Piles Coppice is a unique woodland. Set in a wild and rich landscape, just north of Brandon Marsh and on the doorstep of Coventry, it forms part of our Brandon Reach nature reserve, of which we are very proud. It also forms part of the 450 hectares of woodland that Warwickshire Wildlife Trust owns or manages for the benefit of wildlife
and people.

The Trust took on the management of Piles Coppice in 2018. It is an important woodland that we want to see protected long into the future, which is why our woodland management plans are so very important and carefully considered. One of the biggest threats to a woodland’s health and resilience is the loss of variety in age and structure. Over time, without help, a woodland will revert to a closed tree cover, or canopy, made up of trees all of a similar age. This is much less valuable for wildlife and means the trees are less able to adapt to new and emerging threats.

Also, without light, the next generation of trees such as oak and lime will not survive to replace the existing trees when they come to the end of their life. Without a difference in height and age, the wildlife that one level of leaves and branches can support is limited. Having multiple levels increases the variety of wildlife who can make those trees their home. Warwickshire Wildlife Trust is looking to bring back woodland management to Piles Coppice to help increase the diversity of the woodland habitats there.

As the woodland has not been managed for several decades, our first step is to identify and to start work on small plots, to analyse the way the woodland reacts.

Let the light shine through

The plan to deliver this has been carefully created over the last two years or more, with species surveys and work to understand the current condition of the woodland. We have also held consultations on the approach with constructive input from local naturalist groups and stakeholders.

The map above was created from a drone survey undertaken in 2021. It shows the woodland has a closed canopy, or dense tree cover, with only a small number of gaps to let in light. It also shows the canopy is of an even height which means the woodland trees are all of a similar age. Therefore, there is a lack of structural variety within the wood. These surveys have been useful to help us identify where to target our work, so we get the best results to bring about the gradual change that is so desperately needed.

This Autumn/Winter, Warwickshire Wildlife Trust will create no more than 12 small plots across less than 5% of the woodland. These plots will aim to create the regeneration of new trees and will use a variety of methods to help us achieve this goal:

• We will thin out a small selection of trees, to provide more light and space for older oaks, as well as young, developing trees.
• We will coppice some lime and hazel trees to promote an assortment of tree, branch and leaf heights and to protect the archaeological integrity of the ancient lime stools - the multi-stemmed base of the trees.
• We will manage track edges through repeated cutting, to promote a range of wildflowers and plant life.

The map below shows the areas that will be the focus of our work and shows the small proportion of the woodland that will be managed. This work will be carried out under a variety of conditions to enable wide-ranging monitoring of the woodland’s reaction. This monitoring will be used in the future to help us create long term plans for the woodland.

Eventually, the results will see a return to a more varied woodland structure, allowing the wood to adapt to changing conditions and being more resilient. In turn this will allow more and a larger variety of wildlife to call it home, alongside the ones who already do.

Of course, many of its existing features such as the large stools and bluebell glades that people enjoy will remain, but this important and sympathetic management will ensure that Piles Coppice is around for generations to come and for them to enjoy it too.