Around the western coast of Britain, there are some rare and beautiful woodlands sometimes referred to as "temperate rainforest” or “Atlantic woodlands’.  There are such woodlands in North Wales, rich in ancient oaks and birch. They are ancient woodlands.  Such woodlands have little value in terms of timber but contribute massively to biological diversity - the trees are covered with different moss, liverwort and lichen species, underneath there is a ‘carpet’ of bilberries and varied ferns.  These woods have developed as a result of the influence of the  Gulf Stream.    This keeps the area warm but also wet,  the incoming air is also ‘clean’, creating woodlands unlike others in Britain.  Such woods have a damp and humid feel  and this dampness encourages mosses, liverworts, lichens and fungi. They are to be found on the rough bark of oak, the smooth bark of hazel, and covering rocks.  When one plant grows on another, it is termed an epiphyte. The tree canopy helps to ‘lock in’ the moisture. These epiphytes are discussed in some detail by April Windle of the British Lichen Society in a recent WoodlandsTV film on Temperate Woodlands, which can be viewed below. [embed]https://youtu.be/lO1H_iFFZJY?si=k0-UPv0DIsMJpwRs[/embed] The damp and humid conditions are also helped by the streams and waterfalls in these woods, plus the abundance of the epiphytes ensures that there is constant evaporation. The difficult access and rugged terrain of some of these woodlands may have helped them remain unchanged for centuries, probably dating back to the last ice age. Temperate rainforest must once have covered the Atlantic fringe of Western Europe, ranging from North West Scotland all the way down to the Iberian Peninsula.  Temperate rainforest is biodiverse, home to species not found anywhere else in the world.  Bats find a home here, such as the greater and lesser horseshoe bats, where they feed upon the rich source of invertebrates that thrive in these woodlands. The challenge for an owner of such a woodland is how to protect and manage it. It is not just a case of leaving them alone.  Winter grazing controls the bramble and holly, this helps protect the mosses and lichens, ensuring natural regeneration can occur.  If bramble and other botanical thugs gain an upper hand, then the mosses etc will be shaded out.  Tree seedlings would also struggle to establish themselves.  The intensity / frequency of grazing is critical, Natural Resources Wales (NRW) suggests one sheep per hectare for the winter months.  Ponies can be used for such grazing but they need more management than sheep.  The range of Woodlands TV films can be seen on the Woodlands TV channel on You Tube : https://www.youtube.com/@WOODLANDSTV  

High up in the Chilterns stands Mistletoe Wood, a semi natural ancient woodland.  It is comprised of beech and oak with a smattering of other native species. My brother and I have been custodians of these four acres for nearly three years.  Today, it has a large open glade we use for social forestry.  It has a hard fought for bothy, which put the planners in a spin (they were eventually won over by our woodland management plan), a fire pit and benching.  The latter planked from the first tree we had to take down and various tree huggers, which hold tarp or shade sails depending on the English weather. We use this area to entertain, educate and encourage and it has been home to : forestry first aid,  a murder mystery and  our annual Wood Moot when local woodlanders come round, share lunch and talk all things woody, whilst trying to avoid the harvest mites.  The other three and half acres are largely left alone, we beat the bounds at least twice a week looking out for danger and excitement, a 200-year-old beech came down in Storm Henk which was a surprise. We have removed 20 trees from a massive old beech, that was toppling near the dell [where the children play], to some medium-size ash which had die back. We process and extract them using only hand tools and our trusty trolley “Dolly”.  The woodland is blessed with the most wonderful fungi including delicious trompe de mort and we do entertain foragers and learn from them. This summer we have had the first honey from our beehives.   In Mistletoe, it is more about what we don’t do than what we do!  

