Create a list of articles to read later. You will be able to access your list from any article in Discover.
You don't have any saved articles.
New forests and restoration among proposals for England’s woodlands
The UK’s woodlands are under pressure like never before, as habitat loss, management change and invasive species take their toll.
A new report offers a path to recovery, one that could increase the country's biodiversity from the mid-2040s onwards.
Forests of oak, ash and birch stretching across England are part of a £1 billion vision to boost the country’s biodiversity.
A new report from The Woodland Trust calls on the government to begin a vast programme of work in order to boost forests across the country. These include proposals to ensure that an area the size of Wales is planted with native trees, restoration of ancient woodland, and increase funding to Natural England, the country’s nature advisor.
Dr Darren Moorcroft, The Woodland Trust’s CEO, says, ‘The health of our communities and the places we live in is intertwined with the presence of nature, woods and trees, and green space. It’s a barometer of the health of the places where we’re raising our families.
‘This report sets out what needs to be done and we hope there is an appetite amongst political leaders to deliver what’s urgently needed.’
Dr Chris Dixon, Curator of British and Irish seed plants at the Museum, adds, ‘This report is quite ambitious, and while it might not be achieved in full, it draws attention to our underappreciated woodlands.’
‘The more that can be done to help them, the better.’
Rhodedendron damages the seed bank, making it harder for other plants to grow even after it is removed. Image © Jim Champion, licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0 via Geograph.
What happened to England’s forests?
Turn back the clock 1,000 years, and England’s forests would have covered around 15% of the country. Woodland consisting of trees like hazel, oak, elm and beech spread across extensive areas of the country, having grown following the end of the last Ice Age.
While there were some clearances over the next few centuries, this came to a sudden halt with the arrival of the Black Death in the 1300s. For the next 300 years or so, these forests would remain much the same, and any woodland growing before 1600 is considered to be ancient.
‘Ancient woodland are much richer in diversity and more varied than other woodland, and it’s not just plants,’ Chris says. ‘Similar trends are seen in other wildlife like fungi and insects, and in some cases are dependent on each other, with some orchids needing certain fungi to grow, for instance.’
‘It takes a long time for an ancient woodland to develop these key characteristics, and it can’t easily be replicated.’
The reason that 1600 is seen as the last date for ancient woodland is because after this point the UK’s relationship with its trees began to change. Widespread clearances, changes in tree management and harvesting for timber saw the UK’s forest coverage decline sharply, accelerated by the Agricultural and Industrial Revolutions.
As a result, by 1870, it’s estimated that just 5% of England had any woodland cover. Demand for exotic imported species meant that invasive plants, such as rhododendron, were being planted in ancient woodlands and altering them still further.
While the situation today is not quite as bad as it was 100 years ago, with trees now covering around 13% of the UK’s land area, this statistic is somewhat misleading. Ancient woodland accounts for just 2.5%, with plantations of non-native trees making up much of the rest.
These plantations have had knock-on effects on local wildlife both above and below the ground. The acidity of conifer plantations harms subterranean organisms, while declines in woodland insects and birds have been linked to forests becoming less complex environments.
Changes to forest management also have consequences for the species living there, with a lack of dead wood threatening rare bat species like the western barbastelle.
The Woodland Trust hopes that by taking action now, the restoration of the UK’s forests can help boost the country’s biodiversity before it becomes too late.
Louise Wilkinson, an ecologist who co-authored the report, says, ‘The UK’s woodland is not supporting the diversity or abundance of species it could and should be. As it stands, most is degrading, and once these unique habitats are gone, so will the species that depend on them.’
‘We really are the last generation who has the time remaining on this ticking clock to restore these irreplaceable habitats. Planting trees is a vital component in tackling the nature crisis that must remain high on agendas.’
Temperate rainforest is one of the UK's most special habitats, but much of it is in need of restoration. Image © John Haynes, licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0 via Geograph.
The Woodland Trust’s proposals
The £1 billion fund at the heart of the proposals breaks down into a number of key areas, with the money to be spent over five years.
The lion’s share, £350 million, is earmarked for large projects that help to tackle the root causes of species loss and biodiversity decline in woodland. A further £250 million would be allocated to restoring ancient woodland, including sites which have been converted into plantations.
'Just replanting new trees to replace ancient woodland isn’t enough, as they’re really not the same at all,’ Chris says. ‘Seeding the soil with transplanted microorganisms can help, but really the only way to develop an ancient woodland is time and letting nature do things its own way.’
‘Letting ancient woodlands expand into more recent forests nearby helps to enhance these areas, and increase their complexity and biodiversity.’
The rest of the money would be dedicated to supporting public forest projects, providing monitoring and training, and restoring the UK’s temperate rainforest. The latter is rare globally, with the UK and Ireland having a significant amount of what remains.
‘Temperate rainforests are found in the west of Britain and Ireland and are full of mosses, lichens and ferns,’ Chris says. ‘This is because there aren’t many places that get as much rainfall as the British Isles do, but in such a mild climate.’
‘Despite their biodiversity, there’s not much left, and any attempt to restore it should be welcomed.’
Alongside the funding, The Woodland Trust is also calling for all remaining ancient woodland to be protected, with around 800 of these forests currently under threat of being damaged or destroyed by new development.
Separate to the £1 billion, the proposals also set out a plan to restore native tree cover in England to 16% by the creation of new woodland and the enhancement of existing sites. Other proposed measures include the protection of woodland older than 1840 and the creation of new areas with the potential to become highly biodiverse.
Chris says that these could tie into projects to clean up the UK’s waterways and restore meadows to help link up the woodlands with nature corridors, which will contribute to the resilience of native wildlife.
While the proposals sound like a lot of money, the charity argues that they are cheaper than other equally large projects, such as HS2. The Woodland Trust says that funding for its tree scheme would represent the equivalent of around three miles of the railway.
Ultimately, however, these proposals will remain on the drawing board for now. It’s up to the government to consider whether or not these plans will become a reality.
