Black Firs Wood

The 1.15ha woodland is dominated by birch and oak underplanted with hazel, holly and guelder rose. The site is used for educational purposes and has a circular footpath that is accessible for all, which passes by 2 ponds.

Location
Black Firs Wood is located off Black Firs Lane, Somerford, near Congleton - (O.S. Grid Ref.: SJ834638).

Access
The reserve is open to all. There is a circular path with a hard surface around the reserve. Please keep to the path.

Black Firs Wood (1.64 acres) was ‘gifted’ to the Cheshire Wildlife Trust in October 1991. The land holding was further extended in October 2002 when another 1.16 acres of land was gifted to the Trust, thus extending the existing proportion of land owned by the Trust. The total amount of land under Trust ownership currently stands at 2.8 acres.

The woodland is flat and lies on a thin covering of peat, over sand. The woodland canopy is dominated by mature silver birch with the occasional oak and rowan. Over recent years the woodland has been under planted with holly, hazel and guelder rose. Alder and willow can be found in the wetter areas. The ground flora is dominated by tall herb and ruderal species. Two small ponds, which were hand dug circa 2000 can be found on this reserve. One is species rich and can be found on the western edge of the reserve, the other is species poor, dominated by reed sweet canary grass Glyceria maxima and can be found on the eastern edge of the reserve.

The vegetation of the site has been surveyed on a couple of occasions and more recently efforts have been made to record the fauna and aquatic invertebrates on the site. The data collected has started to provide the Wildlife Trust with a basic picture of the site.

Management has consisted of the construction of a circular path around the site, which is suitable for use with wheelchairs and members of the public with mobility problems.

Two ponds have been hand dug both of which are lined;

A number of dangerous/unsafe trees have been removed from the site over the years. The sites western boundary (the length of the original boundary) has been planted up with native hedgerow species, which include hawthorn, blackthorn and guelder rose.

Blackfirs wood objectives
The desired condition of the woodland habitat (W10 Quercus robur-Pteridium aquilinium-Rubus fruticosus woodland –typical sub-community) would be assisted by the thinning out of a number of young trees and replanting with native species suitable to this habitat type if natural regeneration proved unsuccessful. Such action would promote the growth of healthier and stronger trees.

Enhancement of the ponds will be achieved by preventing encroachment of vegetative species through the removal of excess vegetation on a rotational basis. This will encourage floristic and faunal diversity within the pond and maintain adequate oxygen levels within the pond.

All the recorded plant, invertebrate and mammal species at Black Firs are associated with the various habitats present on site. All habitats present within Black Firs Wood are likely to influence the survival of these species and communities. The requirements of these species are therefore best met through the management of habitats on site to attain favourable condition.