Forest Research Forss Trial Plantation – Caithness
This map image was part of a collection passed to Forestry Memories from a storage shed in Newton Nursery used by Forest Research.
It may well be that this is Forest Research experiment was located on private land of Forss Estate. The experiment map indicates that there is a main road running next to the planted area and some quarries on the road edge. A small forest area is south of Forss House is still evident on the aerial maps but one assumes that the trees growing there are now second generation.
This beautifully drawn map taken from detailed field measurements shows a bewildering array of plots planted with many different tree species either as a single species or in mixtures. Looking closely different groups or replicates can be observed and indicated in Roman numerals 1-4 in the 1950 and 1-7 in the 1951 plantings. It looks as though they threw everything in as a trial to see what would grow in the northerly extremes of Caithness!
The tree species used are – Scots, Corsican, Lodgepole, Mountain and Maritime pine; Japanese and Hybrid Larch; Sitka and Serbian spruce; Nobil fir, Western hemlock, Cupressus macrocarpa, Red oak, Beech, Sycamore and Ash. All were planted on ploughing produced by a single furrow Cuthbertson plough and each tree received 2 ozs of ground mineral phosphate at time of planting.
See the large image in the PDF link below.
Any memories and records of this plantation would be very welcome.
Download Large Version (500kB)
Groups: Caithness and Sutherland, Forest Research, Maps of Forest and Woodland Areas
Viewing the exposed profiles on the edge of the old quarry from Google "Street" images, I would think that the western sloping soils are peaty podzols (3p), possibly podzolic ironpan soils (4z and 4zp), becoming increasingly peaty and wet as the slope decreases, up the hill towards the east of the experiment, with podzolic peaty gleys dominating (6z and 6zp).
Also, interesting to note that "2oz per tree of ground mineral phosphate" was applied. This amount of mineral phosphate was found to be "Significant" in an SP establishment trial conducted on the Dava Moor, Morayshire, regardless of cultivation type in the early 2000's. Map reference: 57.430852, -3.664616 or 300156, 839058 or NJ 001 390.
From the signage displayed alongside the Forss road, access is not encouraged, "Private Woods, KEEP OUT"! To find more ownership information the property is registered digitally, and details can be viewed and purchased from Scotland's Land Information Service (ScotLIS).
At the northern end of the wood, on another old quarry site there has been built a new house named "Braigh-Mor". Whilst at the southern end of the wood on the western side of the road, another new house named "Strathmore House" has been built. Comment left on 09 September 2023 at 10:22 by Bill Rayner