KEY
MP    Management Planning Guidance and Framework
BAP  Biodiversity Action Plan
FRM  Forest Reproductive Material Regulations		 References. See Appendix for references which give further guidance.
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2.3 Implementation and revision of the plan
MP 2.3.1 Guidance

Requirement

The implementation of the work shall be in close agreement with the details included in the management planning documentation. Any deviation from prescription or planned rate of progress shall be justified, overall objectives shall still be achieved and the ecological integrity of the woodland maintained.

Means of verification

  • Cross-correlation between the management planning documentation, annual work programmes and operations seen on the ground
  • Owner’s/manager’s familiarity with the management planning documentation and woodland
  • Documentation or owner’s/manager’s explanation of any deviation.

Changes in planned timing of operations should be such that they do not jeopardise the ecological integrity of the woodland in the long term.

Changes in planned timing may be justified on economic grounds if overall management practices continue to comply with the other requirements of this standard.

Refer to section 3.4.1 for information about thinning, felling and regeneration plans.
MP
BAP		 2.3.2 Guidance

Requirement

a.

The owner/manager shall consider what information to collect and record in order to monitor progress towards their management objectives and conformance with the requirements of this certification standard. A monitoring programme shall be implemented. Information shall be collected appropriate to the scale and intensity of management.

b.

Monitoring procedures shall be consistent and replicable over time to allow comparison of results and assessment of change.

c.

As a minimum the following shall be monitored:
• Economic, environmental and social aspects
• Harvesting yield
• Woodland composition and structure
• Flora and fauna (e.g. those in the UK Biodiversity
• Action Plan).

Means of verification

Non-SLIM woodlands:
  • A documented plan for monitoring to be undertaken consistent with management objectives and baseline information.
SLIM woodlands:
  • Evidence of the owner’s/manager’s knowledge of the woodland; a pro-active approach to field observation and field notes, supplemented by available maps and reports, may be sufficient.

Monitoring should consist of a combination of:

  • Supervision during operations
  • Regular management visits and systematic collection of information
  • Long-term studies, where appropriate, particularly on changes to the woodland eco-system. Information from studies (particularly research programmes) carried out at one site can be extrapolated and the results used to assist management of other similar sites. For more complex long-term studies it is often more important for woodland owners/managers to be aware of the results and conclusions of such studies than to try to replicate them in their own woodland.
Detail of information collected should
be appropriate to the:
  • Size of the enterprise
  • Intensity of operations
  • Objectives of management
  • Sensitivity of the site.

Monitoring should include means to identify any significant changes, i.e. those likely to have sufficient impact to alter existing ecosystems or endanger the flora and fauna present, in particular any rare species.
MP 2.3.3 Guidance

Requirement

Monitoring records shall be kept and be in a form which ensures that they are of use over the long term.

Means of verification

All woodlands:
  • Documented monitoring records
  • Information from studies in similar woodlands
  • Analysis of information collected.
SLIM woodlands:
  • Field notes based on the owner’s/manager’s observation of the woodland may be sufficient.

MP 2.3.4 Guidance

Requirement

Monitoring data shall be analysed and the findings taken into account by management, particularly during revision of the management planning documentation.

Means of verification

  • Monitoring records
  • Management planning documentation
  • Discussions with owner/manager.
Expert advice should be sought where necessary and taken into account.
2.3.5 Guidance

Requirement

For areas and features of particular significance, as identified under section 6.1.1, annual monitoring shall be undertaken to assess the effectiveness of the measures employed to maintain or enhance these areas.

Means of verification

Non-SLIM woodlands:
  • Monitoring records
  • Management planning documentation.
SLIM woodlands:
  • Discussions with owner/manager.
Annual monitoring should be appropriate to the assessed threat to the conservation value of the site. If the assessed threat is low, an annual visit, noting the general condition of identified features and input back into the management planning documentation is sufficient. For greater threats, annual fixed point observations may be more appropriate or more specialist assessment may be required.
2.3.6 Guidance

Requirement

A summary of monitoring results shall be produced, as a minimum, at the end of each five-year period and made publicly available if requested.

Means of verification

  • A copy of the summary
  • Evidence of response to requests.

The summary should include information on work completed and other major changes in the woodland.

A summary of the main information collected should be made available to any interested party who asks for it. The owner/manager may make a reasonable charge for making the summary available.

Sensitive data e.g. sites of species protected by law and confidential commercial information can be kept confidential.

For SLIM woodlands, the public summary should be made available for inspection locally on request.