A drainage experiment on a peaty gley soil at Kershope Forest, Cumbria

. The effects of ditch spacing (10, 20 and 40 m) and depth (60 and 90 cm) on watertable depth were measured in a Sitka spruce plantation before and after drainage and finally after part of the plantation had been clearfelled. No significant differences in watertable depth were recorded between drainage treatments mainly because the ditch spacings were too large but also because of inadequate calibration of the site before the drainage treatments were applied. By the time of felling, the site had been thoroughly calibrated for the behaviour of the watertable, enabling sensitive comparisons to be made, and a significant rise in the watertable was recorded after felling.