Land Regeneration & Green Infrastructure

Over the last three decades, Andy Moffat has been responsible for developing much of the guidance used in the land reclamation industry as it relates to the provision of woodland after mineral extraction, landfill or land remediation. We have a strong track record in the assessment and creation of sites suitable for trees and woodland, and in advising on best silvicultural options to establish healthy and sustainable woodlands.

Urban trees often live in comparatively hostile soil environments. We can help in the planning of new tree plantings and in the context of planned new development where trees are present.

Services offered

  • Land reclamation, regeneration and soil handling planning
  • Urban tree issues relating to development
  • Evaluation of urban greenspace benefits
  • Advice and guidance on organic waste recycling

Case study: Petersfield’s Trees – their importance and value

Following a public campaign in late Autumn 2015 to save the trees in Petersfield Square, a Town Centre Joint Steering Group was set up to examine ways and means of retaining the trees whist promoting other town projects specifically those in the Neighbourhood Plan.  The Steering Group comprised the Town and District Councils, South Downs National Park Authority and the Petersfield Society. It decided that a better understanding of Petersfield’s trees, their numbers, types, locations, importance and value, was needed. The Petersfield Society agreed to undertake such a survey and Andy Moffat took on the role of Project Manager.

A project plan was agreed including the use of the i-Tree Eco software, 43 volunteers were engaged and trained. The survey of 900 trees was conducted over the summer of 2016. This included all public realm trees in the Conservation Area, the others randomly selected using i-Tree Eco in private (with owner consent) and public ownership across the parish. Ninety thousand pieces of data were collected.

The report contributes to the developing understanding of how best to assess the importance and value of trees as part of natural and built environments in the UK. Illustrated with photographs and with explanatory text, maps and tables, the report has now been developed into a very readable document. It makes a significant contribution to the understanding of Petersfield’s natural environment and will be valued by all who have the interest of the town’s environment at heart in these times of development pressure and climate change.  The report can be downloaded from http://www.petersfieldsociety.org.uk/itree.pdf

Case study: Sustainable Urban Brownfields: Integrated Management (SUBR:IM)

The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) funded eight major research institutions (including Forest Research) to examine the issue of brownfield regeneration over a four year period in the mid 2000s With initial funding of £1.8M, the consortium worked on projects linking science and social science in the fields of engineering, property and real estate, economics and planning to help tackle brownfield research problems. Andy Moffat was Principal Investigator of four Work Packages. These included studies of new technical solutions for contaminated land remediation, the likely effects of climate change on contamination risk, the impact of greenspace creation on contamination issues and the development of novel compost products for remediation and reclamation to greenspace. The SUBRIM project was rated highly by the EPSRC for the depth and quality of its scientific and policy relevant outputs, which included a comprehensive book on the subject.

Case study: Use of anaerobic digestates in forestry

David Jarvis Associates and Forest Research (Project Leader Andy Moffat) won a contract from Zero Waste Scotland/WRAP in 2010 to explore the opportunity to use anaerobic digestates (AD) to support the establishment of trees typically used for the reclamation of disturbed or derelict land. A replicated experiment was set up at the Forest Research nursery at Newton, Morayshire using alder as the test tree species. Liquid and ‘cake’ AD materials were applied in various combinations with greenwaste compost.

The research showed that AD applications compromise tree survival, although they enhanced growth in some cases. Weed growth was pronounced and the research showed that it was cost ineffective to control. The research showed that AD materials may be suitable to support the growth of short rotation tree crops but are probably not appropriate for application at the time of tree planting.