Book Review: Woodland Management - A practical guide

This is a very broad practical guide by Chris Starr, a Chartered Forester, with over 25 years of experience.

I initially struggled to get into this book because each chapter is split into very short sub-titled sections. It's more of a reference book and includes everything you need to know about owning and managing a woodland at a brief level. As such the book offers web addresses for places where you can get more detailed advice when a subject gets too deep for the scope of the book.

I eventually got into the book and have realised how time consuming owning a woodland would be for the uninitiated. But don't let that put you off, because after the first few years of creating a woodland plan based on your site survey and applying for relevant grants, you're left to the enjoyable bit - the practical activities of managing the woodland to the objectives that you've decided on.

There are some case studies of real woodlands in the book, but I feel that it could have benefitted from a case study at the end of each chapter to allow us to see the concepts we've read about in action. Also the book could have really done with colour plates as a lot of detail and interest was lost in the greyscale images. Saying that though, the author really knows his stuff.

The book covers topics such as: Getting to know the broadleaves, conifers and the woodlands as a whole; getting to know your woodland and creating a vision for the woodland; biodiversity; regenerating and creating woodland; generating income from the woodland; buying and owning a woodland; and much more.

On balance, this is a good book written by a very knowledgable author. If you're thinking about buying a woodland - read this book first.

 

 

Own or Loan:         Loan
Read Again:           No
Recommend:         Yes
Overall out of Five:3