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Lockdown project: On the search for old woodland remnants in West Donegal, inspired by @NativeWoodTrust @RewildingIre @rayofoghlu @collbradan @IrishRainforest . This is Lough MacHugh in Bá Uachtar, mainly old oak stands with lots of birch and hazel. Some regeneration (a thread)
There are two small islands on the lake which have the oldest trees. I've heard that islands like these have surviving pockets of woodland because deer and animals won't swim out to them, but evidence of twigs eaten and some bark stripped with trampled grass all over (2/5)
The remaining woodland clings to the slope leading to the lake and stops at the top. This seems common around here - why? Reduced browsing pressure because of difficulty of access? Microclimate? Encroaching raised bog? Or maybe the old fencing that surrounds it? (3/5)
How old is this bit of woodland? In the 1840s map no woodland is marked, most of the area is enclosed by a wall. By the 1900s islands and a sliver of the North lakeshore are marked as 'brushwood', and by the 2010s the trees seem to have overtaken the old 19th century farm (4/5)
It goes to show that a lot of woodlands that might look 'ancient' are actually less than 100 years old. Did there used to be more trees surrounding the rest of the lake? Could this remnant be allowed to regenerate and colonise the unused land surrounding it? (5/5)
