Woodland Creation Research Articles

Impacts of forest extent, configuration and landscape context on presence of declining breeding Eurasian curlew Numenius arquata and implications for planning new woodland

In response to the combined impacts of the climate and biodiversity crises, as well as for timber security and increased recreational access to green spaces, there is a global drive to increase tree cover. In the UK, an estimated 1.5 million ha of afforestation are required to meet its carbon net-zero emissions targets (Committee on Climate Change, 2018). Despite the potential benefits, careful consideration must be given to the impacts of woodland creation on species adapted to open habitats. To investigate potential risks and mitigation for the IUCN Near Threatened Eurasian curlew Numenius arquata, a national spatially extensive field-scale dataset was used to investigate the relationships between curlew presence during the breeding season and a range of forest and landscape variables at two different spatial scales (0.5 km and 1 km). Variables included forest extent and configuration, and interaction between forests and extent of semi-natural open habitats, moorland management and topography. At both spatial scales, a negative relationship existed between extent of forest and the probability of curlew presence, and at 1 km, between probability of presence and the number of forest patches. However, these negative patterns depended on landscape context and were reduced where there was a greater quantity of semi-natural open habitat, such as moorland or rough grassland, and moorland management present. Overall, the findings emphasise the need to consider the impacts of woodland creation projects on species adapted to open habitats. However, the results suggest that these impacts can be influenced by landscape. These results could help inform decisions regarding the appropriateness of woodland creation in different landscapes and possible mitigation measures that could be applied against the risks created by afforestation.

Using the Ecosystem Services assessment tool TESSA to balance the multiple landscape demands of increasing woodlands in a UK national park

Upland regions in the UK are increasingly under consideration as potential areas for the creation of woodlands. This is driven by a combination of factors, including the aims of UK forestry policy to increase woodland cover, changes in current upland land-use and management, agri-environment schemes in national and international policy and an increasing public awareness of the ecosystem service benefits landscapes can deliver for society. Creating new woodlands in upland areas is challenging, partly due to concerns of potential impacts from a change in land use and stakeholder interests. This study considers a 250 km2 Cumbrian (England) upland landscape dominated by sheep grazing and, using an established ecosystem service assessment tool (TESSA), estimates the provision of ecosystem services under plausible alternative woodland creation scenarios. The assessment focuses on key ecosystem goods and services, which are identified by stakeholders to be of high importance to the study area, and the potential changes to those under the scenarios. The results indicate that, under lower woodland percentage scenarios (10 %), minor benefits are expected. However, a more complex outcome would be expected from the higher percentage woodland scenarios (75 %) with the woodland cover of 50 % identified as providing the highest overall benefit to society.

Larger and structurally complex woodland creation sites provide greater benefits for woodland plants

Abstract Reforestation initiatives are underway across the world. However, we know relatively little about the ecological consequences of creating and restoring forest ecosystems, and there is a lack of studies examining the drivers of species colonisation and establishment across appropriate temporal and spatial scales to inform conservation practice. Using data from a long‐term natural experiment (the WrEN project), we explore ground plant species occurrence and community composition in 102 woodland creation sites (10–160 years since planting), and 27 old growth woodlands (>250 years). We conducted field surveys to collect data on occurrence of plant species (classified into woodland specialist, woodland generalist, or non‐woodland) and used Structural Equation Modelling to investigate the influence of local (age, size, woodland structure) and landscape‐level (amount of surrounding woodland) attributes on species richness. Woodland generalists are readily colonising woodland creation sites to similar levels found in old growth woodlands. However, there were fewer woodland specialist and more non‐woodland plants in creation sites than in old growth. Specialists and generalists were more likely to be present in larger woodlands and those with higher variation in tree size (which was higher in older woodlands) and did not appear to be influenced by features of the surrounding landscape. Some plant communities in older creation sites (80–160 years) were similar to old growth, suggesting colonisation of a typical old growth flora over time; however, some sites were shifting away from this trajectory. Specialists are slow to colonise woodland creation sites and their occurrence was low relative to old growth woodlands even after >80 years. However, woodland management to increase structural complexity may enhance the establishment of woodland plants. The lack of influence of the surrounding landscape on species occurrence is likely due to most of the study sites being relatively isolated resulting in limited colonisation. This suggests that new woodlands need to be adjacent or very near to existing woodland to receive the benefits of increased colonisation. Our results highlight the importance of creating large and structurally complex woodlands, close to existing woodlands to facilitate the colonisation and establishment of woodland plants.

