The clocks will turn back again this month, provoking the usual flurry of debate about daylight saving time and who, or what, it is good for (Farmers? Schoolchildren? Energy grids?). The natural world will be mercifully free from these discussions. No government edict is needed for the trees to drop their leaves, or for the badgers to line their setts with grass and moss. When the swallows and house martins depart for sub-Saharan Africa, it will not be GMT they are fleeing, but dwindling insect populations.  Willingly or not, however, most of us will have to give the changing of the clocks some consideration. For owners of woodland, the new schedule will provide challenges and opportunities. Here are some things to keep in mind: Seize the early hours The approach of shorter days can be dismaying to nature lovers – at least to those less inclined towards headtorches and firepits. But it is worth remembering that the shift back to GMT will provide an opportunity to enjoy some extra early-morning sunlight before the true winter nights set in.  Sunrise in the UK will leap back from around 7.40am to 6.40am on October 25. For those early risers who like to snatch a breath of fresh woodland air before attending to the demands of the day, that extra hour of light can be a real gift. It will be another month before the Earth’s tilt shifts the sunrise back to 7.40am. Preparing for darker evenings The extra hour doesn’t come free, of course. As daylight savings come to an end, sunset will move back from approximately 5.45pm to 4.45pm. This will make after-work visits to the woods more difficult, but far from impossible. With some preparation, you can ensure that traversing your woodland at dusk and after dark remains easy and safe: Remove brambles and other vegetation from around the entrance.  Clear your primary pathways of loose branches and other tripping hazards, and fill in any holes. Make sure you’re familiar with the route. Consider adding discreet reflective markers to your entranceway or along your path (but avoid installing any bright permanent lights that may disturb wildlife). Invest in a reliable headtorch. While it is sensible to prepare for the early sunsets, it’s no good raging against the dying of the light. Remember that the hours between dusk and dawn bring their own character and opportunities. Autumn creatures Sunset heralds a flurry of activity from nocturnal woodland animals, with foxes and badgers emerging onto the forest floor, and bats beginning to take wing. In the case of some creatures, such as hedgehogs, the next couple of months will be your last chance to catch them before they retreat to their nests and enter deep sleep (“torpor”) or hibernation. Though many woodland birds will be flying south for winter, plenty more will stick around. Tawny owls are at their loudest and most active in the autumn months, and predominantly appear after dusk. Listen out for their “Twit-Twoo” duets (the “Twit” is the female call, the “Twoo” the male). Other species, meanwhile, will be arriving in October and November from colder northern climes, including redwings and bramblings. Soaking up the starlight Depending on the density of the canopy overhead, the earlier dusks can also allow for new stargazing opportunities. The weather in autumn is generally clearer than in the winter months, meaning a reduced likelihood of interfering clouds, and it’s a great time of year to spy the Andromeda Galaxy, or the return of the constellation Orion to British skies.  Other astronomical sights to look out for over the next couple of months include the Leonid meteor shower and the rare alignment, or “parade”, of Mercury, Venus, Mars and Jupiter, as well as a supermoon that will reach peak brightness on November 24. On that night, the “Beaver moon” will appear around 14% larger and 30% brighter than a standard full moon. Hold off on hibernating As dusk draws closer and the days shorten, it can be tempting to follow the lead of the hedgehogs and begin hunkering down. But if you have access to some woodland, it’s worth donning that extra layer, firing up a headtorch, and heading out. Not only will you be helping to counteract the mental health impacts of the diminishing sunlight, but you’ll also be giving yourself a chance to witness a special moment in the seasonal cycle of the woods. Keep warm, watch your step, and enjoy it.

The use of chemicals to control insect pests of crops has a long history. One of the most concerning episodes was the extensive use of DDT, an organochlorine compound. Initially used to control outbreaks of malaria and typhus, it was then used as an agricultural insecticide. Within a few years there were warning signs of its adverse effects, and in 1962 Rachel Carson published Silent Spring which questioned the indiscriminate use of insecticides. The use of these chemicals continued despite evidence of bioaccumulation in ecosystems and  Identification of specific effects such as the thinning of the eggshells of birds of prey. Consequently, populations of eagles and sparrowhawks declined. It was not until a decade later that the use of DDT was banned or severely restricted. Now the use of insecticides such as the neonicotinoids is being questioned. These are still used for seed dressings of oilseed rape and maize. Even in very low concentrations, there is evidence that these chemicals are damaging to pollinators such as bees and bumblebees. Various studies indicate that these chemicals affect the  bees ability to navigate, so that some do not return home. The chemicals also affect the number of bumblebee queens produced by a colony. Much of the pesticide research has focused on the physiology of honeybees. This research has indicated that worker bees can help protect the queen from chemical contamination by filtering out certain substances in the food provided for her, some of which may pass to the honeycomb.  Recent studies suggest that this ability to sequester chemicals may be overwhelmed and that pesticides can accumulate in the queen over time. To offset this build-up it seems that the queen can offload toxic chemicals into the eggs she produces. A queen may produce several hundred eggs each day which ultimately develop into the workers required to sustain the colony. However, eggs containing these chemicals such as methyl parathion [an organophosphate insecticide] may not develop fully. Consequently, there may come a point when the chemical burden means the colony is no longer viable. [caption id="attachment_21584" align="aligncenter" width="600"] Honey bee - wings beating furiously[/caption] Honeybees are responsible for the pollination of approximately one-third of the world’s food crops including oilseed rape, mustard, cabbage, peppers, citrus fruits, coffee, sunflowers, avocados and raspberries. The rapid decline of these pollinators threatens agricultural productivity and ecosystem stability. Details of the most recent work on pesticides and honeybees : https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0960982226008195

