Silviculture of ash in southern England

In 1992 the Wessex Silvicultural Group held a number of meetingsto study the silviculture of ash, during which 16 sites throughoutcentral southern England were visited. Ash can produce valuabletimber on relatively short rotations, and to take full advantageof this potential stands must be carefully managed. The mainpoints to consider are: (1) site selection: ash is site demandingand grows best on moist calcareous barns of pH 6 to 7. Sitesprone to frost should be avoided. (2) Spacing: if timber productionis an important objective, ash should be established with atleast 2500 stems ha^-1 on bare land and 2000 stems ha^-1 on restockingsites. It is sensitive to exposure when young and requires sideshelter making it unsuitable for pure planting on exposed ground.(3) Weed control: this is essential for successful establishment.It is recommended that an area of at least 1 m² around eachtree should be kept weed free for at least 3 years. (4) Protection:the species is relatively free from squirrel damage but is palatableto voles, rabbits, hares and deer. Protection using appropriateindividual tree protection or fencing is essential. (5) Thinning:once a height of 6–7 m has been reached ash should havefrequent crown thinnings to maintain a live crown over at leastone-third the height of the tree. Under-thinning was by farthe most common fault in the stands visited.