A local dairy farmer is working with the Woodland Trust Northern Ireland to create a wet woodland along the River Faughan.

John Doherty is working with the Trust and the Loughs Agency to plant 2,000 trees and create ponds which will improve water quality and provide new havens for wildlife.

Mr Doherty previously worked with the Woodland Trust Northern Ireland and the Loughs Agency in creating riparian (riverside) buffer strips along both sides of the River Faughan Special Area of Conservation (SAC) in November 2019. That project involved a partnership between the landowner, the Woodland Trust Northern Ireland, Loughs Agency and Northern Ireland Water. Fencing was installed back from the riverbank, with tree planting and stiles erected for access.

Two existing field drains carry nutrients and sediment during flood events from the land directly into the River Faughan. Measures will be put in place to improve water quality and create a wet woodland to improve the local biodiversity value of the site. The current project is aimed at improving water quality by buffering sediment and nutrients originating from the two ditches.

The drains have now been diverted into a 4-acre section of field via a series of leaky dams and then into newly created ponds. Tree roots help filter the water and slow the flow in times of flood, ensuring that when the ponds are full the woodland provides a further buffer with the River Faughan.

Forestry Journal:

Dave Scott, project manager with the Woodland Trust, said: “Areas of wet woodland are one of the most dynamic habitats in the UK and Ireland and are important for a range of priority species, including otter, nesting birds, insects, bats and amphibians. With Northern Ireland being one of the least wooded countries in Europe (8 per cent tree cover) any increase in new woodland is welcomed, especially when it provides local nature based solutions for farming businesses and on a wider scale combat climate change through carbon storage.”

Lionel Knobbs, with the Loughs Agency, added: “The natural filtration of nutrients and sediments means that water quality is improved for fish and their spawning requirements. As well as the improvements to water quality and the enhancement of wildlife habitat, such woodlands reduce water treatment costs, reduce flood risk and provide increased flood storage, and assist in natural river restoration.”

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