photographic record – photos by Jon Dixon
Autumn 2022 photographic record – photos by Jon Dixon
Winter 2022 photographic record – photos by Jon Dixon
Spring 2023 photographic record – photos by Jon Dixon
Summer 2023 photographic record – photos by Jon Dixon
A lot more bracken compared to summer 2022 but the scythers arrive next week. Using the Merlin Birdsong app, Jon identified the following in the field/wood.
Blackbird
Blackcap
Blue Tit
Buzzard
Chaffinch
Chiffchaff
Dunnock
Garden Warbler
Goldcrest
Goldfinch
Great Tit
House Martin
Robin
Sedge Warbler
Siskin
Stonechat
Wren
Autumn 2023 photographic record – photos by Jon Dixon
The scythers have had a noticeable impact on the bracken. They’ll be coming back for another go in the spring.
With a camera positioned in one corner, Jon has also managed to capture clips of a badger, a fox and a tiny field mouse. In September the field was alive with grasshoppers.
Winter 2023 photographic record – photos by Jon Dixon
Spring 2024 photographic record – photos by Jon Dixon
17th March 2024. Celandines just starting to appear. Sadly a couple of oak saplings we spotted last autumn had failed to survive. The field has dozens and dozens of small burrow holes – field mice or voles? No wonder the badgers are so often around! Jon has put a camera up in the lower part of the wood to see if we can catch any interesting wldlife there.
Ecological Survey & reflections
Local ecologist, Graham Cowden, carried out a species survey of the field in June 2022. The objective of the survey was to generate a baseline botanical sample of fixed locations within the meadow using a methodology that can be reliably repeated annually at set times of the year by both experienced and less experienced surveyors. The baseline can be used to detect change in the general floristic composition and character of the site following the removal of grazing management.
The survey revealed a disappointingly low level of plant diversity (5-10 different species within any meter square). This is the impact of many years of sheep grazing in the field. Diversity will improve over time but only very slowly. Several hazel and hawthorn seedlings were noted under the canopy of the hedgerow trees along the eastern boundary together with the species avoided by sheep:- bracken, nettles, foxglove and creeping thistle.
Another factor, Graham points out, is that in the absence of grazing, the lush grassy sward will gradually coarsen and develop a basal thatch as successive years of growth build up at ground level. This may further hinder floral diversity due to the suppression of new flowering plants by the thatch of dried grass. We are discussing the possibility of disturbing the ground to some degree in one area of the field to give new seeds a chance. That too would be an experiment.
From my own naive perspective, I hadn’t realised how quickly, without grazing sheep, the grass and bracken growth would seriously disrupt ready access to the wood above the field where friends, family and Stomping Space groups of children enjoy hanging out, cooking, sleeping and playing. First lesson learned is that natural regeneration is always a compromise between what people want or need to use the land for and what nature, left to its own devices, will do! Fortunately, with the help of friends, we managed to strim a path up to and into the wood so access was restored but a plan to maintain access as the experiment unfolds is going to be needed. Maybe the occasional visit by a couple of bison?? (only joking).
Graham also sent me a really helpful article by Tom Williamson ‘in British Wildlife 2022.’Rewilding: a landscape-history perspective’ . The author traces the long history of British landscape and its shaping by people’s varied activities, needs and cultural preferences at every point. There isn’t some “completely wild” past to return to, only ones we inhabited over time in different ways. This includes the many non-native animal and plant species which are now well established in our land.
Some people have asked me the aim of our particular experiment. The answer at the moment is ‘I don’t know’ beyond exploring, discovering and experiencing a differently managed natural environment in relation to our human roles within it.
Hay Meadow Seed Scattering – September 2022
Following on from his ecological survey, Graham offered me two huge sacks of hay seed harvested from his own meadow in September.
We strimmed and raked and scoured 4 patches across the field ready and then, when Graham arrived with his large sacks of hay seed, we got the enthusiastic help of some small stompers to help both scatter and stomp in the hay into the prepared patches.
Graham talked through our small team the nature of the different seeds shed by the scatterd hay.
Recently published research shows that creating woodlands adjacent to existing older woodlands reduces the time taken to create tall and to a lesser extent structurally diverse habitat, which may lead to early biodiversity benefits. “We’ll see“, says this experimenter (although possibly not discernable in my lifetime!)
Experimenting with scything an access path (May 2023)
We discovered last summer that it was definitely necessary to cut back the grass to keep a path up the field to the wood. Last year we did this with strimmers which worked but were hardwork, noisy & fuel hungry. We recently discovered https://www.handpowered.co.uk/ who use traditional hand tools and age old techniques, including scything, hedge laying and drystone walling to help people (like me!) manage land in an ecologically friendly way.
Danny and Helene came over from Llanidloes today to scythe this season’s path through the fast growing field grass and up through the rougher ground at the start of the wood. I was amazed how quickly the path emerged with the unhurried swinging motion of the scythes.
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And a short while later, here’s the path for 2023…..
Next challenge the bracken……
Hay Meadow Seed Scattering 2 – October 2023
After little visible return from last year’s hay seed scattering, it was time to try again. Ecologist, Graham, again kindly brought several large sacks of hay from his own hay meadow. He then managed to scrape 3 clear patches though the considerable thick grass layer. After which we scattered the hay containing maybe ~30 different seed species. Now the long and hopeful wait for spring….. I enjoy the anticipatory aspect of these experimental interventions.
The Prospectory 