Development of a Tool for Navigating the Evidence concerning Land Managers and Woodland Creation in the United Kingdom

Woodland creation has become an important objective for a variety of stakeholders to help tackle the climate and biodiversity crises. One of the key evidence needs is a better understanding of the multiple factors influencing the willingness and ability of landowners and managers to establish new woodlands. To address this gap, a systematic map of evidence was prepared comprising publications from academic journals and grey literature accessed through bibliographic databases (Web of Science, Scopus, and CAB Abstracts), libraries, direct requests to relevant organisations and individuals, and citation tracking from past reviews. A screening process refined the evidence base to 226 studies within the UK. The systematic evidence map codes the content of each study against a comprehensive list comprising actors, drivers of or barriers to woodland creation, and outcomes. These are presented as a freely accessible, interactive online dashboard detailing sources of evidence. The systematic evidence map helps users navigate the evidence, demonstrating where the bulk of the evidence lies and, conversely, several evidence gaps where there is comparatively little evidence. The findings serve as a basis for dialogue with stakeholders to determine priorities for future primary research.

The factors determining uptake of energy crop cultivation and woodland creation in England: Insights from farmers and landowners

Perennial energy crops (PECs) and trees have key roles to play in delivering the negative emissions needed for the UK to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050. Significant changes to land use are needed and the decision to make changes will lie with individual landowners. Using in-depth, semi-structured interviews, this research explores the attitudes of farmers and landowners in England to replacing traditional arable and livestock farming with growing annual or perennial energy crops or planting trees. It was concluded that considerable government policy intervention will be needed to overcome the many economic and social barriers in place including lack of markets and attractive contracts for growers, high establishment costs, loss of annual income, high prices available for cereal crops and the cultural division between farming and forestry. Although energy crops and woodland creation are generally researched and regulated separately, this research suggests that annual energy crops, PECs and woodland creation form a spectrum of land use options for a landowner, with the propensity to adopt these crops being determined predominantly by crop attributes including the risk of planting and the term of commitment.

Natural seeding as an alternative to planting in black spruce-lichen woodlands

Regeneration failures in the closed-crown boreal forest, which lead to the creation of open lichen woodlands, are expected to increase with climate change due to a rise in burn rates. Past studies have shown that it was possible to restore the productivity of those stands through planting. Since most lichen woodland stands are remotely located, afforestation through planting can be prohibitive. Therefore, the objective of this research was to measure the afforestation efficiency of lichen woodlands through scarification and natural seeding after clear-cutting. Our results showed that clear-cutting, when combined with scarification, promoted seedling establishment more strongly than clear-cutting alone. Scarification was also necessary for creating suitable microsites for germination, which were essentially bare mineral soil and decomposed organic matter. Last, seedling growth was higher in lichen woodlands when logging and scarification were combined, but lower than their counterpart feather moss stands. We conclude that afforestation of lichen woodlands in the closed-crown boreal forest is possible through natural seeding following scarification and could be a cost-effective option compared to planting.

