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Research Note
  • Publication

    Niches for species: a multi-species model to guide woodland management

    Lead Author: Alice Broome

    To protect biodiversity in the face of environmental change, there is a need to designate and manage areas of habitat for rare and threatened species. However, to identify the right areas usually requires detailed data on species distributions. Reliable data for rare and protected species are sparse as many species...

  • Publication

    Outdoor learning: closing the attainment gap in primary schoolchildren in Scotland

    Lead Author: Jamie Hamilton

    This Research Note compares the performances of 71 primary schoolchildren carrying out curricular tasks in outdoor and indoor classroom settings. By observing, recording and analysing how the children performed in group activities taken from the Scottish curriculum, an evaluation could be made of the relative merits of indoor and outdoor...

  • Publication

    Encouraging biodiversity at multiple scales in support of resilient woodlands

    Lead Author: Chloe Bellamy

    Woodland ecosystems are integral to our health, well-being, security and economy, but they face a number of pressures including climate change, land-use intensification, and emerging pests and diseases. This Research Note explores the links between biodiversity, measured at different levels of organisation (genes, species and communities), and the ability of...

  • Publication

    Using DNA barcoding and metabarcoding to detect species and improve forest biodiversity monitoring

    Lead Author: Nadia Barsoum

    Growing threats to biodiversity from pressure of land use, climate change, and invasive pests and diseases highlight the importance of obtaining accurate baseline measurements of current forest biodiversity, as well as improved monitoring to detect early signals of change. Developments in molecular techniques have advanced to the stage that there...

  • Publication

    Assessing the investment returns from timber and carbon in woodland creation projects

    Lead Author: Richard Haw

    Financial returns from woodland creation have traditionally been generated from sales of timber. In recent years, the voluntary carbon market has established and grown in the UK and landowners can now generate additional revenue from the sale of carbon. The sale of carbon ‘credits’ allows landowners to increase their financial...

  • Publication

    Choice of silver birch planting stock for productive woodlands

    Lead Author: Steve Lee

    Silver birch is second only to oak in terms of total broadleaved woodland area in Britain. In the last two decades there has been an increase in the planting of birch woodlands both for timber production and the creation of native woodlands. The GB map of Native Seed Zones and...

  • Publication

    Ecological impacts of ash dieback and mitigation methods

    Lead Author: Alice Broome

    Ash is a widespread species which makes a substantial contribution to many landscapes. Ash trees are affected by ash dieback, a disease caused by a fungus. It is clear from the European experience of the disease that a significant number of ash trees could be lost from woodlands in the...

  • Publication

    Implications of lowland broadleaved woodland management for the conservation of target bird species

    Lead Author: Alice Broome

    This research consisted of a literature review and field study which investigated woodland management for birds within lowland broadleaved woodlands in Britain. The research considered the effect of woodland management (silvicultural intervention and control of deer browsing) on vegetation structure, and the relationships between vegetation structure and woodland birds. Based...

  • Publication

    Valuing the social and environmental contribution of woodlands and trees in England, Scotland and Wales

    Lead Author: Pat Snowdon

    This Research Note is based on a review by the University of Exeter that evaluated existing knowledge on valuing the social and environmental contributions of British trees and woodlands. It starts by bringing together different (but related) economic terms and concepts in a single framework for understanding how trees and...

  • Publication

    Timber properties of noble fir, Norway spruce, western red cedar and western hemlock grown in Great Britain

    Lead Author: David Gil-Moreno

    The softwood processing sector in Great Britain has been built around the use of a very small number of timber-producing species – predominantly Sitka spruce. The recent increase in outbreaks of host-specific tree pests and diseases has led to an interest in diversification, through planting a wider range of tree...

  • Publication

    The implications of upland conifer management for breeding birds

    Lead Author: John Calladine

    Stand structure is an important determinant of habitat quality for forest biodiversity and is influenced by management. In conifer plantations, the varied structure created within a stand by continuous cover forestry (CCF) systems has been expected to be better for woodland birds than the range of discrete stand structures created...

  • Publication

    Converting planted non-native conifer to native woodlands: a review of the benefits, drawbacks and experience in Britain

    Lead Author: Nadia Barsoum

    Planted forests of non-native conifers make up around 36% of Britain’s total wooded area. Increasing the area of native woodlands – including converting non-native conifer to native woodland where appropriate – is an aim of the UK Forestry Standard Guidelines on Biodiversity. It is unclear how much conversion is being...