According to the United Nations, a forest is anywhere that is at least 20% trees.  As 21% of our capital city, London, lies under the canopy of trees - it is an urban forest*. It is estimated that there are some 8 million plus trees - nearly as many trees as people.  London is not alone, Johannesburg is a densely wooded city with some 6 million trees, planted throughout the streets and private properties. Tree Cities of the World is a programme that recognises cities and towns committed to ensuring that their urban forests and trees are properly maintained and  sustainably managed. Urban environments can create difficult conditions for tree growth and development. The trees may be exposed to pollutants, high temperatures (heat island effect), drought and/or flooding, and challenging conditions for growth. . Whilst trees may be planted, their subsequent care / nurturing may be limited due to insufficient resources (money / care etc).  There needs to be long term maintenance to sustain not just healthy trees but also to make sure that the trees do not damage pavements / roads etc (for example, through root penetration).   Trees for Streets is a new national tree sponsorship scheme that some councils have partnered with, which gives local residents the chance to have a tree near them or in a local park.   It is a project run by the charity Trees for Cities which aims to support local communities in revitalising forgotten spaces, planting trees and improving the local environment. [caption id="attachment_39418" align="aligncenter" width="675"] Greenery in SE London. View towards St.Helier's hospital.[/caption] In the past, London was a much smaller city surrounded by countryside and woodland, but there are still areas of ancient woodland within it.  Some of this woodland remains such as the Great North Wood in South London (hence Norwood and Forest Hill). Other place names - Wood Green, Forest Gate, Nine Elms and Burnt Oak bear witness to the wooded landscape that was once prevalent across London. In fact, some 8% of London’s area is still woodland, and some of it is even defined as ancient woodland (e.g. Epping Forest). [caption id="attachment_39421" align="aligncenter" width="675"] Dulwich Park[/caption] There are also the many parks of London - Hyde Park, Regent’s Park, Richmond Park, Dulwich Park etc.  Add to these the trees found in school fields, private gardens, squares (like Berkeley and Portman Squares), plus the trees that line so many streets (estimated at 900,000).  Trees (like sycamore and buddleia) have also colonised areas of the built environment,  like railway lines / cuttings.  The most common London trees are sycamore (7.8%), oaks (7.3%) and birch (6.2%). However, the urban forest has a wide spectrum of species that includes native species, such as  ash,  hawthorn,  hornbeam,  field maple and  holly,  but there is a wide variety of exotics and cultivars in parks, streets and private gardens.  In some parts of the capital, the London Plane is a noticeable presence, due to its resistance to pollution and tolerance of root compaction. It sheds 'large flakes' or sections of its bark exposing new material of a variety of colours (brown, grey, yellow), and is sometimes described as ‘self cleaning’.  The London Plane is thought to be a hybrid of the American sycamore and Oriental plane.  So the urban forest is quite diverse in terms of species when viewed across the capital, but there are parts of the city where species diversity is poor and the age profile of the trees is sometimes limited.  This homogeneity can favour pests and disease.  Diversity generally favours to resilience.  Currently, trees face diseases such as acute oak decline, Chalara ash dieback, horse chestnut leaf miner, Massaria disease of plane and oak processionary moth.   London’s urban forest faces an increasing human population and the challenges of climate change.  The latter may bring substantial warming and changing rainfall patterns. Wetter, milder winters and drier, hotter summers may be more common in the coming decades. Some trees will be better able to cope with these changing conditions.  Future planting will have to follow the maxim of “right tree, right place”. The value of London’s forest is difficult to quantify or to put a figure on. It is a major part of the ‘green infrastructure’ – that is the matrix of green spaces, parks, recreation grounds, lakes, canals, and rivers plus the street trees , green roofs and allotments that provides a range of economic, environmental, and social benefits. The importance of green, leafy spaces came to the fore during the early days of the Covid pandemic, helping with mental and physical wellbeing of Londoners.  [caption id="attachment_27166" align="alignleft" width="300"] Mature oak in park.[/caption] The components of the forest offer valuable habitats for wildlife and also provide biological corridors /  stepping stones that enable birds and various animals to move through the urban environment. The ancient woodlands and veteran trees offer a home to a variety of wildlife such as bats, stag beetles, orchids etc.  In recent heatwaves, people have appreciated that trees also provide shade and cooling in streets and parks. Another aspect of extreme weather is very heavy rainfall, trees and green areas can help reduce the risk of flooding, allowing more water to enter the soil rather than running off hard surfaces of tarmac and concrete.   Trees also help capture pollutants, improving local air quality by capturing fine particles from the air (much of this is through deposition on leaf surfaces).  One source suggest that trees remove some 2241 tonnes of pollutants each year.  Trees and shrubs seem particularly effective in removing ozone, and through its photosynthetic capacity the urban forest can take up carbon dioxide into organic form. The amount of carbon taken up by London’s urban forest each year has been estimated at 77,200 tonnes. To maintain and augment this urban forest, it is important  in the coming years that the threats of pests and diseases are fully assessed and controlled  The threats arising from climate change are recognised / mitigated Woodlands are properly managed (eg. coppicing); this may include the training of personnel. Create opportunities for planting of trees, hedgerows and woodland. [caption id="attachment_39422" align="aligncenter" width="675"] Tree nursery - 'ready for planting'.[/caption] * https://cdn.forestresearch.gov.uk/2022/04/21_0024_Leaflet-CC-factsheet-Urban-forests_wip06_Acc.pdf