Spatial targeting of woodland creation can reduce the colonisation credit of woodland plants

Abstract Colonisation credit refers to the temporal lag between positive conservation actions and species' responses and may be one of the reasons we fail to meet short‐term conservation targets. This is particularly evident in woodlands which take decades to develop and harbour slow colonising species. Given global objectives to increase woodland cover, it is important to know the timeframe within which colonisation credit will be fulfilled. The colonisation of woodland plants was examined in recent woodlands, created between 15 and 80 years ago, and located adjacent or isolated from existing ancient woodlands. Colonisation credit was calculated as the proportion of understory woodland plant species in the nearest ancient woodland which had not colonised recent woodlands. Looking at individual species traits also allowed us to tease apart their impact on the species colonisation and establishment ability. Spatial adjacency between created and ancient woodland reduced colonisation credit by an average of 28%, and more mature created woodlands (50–80 years old) had fulfilled 24% more of their colonisation credit on average than younger created woodlands (15–21 years old). However, mature woodlands created adjacent to ancient woodlands had still only been colonised by an average of 72% of the available species pool. Plants which had reached adjacent created woodlands were dispersed by a range of mechanisms, where those that had reached more isolated sites were largely dispersed by birds or mammals. Low community weighted mean shade tolerance, high community weighted nutrient affiliation, and the dominance of Hedera helix suggest that competition from dominant natives may be preventing certain species establishing in new woodlands. This research demonstrates the need to account for appropriate time‐lags when setting biodiversity targets, with most sites still displaying colonisation credit decades after they were created. The results also indicate that spatially targeting woodland creation adjacent to species‐rich mature woodlands should be prioritised. Still, poor local habitat conditions may lead to the dominance of specific competitors which prevent a range of other species from establishing. Local management interventions such as translocations and tree thinning may ameliorate this but further research is needed.

The Forest of Biologists - for biologists, for biology.

The Forest of Biologists - for biologists, for biology.

The Forest of Biologists - for biologists, for biology.

The Forest of Biologists - for biologists, for biology.

The Forest of Biologists – for biologists, for biology

The Forest of Biologists – for biologists, for biology

New woodlands created adjacent to existing woodlands grow faster, taller and have higher structural diversity than isolated counterparts

Creating native woodland is a policy goal globally, and one strategy to maximize woodland creation benefits in limited space is to target efforts to extend existing woodlands. There is evidence to support spatially targeting habitat creation for biodiversity, however, there is little evidence of how this affects a habitat's structural development. Here, a space‐for‐time study using light detection and ranging (LiDAR) data assesses how the structure of recently created woodlands, are affected by the presence of an adjacent older woodland. Recently created native woodlands were identified across the Isle of Wight UK using historical maps and satellite imagery. Canopy height and foliage height diversity were derived for all woodlands from LiDAR data collected at two different time points (2011 and 2021), and linear models were used to test for any differences in these structural metrics between sites with an adjacent older woodland, and those without. The percentage change in woodland height between the two time points was also tested. In woodlands created adjacent to older woodlands, canopy height was found to be higher by an average of nearly 2 m, and foliage height diversity was found to be on average 4.7% higher, using the 2021 data. Growth rates between 2011 and 2021 were not significantly different between the groups, although young adjacent woodlands grew the most on average. This research shows that creating woodlands adjacent to existing older woodlands reduces the time taken to create tall and to a lesser extent structurally diverse habitat, which may lead to early biodiversity benefits.

Glocal woodlands – The rescaling of forest governance in Scotland

As a response to global crises of climate change and biodiversity loss, the UN has called for restoring a billion hectares of land. In recognition, both governments and the private sector have pledged to restore landscapes through planting millions of hectares of forests. Private sector investment is to play a critical role in meeting these goals, through instruments such as biodiversity offsetting, philanthropy, voluntary carbon markets, sustainability funds, and climate bonds. Such instruments allow for the value of place-based ecosystems, such as standing forests, to be circulated globally. No longer are forests horizontal (in terms of their extent on a map); they are also vertical, in terms of their entanglements with institutions, and actors, operating at various scales. An overarching emphasis on the private sector however obscures the role of state institutions in engaging these multi-scalar institutions and actors. Bringing the dimension of scale to tree planting, we examine the ways in which woodland creation, a ‘national’ policy priority for the Scottish government, brings together actors, both ‘local’ and ‘global’, in an unequal context. Our analysis uncovers that in retreating from directly creating and managing woodlands to playing a supportive regulatory role, Scottish Government’s forest policies increasingly rescale forest and landscape governance to private and non-profit sectors, and to individual landowners and communities. These actors, who are differently endowed in terms of resources, participate in forestry developments on an uneven playing field. Moreover, questions around power and distribution of benefits arise as woodland expansion increasingly becomes part of green investment portfolios, environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) commitments, offsetting, and individual philanthropy. A relational view of scale that examines prevailing relations of power and resources in given socio-political contexts can both animate and inform current discourses and policies on tree planting for climate change mitigation.