Disney’s animated films went wandering in the woods almost 90 years ago and haven’t left them since. From Snow White’s flight through a haunted wood to escape the Evil Queen in 1937, to the journeys through the autumnal forests in Frozen II, woodlands have remained an essential tool in the studio’s storytelling toolbox. But why is the setting so enduring? One simple explanation is that woodlands provide industrious background artists with some ready-made beauty to draw from. In Bambi, watercolour and pastel backgrounds show the forest developing from verdant springtime to a snow-swaddled winter, while Robin Hood foregrounds Sherwood Forest’s pretty, dappled trails and moonlit streams. Though Walt Disney Pictures took the castle as its emblem, its artists have always seemed more taken with the natural world that lies outside of it. Disney’s storytellers have also recognised over the years that a natural kinship exists between people and the natural settings that surround them – even the spooky ones. From Bambi and The Fox and the Hound to Pocahontas and The Jungle Book, the protection of natural spaces from destructive man-made forces has been a consistent moral theme.  [caption id="attachment_27419" align="alignleft" width="300"] Mature oak in winter[/caption] But perhaps the best explanation for Disney’s interest in woodlands can be found in a 1958 documentary featurette, the rather plainly titled Four Artists Paint One Tree, in which four of the animation studio’s artists are tasked with painting an oak tree. Each takes his own view. To the first, the oak is a “marvellous piece of engineering”, and should be painted as if it were a skyscraper. The second invokes ancient druids who believed trees to be inhabited by spirits. The third takes to his task as if he were a portraitist, focusing on the gnarled face of the trunk. And the fourth homes in on the “explosive force” of the tree’s growth pattern. Beyond showing off the studio’s pool of artistic talent, the featurette reveals something about the imaginative potential provided by the natural world. Woodlands are not fixed or definite spaces. They shift and grow, crawl and scuttle. They look different in the gloom, or at dawn, or out of the corner of the eye, and appear differently to different people. The stories begin to write themselves.  In Britain, woodlands possess the special quality of being both endlessly mysterious and wonderfully familiar. When children have had a chance to explore woodlands for themselves, and time to wonder at what marvels they might contain, they are only too happy to be provided with fantastical answers like evil witches, magic grottos, and singing animals.  The best of these films will prompt children to return to the woods with renewed curiosity and attention. Though they won’t necessarily find any witches amongst the trees, they might chance across Sleeping Beauty’s owls, the woodland creatures of Bambi, or the great drifts of snow they saw in Frozen. And watching them make these discoveries gives adults the opportunity to recapture those feelings the woods once also inspired in them: the curious joy, the slight fear, and above all, the wonder.   

Changing tree lines. Research led by the University of Leeds provides a picture of how mountain tree lines are shifting upward in response to rising temperatures. The tree line is the upper ecological limit for tree growth. The study reveals that the world's tree lines are moving to higher altitudes as the planet warms. The research team used advanced satellite imagery to study a million kilometres of closed-loop treelines across the world. Closed-loop treelines are distinct rings around the upper slopes of mountains. Because these high-altitude zones are largely isolated from human land-use activities, they offer scientists an opportunity to measure the direct impacts of climate change on vegetation patterns without the interference of farming activities or other forms of development . The main findings of the study were: There was an upward shift of tree lines across the Earth.  Roughly 70% of the treelines surveyed moved upward. The most noticeable shifts occurred in tropical regions. This was particularly true in the mountains of Malawi, Papua New Guinea, and Indonesia.  There was considerable variation in the amount of movement of the tree lines.  Tropical treelines advanced more rapidly than those in temperate areas, where a retreat could sometimes be seen. In some areas, such as the western United States, wildfires have resulted in a retreat of the tree lines.  This retreat might be due to heat and drought, but also changing management practices. The upward migration of mountain tree lines poses challenges to high-altitude ecosystems that exist above the trees. While an expanding forest can increase carbon sequestration by removing more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, it can also trigger a series of unwanted consequences.  For example, As trees and wooded areas advance, they encroach upon unique ecosystems, such as alpine tundra and meadows. Consequently, alpine plants and animals that are adapted to cold and windy conditions are confined to ever smaller areas. Having reached the mountain peak, they have nowhere else to go and face the risk of localised extinction. The result of this tree line advance is to reduce biodiversity. Remote upland ecosystems are at risk. In the longer term, the trees may affect the hydrology of the area, changing the pattern of water runoff to areas below. The leads study highlights the vulnerability of remote upland ecosystems and the changing position of treelines across the world. Further information on this study here : https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/gcb.16885 Thanks to Angus for images