For International Day of Forests 2024 we look to the Heart of England Forest, a major tree planting project helping increase #UK canopy coverage, which is now just 13%.
In contrast, #EU countries have an average 38% tree coverage. This fact alone should serve as an alarm call for widespread action to integrate more trees and woodlands into the UK’s landscapes.
In line with this year’s theme of Forests and Innovation: New Solutions for a Better World, the focus should not just be on the protection of ancient woodlands, but also on investment in pioneering reforestation initiatives. Covering over 7,000 acres in #Warwickshire and #Worcestershire, The Heart of England Forest is dedicated to largescale tree planting and management to reverse woodland decline, support natures recovery, and #mitigate the #climateemergency. The charity has so far planted over two million trees. Here are our three recommendations for putting trees at the heart of UK action on the climate and biodiversity crises:
Conserve ancient woodlands
First, we must conserve and manage our remaining fragments of ancient woodland, which are those forested areas that have continuously existed since 1600. Covering just 2.5% of the UK, these irreplaceable habitats help to combat climate change.
When it comes to carbon sequestration, new laser scanning techniques have revealed that old forests weigh about twice as much as previously calculated – meaning they lock away approximately double the already prodigious volumes of carbon estimated.
These kinds of woodlands have been around so long they have developed special communities of plants and animals not found elsewhere. With one in six species in the #UnitedKingdom at risk of extinction, the protection of these #woodlands is critical. Their richly complex #biodiversity cannot be replicated.
Collect seeds for reforestation
There also needs to be investment in innovative #reforestation projects. Seed collection is a fantastic example of this kind of ingenuity. When planting new trees, or indeed entire woodlands, it’s best to plant saplings grown from the seeds of trees that have demonstrated climate resilience. Developing seed-lines adapted to the changing local environment is the most #sustainable way of futureproofing #forests.
Seed collection is something we do at The Heart of England Forest, but we have strict protocols for it. Our team takes no more than half of the seeds available to ensure that there’s enough food for wildlife over the winter. They also meticulously survey and select the parent trees to ensure the traits of the next generation of trees are the most suitable for the changing local environment. They prioritise the seeds of trees that have endured #droughts or #floods. Bountiful fruiting is another sought-after feature. They also always source seeds from a variety of sites to ensure a range of genetic diversity.
