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Earlier this year, we shared second-year BSc (Hons) Wildlife, Conservation and Ecology student and course rep Zed Esmail’s thoughts on a week’s work experiece with Landmarc Solutions, where she gained insights into the complexities of managing woodlands on MOD land in the Southeast of England.

She has now followed had the opportunity to visit Sennybridge in Wales, another MOD training estate, which revealed how regional conditions, scale, and climate shape distinct forestry management challenges.

Comparing Forestry practices - insights from Longmoor and Sennybridge

Forestry management in the Southeast, such as at Longmoor, is often more complex due to its proximity to large surrounding populations.

The presence of communities and infrastructure immediately next to the training areas adds an extra layer of planning and communication. Frequent and varied training activity means that daily deconfliction is essential to ensure both operational safety and woodland access for management teams.

In contrast, Sennybridge presents a very different environment, a larger, more remote landscape characterised by expansive training areas and wide-ranging forestry operations. The scale of the site demands greater coordination between multiple stakeholders, robust health and safety protocols, and effective signage along busy routes.

Sennybridge’s upland Welsh conditions, characterised by steeper terrain, stronger winds, and a wetter climate, create a distinct set of silvicultural challenges.

These factors influence both species selection and planting strategies. Despite the harsher environment, recent Sitka spruce plantings have established well, likely aided by using mulch, which helps retain soil moisture through the hotter periods of the summer.

However, broadleaf establishment has proved more difficult due to weather extremes and exposure. As a result, the management approach at Sennybridge tends to allow for longer establishment periods before any replanting (also known as “beat-up”) takes place. Instead of replanting within the first year, teams typically wait three to four years to assess survival rates, by which time less replacement is often needed, as trees that have endured those early years are well adapted to the site.

Commercial forestry remains a crucial component of management at both sites.

At Sennybridge, the larger scale of operations allows for significant harvesting activity across the estate. In one recent example, the MOD requested that a felled area not be replanted to meet specific training objectives. To mitigate the loss of woodland cover, new trees were instead planted adjacent to an existing woodland, effectively expanding that habitat and enhancing connectivity. In the felled area itself, grass seed was sown to stabilise the soil and encourage open ground vegetation, supporting a different but valuable habitat type.

Given the scale of operations, larger machinery, such as high-capacity mulchers, are required, and deer and sheep fencing plays an essential role in protecting young plantations from browsing damage.

Both regions face similar plant health pressures, though the scale and severity vary geographically. Ash dieback continues to affect woodlands across both Longmoor and Sennybridge, including designated SSSI sites. Meanwhile, Sennybridge experiences more frequent challenges with weevil and spruce bark beetle, Ips typographus, and is trialling pheromone traps to monitor infestations.

Larch disease (Phytophthora ramorum) also presents a notable difference between the two areas. While the disease is present in the Southeast, it is more widespread in Wales due to the greater number of larch plantations. In Wales, Natural Resources Wales issues Statutory Plant Health Notices requiring the felling of infected larch to help prevent further spread, an important regulatory measure not typically required at the same scale in the Southeast.

Tree health inspections are also structured according to risk zones, similarly to Longmoor, with high-risk areas assessed every 18–30 months, medium-risk areas every three years, and low-risk areas every six years. Interventions include thinning, selective felling, and, in severe cases, full removal of affected stands.

What stood out to me most in comparing these sites was how regional context defines forestry practices. The Southeast demands careful coordination and communication due to dense populations and high training activity, whereas Sennybridge’s challenges stem from scale, climate, and exposure. Yet both share the same underlying aim: to manage forests sustainably, safely, and with long-term ecological resilience in mind.

These experiences have deepened my understanding of the adaptability required in modern forestry. Whether working around operational demands, variable weather, or plant health issues, foresters must balance environmental stewardship with practical management and regulatory compliance. Each site visit reinforces the complexity and the importance of thoughtful woodland management across the MOD estates, where woodland management, safety, and military needs must all coexist harmoniously.

A huge thank you to Martin Leonard, Jon Davies, Judith Peachy and the Sennybridge forestry team for sharing their time, knowledge, and experience with me.