Agenda item

Report of the Superintendent of Hampstead Heath.

Background and Tree Stock

The Highgate Wood Manager noted that the Wood was home to approximately 5,000 trees, and formed a remnant of ancient woodland that belonged to the medieval 1000-acre hunting estate of the Bishop of London.

            He went on to note that the Wood would be part of a pan-London survey of trees using new woodland management software called iTree, which would see vital statistics of each tree. The data gathered in the survey would be submitted to the developers of iTree in the US and a report generated for publication in 2015.

            In response to a question, the Highgate Wood Manager replied that, whilst the survey would not be directly concerned with air quality, the eventual data set would help establish the extent to which trees affected air quality in the capital.

            In response to a request from Michael Hammerson, the Highgate Wood Manager agreed to consider providing a presentation on iTree at a future meeting. He added as an aside that over 270 volunteers had come forward to take part in the pan-London survey, which was more than was called for.

Veteran Tree Stock

In response to a question from Michael Hammerson, the Superintendent of Hampstead Heath replied that the definition of a veteran tree depended not just on its age, but other factors such as its treatment in the past – e.g. experience of storm events, coppicing etc.

Tree Disease

The Highgate Wood Manger noted that the main issues of disease facing Highgate Wood were OPM and Acute Oak Decline (AOD), and that the proposed response in the event of either being detected was set out within the report. He added that there was some concern over an emerging disease in the Canal de Midi area of France that affected Plane trees – it resembled a canker and appeared to be waterborne.

Storm Damage

The Highgate Wood Manager noted that tree incidents had increased exponentially from 80 in 2012 to 300 in 2013, largely due to storm damage. This had highlighted the need to ensure the skills base of the Tree Team was maintained by sharing skills across a wider pool of staff and recruiting apprentices.

            In response to a question from Michael Hammerson over whether the scale of these incidents could be met simply through efficiency savings alone, the Highgate Wood Manager expressed the hope that another St Jude’s Storm event was highly unlikely, and therefore efficiencies in staff resourcing should be sufficient.