Oak

Oak is a relatively slow growing tree, so it is not surprising that many people wonder just how much land is needed to satisfy the demand for oak furniture. The answer is that, with proper management, the supply of oak should be inexhaustible.

Measuring woodland

All woodland can be measured to determine how fast the timber in it is growing. This will be affected by such factors as how well suited the climate, soil and drainage is to the species being grown. The rate of growth is expressed as the Yield Class. Slower growing trees have a low Yield Class number, faster growing trees a high Yield Class number.

Oak on a moderately well drained fertile site would typically have a Yield Class of 5 or 5.5. This means that one Hectare of that woodland will produce 5 or 5.5 tonnes of wood every year.

Diversity is good for wildlife

Forestry is a crop where individual plants (trees) are constantly being removed to allow more space for those remaining to grow to full size. This practice is known as thinning and will happen throughout the lifetime of a stand of trees.

So, within the woodland as a whole will be stands of new plantings, young woodlands, middle-aged woodland and only a small proportion of mature woodland ready for clear felling and replanting. This diversity in ages is helpful to plants and wildlife as it provides a series of environments each suited to different species.

For more information on British woodland, visit the website for the Forestry Commission.

 

Oaks are members of the beech family, Fagaceae, and are long-lived trees which grow relatively slowly, at least in their initial years. Both pedunculate and sessile oak are large trees, reaching up to 40 metres in height. However, because of its more north-westerly distribution and ability to grow on higher ground, sessile oak is more usually only up to 30 metres tall in Scotland. Trees of both species regularly live to be 500 years old, and individuals of 1,000 years old are known, although in some cases that age has been achieved by coppicing them over long periods of time.