Reports in the papers and electronic media have made us aware that many forms of wildlife are under threat.  This threat is wide ranging - from the destruction of tropical rain forests, coral reefs, the loss of species-rich meadows, the insect apocalypse - indeed where does this loss of plant and animal species end? One small positive observation amidst the doom and gloom is the findings of The Biodiversity in Urban Gardens project [BUGS] at the University of Sheffield.  The original study focused solely on Sheffield and finished in 2002, but  it was then extended to five cities across the U.K.    Professor K Gaston who led the study is now working at the University of Exeter.  The original study was important in that it revealed within Sheffield city, there was 33 km2 of wildlife habit was available within the city 360000 trees in the city limits 45000 nest boxes 25000 ponds and  50000 compost heaps Furthermore, there were in excess of a thousand plant species (flowering plants, ferns and conifers) and a diverse collection of invertebrates (bumblebees, hoverflies, beetles and spiders).  Whilst the diversity was in no way comparable to that of an ancient woodland (with veteran oak trees etc) or indeed of wetlands, it is significantly better than that found on farmland - particularly in those areas where the farming is intensive and characterised by monocultures (e.g. oil seed rape extending to the horizon).  Farmland now occupies some 70% of the landscape. Gardens, parks and urban areas are therefore an important resource for wildlife.  It is important as house building proceeds, on both brown and green field sites, that the associated gardens continue to provide ‘sanctuaries’ for wildlife, for example, by avoiding large areas of hard standing for cars (which also encourage  rain / water run off - which can overwhelm the drainage systems).  Professor Gaston has emphasised the importance of ‘dimensional complexity’ in gardens; that is a variety of trees, shrubs and plants of different shapes and sizes.  This provides a range of different niches / habitats for wildlife.  Of course,  in gardening to promote wildlife, there are the additional benefits (for householders) of physical and mental well-being.   Remember later this month, there is the Big Garden Birdwatch, organised by the RSPB. For further information, click on the image below:- [caption id="attachment_36525" align="aligncenter" width="670"] Ladybird 'stalking' aphids[/caption]

Checking through my emails, I came across a link sent by a friend to one of the winter talks in the program offered by the Botanical Society of Scotland - specifically “The Scottish Uplands: how to revive a degraded landscape” by Dr Helen Armstrong.  The talk was live-streamed but was also recorded and is available here.   Dr Armstrong spent 24 years at the Nature Conservancy Council, the Macaulay Land Use Research Institute, Scottish Natural Heritage and Forest Research carrying out research and advisory work. The following is an attempt to summarise some of the key features of her informative and enlightening talk. Read more...

My parents and I have recently purchased a piece of woodland of about 3 acres, in Devon, called Beauchamp woods. It is a mixture of semi-natural ancient woodland, larch plantation and a clear-felled area. This is the perfect mixture for us. We wanted to give something back to nature by preserving a small piece of habitat for wildlife, whilst enjoying spending time in our woods. We are loving it and find it very rewarding. I have some knowledge of woodland management and conservation through my education and work and it is great to have the opportunity to put this into practice. My main aim is to maximise biodiversity, I want it to be the best habitat for as many species as possible. Read more...

Peter Fiennes immersed himself in British woodlands for a year and he dug out every literary reference to woodlands that he could and visited dozens of woodlands to appreciate their magic.  The result is an erudite and inspiring tome that is also a cry for help to preserve any ancient woodland that we haven't already destroyed. "Sell everything! Protect the land!" exclaims Peter.  He outlines a five-page action plan to protect British Woodlands which he also describes as a statement of the "bleeding obvious", including creation of more woods and visiting the woods more often.  When he joins one of the Woodland Trust's campaigns to protect an ancient woodland near Sheffield from development he becomes apoplectic: "An ancient wood for a service station.  What sort of sick exchange is that?" Read more...

Visiting the Woodland Trust headquarters in Grantham, Lincolnshire, immediately gets you thinking of trees - it is surrounded by young silver birch trees and the walls are clad in wooden panels and even the reception desk is a sawlog that has been cut into planks for seasoning   The footprint of the building at Kempton Way is C-shaped, said to be in the shape of an unfurling fern enclosing a sheltered woodland garden.  Inside, about a hundred people, predominantly young, sit in open plan offices in front of their screens, avidly organising and tapping out the Woodland Trust message mostly fundraising or campaigning – the other staff are out in the field managing their estate of over 1000 woods or working with landowners. We met the chief executive, Beccy Speight, who has been at the helm for a year and is clearly immensely capable and knows woodlands inside-out - her previous job was managing a chunk of the National Trust Read more...