16th November 2023
The lead author of the study into the health (or rather threatened health) of our woodlands, published in ‘Forestry: An International Journal of Forest Research’, is Dr Eleanor Tew, head of forest planning at Forestry England and visiting researcher at the University of Cambridge. Whilst the threat of a collapse of our woodland ecosystems is possible, it is not inevitable. “We do have time to make a difference, and there is a lot we can do to make our forests more resilient,” said Tew, who described the paper as a “call for action”… The forestry industry has to plan in advance …. an average conifer in a plantation can take up to 60 years to reach maturity, and a broadleaf up to 150 years. “Forestry has always been about planning for the long-term, and we’re at a time of huge change,” said Tew. Solutions [could] include increasing the diversity of tree species within a wood, planting trees of different ages, promoting natural regeneration and managing deer populations.”(1)
The Forestry Journal published advice from ConFor the forestry’s industry wide body to improve tree planting:-
- a coordinated UK-wide approach to the 30,000-hectare target, currently not in place;
- planting targets to be clearly linked to delivering other policy objectives – mitigating climate change, supporting biodiversity and delivering rural jobs and growth;
- clear targets to use more home-grown wood – the UK is the second highest global net importer of wood after China, and using more wood will lock up more carbon (2)
Growing timber for domestic use – eg construction, furniture making etc seems logical. Maybe we can help by specifying such products if we are making such purchases.
The Green Tau 