Co-benefits from tree planting in a typical English agricultural landscape: Comparing the relative effectiveness of hedgerows, agroforestry and woodland creation for improving crop pollination services

Land use policy in England is encouraging tree planting on farms to meet decarbonisation targets. This could be delivered through woodland creation, hedgerow planting or agroforestry. All three approaches could provide co-benefits for wild bee populations and crop pollination services, by increasing nesting and floral resources, but their relative effectiveness has not been studied at a landscape scale. We simulated six tree planting scenarios and used a validated process-based model to predict their effect on bumblebee abundance and pollination service to two common mass-flowering crops (oilseed rape and field beans) in a representative 10x10km agricultural landscape in England, UK. Two levels of planting intensity were studied: one representing the tree cover that would be achieved by 2035 if the 2020 woodland creation rate continues and another reflecting UK Government ambitions (threefold increase in planting rate). Hedgerow planting and woodland were predicted to give the biggest increase bumblebee abundance. Silvoarable agroforestry using fruit trees or willow was predicted, on average, to give the biggest increase in crop pollination service. However, the magnitude of increase was highly variable and hedgerow creation (which is more dispersed across the landscape) provided a more consistent increase in crop pollination services. Agroforestry with poplar (which offers less floral resource) and woodland creation (which concentrates tree planting in fewer locations) were only effective at enhancing landscape-level crop pollination at high planting intensity. Future land management policy should promote fruit tree and willow-based agroforestry as multifunctional tree planting measures in arable contexts, whilst continuing to encourage hedgerow planting and woodland creation for their role in promoting abundance and diversity of pollinators. Hedgerow planting may be needed alongside agroforestry to help stabilise pollination service through a crop rotation cycle.

Right connection, right insight engaging private estate managers on woodland expansion issues in times of uncertainty

Woodland expansion and related targets are central to the Scottish Forestry Strategy (2019–2029). However, planting rates over the last decade have mostly fallen short of targets and, with the majority of Scottish land in private ownership, estates could play an influential role in achieving these targets. The current political (e.g. Brexit) and ecological (e.g. climate and biodiversity emergencies) uncertainty impacting the UK presents both opportunities and potential threats to the forestry sector and environmental policies. This research used walking interviews with estate managers to gain insights into perceptions of forestry and woodland culture on private sporting estates. Co-planning of new planting areas involved discussions with a mixture of estate owners, factors and land managers from neighbouring estates, along with the researcher. The co-planning process provided scope to navigate the uncertainty between estate priorities, woodland expansion targets and wider management issues by exploring the local culture and land capability from the perspective of individual land managers. A range of constraints and opportunities were identified including the influence of deeply embedded perceptions of past and current woodland creation schemes that continue to impact the estates, market instability, and the desire to design and create beneficial integrated deer and amenity areas. These are counterbalanced with a clear passion for trees among some managers, but a relatively low interest in extensive woodland management, which was underpinned by a widespread lack of in-house forestry knowledge. The woodland planning exercise resulted in managers identifying explicit areas for potential woodland expansion on every estate, favouring mixed native woodlands with limited productive objectives. Woodfuel production was viewed as an output from early woodland thinnings with the potential to increase short-term profitability and offset management costs. This paper highlights that strengthening personal connections between land managers and woodland management, through knowledge building and contact with up-to-date forestry knowledge from a trusted provider, could further opportunities for expanding and enhancing woodland culture, and become a more significant part of the rationale that drives decision-making. Facilitating local knowledge of the estate and local community involvement in woodland design and planning, even on a small-scale, offers potential to support the expansion and integration of woodland on some private estates that have lost or reduced woodland culture.

