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Revised valuation of flood regulation services of existing forest cover to inform natural capital accounts.

The ability of trees, woodlands and forests to reduce downstream flooding is increasingly recognised and valued by society, driving a demand for assessments of this important ecosystem service. This study updates a previous evaluation (Broadmeadow et al., 2018) with improved estimates for the volume of flood water potentially removed by woodland or retained by its […]

Acetamiprid used to prevent Hylobius abietis damaging young trees poses a very low risk of causing water contamination provided good forestry practices are followed

A study of chemical runoff following the use of acetamiprid as a pre-treatment and top-up spray to prevent damage from the large pine weevil (Hylobius abietis L.) to young trees was undertaken at a restock site in mid-Wales. The site was specifically selected to pose a high risk of chemical runoff, being a high elevation, […]

Community Tree Nurseries

Evidencing the potential for community tree nurseries to contribute to satisfying current British demand for quality, diverse, biosecure tree stock.

An analysis of conifer experiments in Britain to identify productive alternatives to Sitka spruce

An analysis of relevant species trials was carried out to assess the productivity of potential alternative conifer species to Sitka spruce on upland site types in Britain. Data from 87 forest experiments planted between 1929 and 1995 were analysed to compare long-term performance of 52 species with that of Sitka spruce under the same conditions and site type.

Intimate mixtures of Scots pine and Sitka spruce do not increase resilience to spring drought

Understanding how we can increase the resilience of forest systems to future extreme drought events is increasingly important as these events become more frequent and intense. Diversifying production forests using intimate mixtures of trees with complementary functional traits is considered as one promising silvicultural approach that may increase drought resilience. However, the direction and magnitude […]

How resilient are planted UK forests to drought? A summary of recent research on Sitka spruce and Scots pine.

As our climate warms, the pressures on global forest ecosystems from extreme climate events are expected to increase across much of the world (Anderegg et al., 2020; Brodribb et al., 2020). Of particular concern is the increasing threat to tree health and productivity posed by drought. Despite a predominantly cool maritime climate, forest ecosystems in […]

The potential of the selective graminicides cycloxydim and propyzamide as habitat improvement tools for the pearl-bordered fritillary butterfly

The pearl-bordered fritillary (Boloria euphrosyne) is a resident UK butterfly which is in decline, partly because grasses can outcompete its preferred food plant, common dog-violet (Viola riviniana). We therefore investigated whether using graminicides could help to enhance the habitat quality of a violet-rich butterfly ride. Applications of 1.5 kg a.i. ha-1 propyzamide or 0.45 kg a.i. ha-1 cycloxydim both reduced grass cover and were associated with an increase in violet plants. Our work suggests that enhancing pearl-bordered fritillary habitat may not always be possible through herbicide use alone, but cycloxydim may have a useful role in helping to reduce competition from grasses.

New evidence to inform woodland creation for climate change mitigation

A project was commissioned to estimate and compare the potential for carbon sequestration (net CO2 uptake) and GHG emissions mitigation that could be realised by creating different types of woodlands. The analysis assesses the influence of different tree species, site and management factors, including the eventual use of harvested wood, on...

Adapting forest and woodland management to the changing climate

Our climate is changing rapidly, with milder, wetter winters, warmer summers, longer growing seasons and more frequent extreme conditions, including drought periods and heavy rainfall events. The projected rate of climate change is unprecedented and therefore action is essential now to improve the resilience of forests and woodlands, and to protect the benefits that they […]

Threshold Response to Extreme Drought Shifts Inter-Tree Growth Dominance in Pinus sylvestris

Many studies quantify short-term drought impact on tree growth relative to pre-drought growth averages. However, fewer studies examine the extent to which droughts of differing severity differentially impact tree growth or shape stand dynamics. Focusing on three droughts in high and low density stands of Pinus sylvestris in Scotland, we calculated pre-drought growth averages using […]

Life after recovery: Increased resolution of forest resilience assessment sheds new light on post-drought compensatory growth and recovery dynamics

Understanding the impacts of extreme drought on forest productivity requires a comprehensive assessment of tree and forest resilience. However, current approaches to quantifying resilience limit our understanding of forest response dynamics, recovery trajectories and drought legacies by constraining the temporal scale and resolution of assessment. We compared individual tree growth histories with growth forecasted using […]

Comparison of the carbon, water, and energy balances of mature stand and clear-fell stages in a British Sitka spruce forest and the impact of the 2018 drought

Sitka spruce is the major conifer species in British upland forests and is predominantly managed as even-aged, single-species plantations with rotation lengths of less than 50 years using a “patch clear-felling” system. Evidence on the impact of clear-felling on the carbon, water and energy balances of plantation forestry is sparse and extreme weather events, such […]