Squirrels: Tree Damage
	The grey squirrel is an introduced pest species that does a great deal of damage to forests by bark stripping. This behaviour not only does commercial damage to timber but also makes the tree vulnerable to disease and, in extremis, can kill the tree through “ring-barking”.

As a result of this behaviour squirrels are rigorously controlled in Wytham by shooting and the use of poison hoppers.

Teams of volunteers walked the perimeter of a large woodland compartment and assessed the extent of tree damage on a scale of 0 (no damage) to 9 (extensive damage/ring-barked). All tree types present were examined, but beech trees predominated. Our intention is to repeat this protocol annually to see if squirrel control measures are reducing tree damage.

Maple showed the highest extent of damage (see graph above), but there were relatively few trees. Beech trees also showed extensive damage and conifers some damage. Damage to other species was negligible. In terms of relative susceptibility to damage, beech trees suffered from 94% of all bark stripping.