The Aspen Grove at Ryebank Fields
Article by Paul Wood, Author of Great British and Irish Trees
The Ecology of Aspen Woodlands – free download
A primer by Robin Grayson (FGS) and Mandukhai Grayson
Excerpt:
“One of the most remarkable features on Ryebank Fields is the outstanding small woodland, consisting entirely of Aspen trees, which are convincingly all of the same clone. This is evidenced by the very dense spacing and the presence of obvious rhizomes radiating out from the large, old parent trees. Rapid seral change is happening on a yearly basis, with new trees invading the grassland, by rhizomes breaking out at the surface and overwhelming the grassland. It is undoubtedly the best example of seral change, in a grassland to forest , known in Manchester.”
Robin Grayson MSc, Consultant Ecologist