Forest Research news highlights

 

2008

May

• New Chief Executive for Forest Research
  Dr James Pendlebury appointed Chief Executive of Forest Research

April

• East meets West in international forestry co-operation
  Members of the Russian Federal Forestry Agency visit Alice Holt Research Forest
• Headley chosen as site for new herbicide field trial
  Treating woody weeds with a range of herbicide mixes
• Health and well-being of forestry workers
  Working to develop guidelines, methods and tools to analyse the health and well-being of forest machine operators
• Keeping communication channels open
  Links to the Forestry Commission and private and public forestry and land-use stakeholders throughout Great Britain
• Mountain forestry meets social science
  More than production: forests, livelihoods and social significance for mountain people
• Natural regeneration workshop
  Considering techniques for encouraging natural regeneration in native pinewoods
• Norwegian colleagues share polymerase chain reaction (PCR) expertise
  Forest Research pathologist spends three weeks at the Norwegian Forest and Landscape Institute
• Restoring Britain’s peatlands
  Sharing details about the Forestry Commission’s work in developing techniques for restoring peatlands
• Scottish crossbill census
  Survey by Forest Research to determine the availability of the Scottish crossbill’s food, conifer seed in Scotland

February

• Adapting Scotland’s forests to a future climate
  The impacts of climate change on forestry in Scotland
• Biodiversity conservation at Alice Holt nurseries
  Working to conserve Torreya taxifolia, the stinking cedar
• Native Woodland Survey of Scotland
  Working to build an invaluable database of information about Scotland’s native woodlands
• Oak Pinhole Borer – from rarity to pest
  Tackling this new pest
• Pine Wilt Disease – new model helps analyse risk in Europe
  Predicting pine mortality
• Restoration of floodplain woodland for flood alleviation
  Development of a sustainable, catchment-based approach to flood protection
• Seminars show off acoustic tools for timber testing
  Using acoustic techniques to allow non-destructive assessment before a tree is felled

2007

November

• Cost-effective soil metal analysis
  Using hand-held field-portable X-ray fluorescence (FPXRF) instruments
• Cydcoed evaluation project
  Helping community groups influence the decisions made about their local area
• Fire suppression seminars
  Forest Research present at Institution of Fire Engineers (IFE) seminars
• Great expectations - the reality of research in a different culture
  Demonstrating the difficulties when carrying out research projects across cultures
• How do trees behave and change underground?
  Forest Research present research findings at the 4th International Symposium on Physiological Processes in Roots of Woody Plants
• Research trip to Liaoning Province
  Helping Chinese researchers develop alternatives to clearfell management systems for upland conifers
• Soil experts group
  SEESOIL group meeting at Alice Holt to discuss forest soils and the current soil research carried out at Forest Research
• UK forest monitoring system
  Managing a unique intensive forest monitoring network around Britain

July

• Offenders and Nature - power of nature gives offenders a helping hand
  Howard League Award for unique partnership project
• High-flying lasers reveal forests' ancient secrets
  'Light detection and ranging' surveys of the Forest of Dean and Savernake Forest

March

• Award-winning scientist
  Kevin Watts wins the Royal Forestry Society’s (RFS) 2006 James Cup for the best article published in its Quarterly Journal of Forestry
• New social forestry reports
  Recapping a number of new social forestry reports published recently

January

• Research funding coup for floodplain project
  £224,000 study into the ability of floodplain woodland to contribute to flood alleviation

2006

December

• Pests and diseases during 2006
  Several pest and disease problems that have been building up over the past few years have recently come to the public and media’s attention

November

• Progress at Jeskyns
  Creating a 146 ha (360-acre) community greenspace near Gravesend in Kent

October

• Horse Chestnuts under attack
  Advice on Horse Chestnut Leaf Miner (Cameraria ohridella) and Horse Chestnut Bleeding Canker

April

• Biomass Energy Centre launched
  A 'one stop shop’ able to provide advice and guidance