Moth community responses to woodland creation: The influence of woodland age, patch characteristics and landscape attributes

AbstractAimLarge‐scale habitat creation is crucial to mitigate the current ecological crisis, but scientific evidence on its effects on biodiversity is scarce. Here, we assess how assemblages of a biodiverse group (moths) develop over time in habitat creation sites. We use temperate woodlands as a case study, and compare species assemblages in restored and mature habitat patches. We also identify local‐ and landscape‐level attributes associated with high species richness and abundance.LocationCentral Scotland, United Kingdom.MethodsWe surveyed moths in a chronosequence of 79 temperate woodland patches encompassing woodland creation sites (20–160 years old) and mature “ancient” woodlands (250+ years old). We used structural equation models, generalized linear models and ordination techniques to quantify moth community responses to woodland creation, and degree of similarity to moth assemblages in ancient woodlands.ResultsWoodland creation sites harboured large numbers of moth species (212), were dominated by woodland generalists and had high species turnover. Moth abundance and diversity increased with woodland connectivity. Macromoths were more abundant and diverse in younger woodlands; micromoth specialists occurred more frequently in older woodland creation sites. Ancient woodlands had similar moth abundance/richness than woodland creation sites (except for fewer macromoth woodland specialist species), but their species composition was somewhat different. Patterns of beta diversity (low nestedness) indicated that moth species in woodland creation sites are not simply subsets of species in ancient woodlands.Main conclusionsTo benefit moth communities, woodland creation sites should be structurally diverse and in close proximity to other woodlands. At the landscape scale, a mosaic of woodland patches of different ages is likely to increase moth beta (and consequently gamma) diversity. Ancient woodlands and woodland creation sites each host substantial proportions of “unique” species; individual woodland patches contain distinctive moth assemblages and should be protected and valued for their contribution to regional moth diversity.

Overland flow velocity and soil properties in established semi‐natural woodland and wood pasture in an upland catchment

AbstractManagement of upland land‐use has considerable potential for mitigating flood risk by increasing topsoil storage and slowing overland flow. Recent work has highlighted the potential for vegetation to impact the velocity of saturation‐excess overland flow. Woodland creation is widely proposed for Natural Flood Management (NFM), but data on saturation‐excess overland flow in woodland habitats is lacking. Here we measure soil properties and overland flow velocities in established broadleaf woodland and wood pasture with an understorey dominated by either grass or bracken. We show that wood pasture dominated by bracken has overland flow velocity 12–20% lower than established broadleaf woodland and 19–27% lower than grass‐dominated wood pasture. Established woodland soils exhibited eight times higher saturated hydraulic conductivity than bracken‐dominated wood pasture and 80 times higher than grass‐dominated wood pasture. We conclude that upland habitats can be managed to reduce flood risk, first by storing storm water in the soil and then by reducing overland flow velocity through rough surface vegetation. These factors combine to reduce floods by delaying the onset of overland flow runoff and slowing its delivery to streams. It is clear than Manning's n is far from constant in these shallow overland flows, the development of overland flow datasets is, therefore, also beneficial for improving the theory and practice of hillslope rainfall‐runoff modelling.

The Factors Determining UK Uptake of Energy Crop Cultivation and Woodland Creation: Insights from Farmers and Landowners

The Factors Determining UK Uptake of Energy Crop Cultivation and Woodland Creation: Insights from Farmers and Landowners

Why understanding stakeholder perspectives and emotions is important in upland woodland creation – A case study from Cumbria, UK

Upland regions in the United Kingdom (UK) are increasingly under consideration as potential areas for the creation of woodlands. This is driven by a combination of factors, including the aims of UK forestry and environmental policy to increase woodland cover, meeting international greenhouse gas emission reduction targets, agro-environment schemes in national and international policy, and an increasing public awareness of the ecosystem service benefits landscapes can deliver for society. Creating new woodlands in upland areas is challenging, partly due to concerns of the potential impacts from a change in land use and due to stakeholder perspectives. In the UK, the upland landscape is in multiple ownership and currently managed by multiple land managers and stakeholders with contrasting aims and objectives. This research adds a much-needed qualitative element to the overall understanding of this complex topic, by carrying out a Q-methodology investigation of stakeholder perspectives of upland woodland creation. Three characteristic groups of stakeholders are identified as 1. ‘Not enough is done to protect the environment’, 2. ‘Changing the landscape is changing us’ and 3. ‘let’s not let our emotions get in the – seeing the bigger picture’. The clear potential for antagonism, and even conflict, in ideologies and approaches between these groups highlights the importance of engaging with stakeholders and employing approaches rooted in mutual understanding, participation and collaboration. Stakeholder perspectives are a powerful influence on if, and how, woodlands are created and maintained, thus understanding emotions and attitudes is a vitally important part of the challenge of creating new woodlands in the uplands of Cumbria.

Woodland, cropland and hedgerows promote pollinator abundance in intensive grassland landscapes, with saturating benefits of flower cover

Abstract Pollinating insects provide economic value by improving crop yield. They are also functionally and culturally important across ecosystems outside of cropland. To understand landscape‐level drivers of pollinator declines, and guide policy and intervention to reverse declines, studies must cover (a) multiple insect and plant taxa and (b) a range of agricultural and semi‐natural land uses. Furthermore, in an era of woodland restoration initiatives and rewilding ideologies, the contribution of woodland and woody linear features (WLFs; e.g. hedgerows) to pollinator abundance demands further investigation. We demonstrate fine‐scale analysis of high‐quality, co‐located measurements from a national environmental survey. We relate pollinator transect counts to ground‐truth habitat and WLF maps across 300 1 km squares in Wales, UK. We look at effects of habitat type, flower cover, WLF density and habitat diversity on summer abundance (July and August) of eight insect groups, representing three insect orders (Lepidoptera, Hymenoptera and Diptera). Compared with improved grassland (the dominant habitat in Wales), pollinator abundance is consistently higher in cropland and woodland—especially broadleaved woodland. For mining bees and two hoverfly groups, abundance is predicted to be at least 1.5× higher in woodland ecosystems than elsewhere. Furthermore, we estimate contributions of WLFs to abundance in agriculturally improved habitats to be up to 14% for honeybees and up to 21% for hoverflies. The abundance of all insect groups increases with flower cover, which is a key mechanism through which woodland, cropland and grassland support pollinators. Importantly, we observe diminishing returns of increasing flower cover for abundance of non‐Apis pollinator groups, expecting roughly twice the increase in abundance per % flower cover from 0% to 5%, as compared with 10% to 15%. However, the shape of the relationship was inverted for honeybees, which showed steeper increases in abundance at higher flower cover. Synthesis and applications. We provide a holistic view of the drivers of pollinator abundance in Wales, in which flower cover, woodland, hedgerows and cropland are critical. We propose a key role for woodland creation, hedge‐laying and farmland heterogeneity within future land management incentive schemes. Finally, we suggest targeting of interventions to maximise benefits for non‐Apis pollinators. Specifically, increasing floral provision in areas where existing flower cover is low—for example, in flower‐poor improved grasslands—could effectively increase pollinator abundance and diversity while prioritising wild over managed species.

Nature‐based Solutions to tackle climate change and restore biodiversity

Nature‐based Solutions to tackle climate change and restore biodiversity