We need home grown timber if sustainable development is to be fully realised. A healthy supply of home grown timber will help fuel our energy needs and provide a low carbon building material for all future development. A decent sized UK forest industry could remove the need for imported timber and help to prevent illegal deforestation. There is at present no where near enough new planting taking place to provide for our future needs.

Before we can debate suitable silvicultural methods for particular locations or even begin a process of communication that enables the public to understand timber harvesting and its benefits, together with discussions at a local level to help further the potential of forestry as a hub for a new rural economy, we must get real about the need for forestry plantations.

Furthermore when so much ‘red tape’ cutting is taking place, why is an industry which is at the forefront of a healthy rural economy and at the forefront of sustainable development, subject to increasing amounts of bureaucracy and constraints – forestry is the quiet gentleman of land management and it has suffered as a result of not shouting against other interests.

Raymond Henderson, Head of Bidwells Forestry Team, has highlighted some facts from Scotland which expose a severe disparity in funding, procedure and lobbying power, which are very useful as case study to further forestry in England at a time when it is ‘up for discussion.’

Raymond Henderson, head of Bidwells Forestry Team

Agriculture has a very good lobbying system. I can accept the argument for food production but there are thousands of hectares out there with no sheep on them, and little likelihood of them returning. We need food but we need timber too. Everyone in the UK uses one tonne of timber each year and we are nowhere near being able to supply that amount.

Looking at these figures, it appears that for every 1% of land use, on average forestry produces 1,100 jobs, agriculture produces 670.

Each forestry job seems to be costing – in terms of public funding – £1,842 per year. In agriculture the equivalent figure seems to be £14,000

In terms of GVA to the Scottish economy, forestry’s 1% contribution is publically funded to the tune of £35 million. The equivalent rate for agriculture is £528 million.

Forestry and farming could complement one another.

Forestry has come of age as the woodlands that were planted in the 1960s and 70s are now being harvested. But concerns are growing that the supply of commercial timber, mainly coniferous, will tail off as there has been very little planting over the last 15 years. Targets to increase forest cover to 25% of land area have been quietly downgraded to an aspiration. Some 13,000 hectares would have to be planted every year until 2050 to reach 25%. The new target seems to be to plant only 10,000 hectares each year for 10 years. The problem is that current planting rates fall well short of even that modest target. Last year only 4,000 hectares were planted in Scotland and not all of that would be in commercial coniferous forest.

There is nothing like enough to meet the requirements of a sawmill industry which is one of the best equipped and most efficient in Europe.

Encouraging 20,000 farmers and crofters to put in 12 acres of trees per year to achieve targets would not yield the type of timber needed by processors.

Forestry is a vibrant industry. But it could potentially be even more vibrant if the reins were loosened up.

Pip Howard outlines the vital importance, ecologically, socially and economically, of listening to the landscape and listening to communities when planning land use/management, by using the ancient and down right logical principle of ‘site specifics’.

Pip talks landscape

‘Site specifics’ is no new concept; indeed it is a modern term for the oldest principle in defining land management. It is the investigation of a particular location to determine its potential for enhancing economic, environmental and social elements within a local landscape or in other words ‘common sense’.

After the industrial revolution, and further accelerated during the latter half of the 20th century, the demography of the UK and beyond changed rapidly. We need no longer to be in a particular location, we do not need that particular location to sustain all our needs. Land suffered greatly as a result, principally because we lost traditional knowledge and skills, honed for generations, which were able to manage that land in perpetuity.

So why the need to promote an ideal that already exists, but which is close to disappearing due to progression of humankind? Because we have become too focussed on ‘umbrella’ solutions and allowed land management to become beholden to over riding legislation, guidelines and ideals which are rarely relevant to a particular location.

The UK is the global case study, as it is a microcosm of the 20th and 21st century world. Our geographical situation is unparalleled resulting in the full breadth of the geological time span; from West to East. The post glacial climate changes allow for a record of plant succession overlaying a diversity of soils, elevations and topography which helped the British to invent and extol sciences across the world. The industrial revolution started here and the subsequent population movements precede all others in the world. It is thus in the UK where answers lie in balancing a large population against a fragile and complex biodiversity, where there are no longer natural resources in any significant amount to enable rapid economic growth. But Britain is fortunate in that it can realise economic growth because it got to this point first and has the resources, the research and the knowledge to lead the world in a truly sustainable future.

It is time to accept that discussion is virtually exhausted and time to embrace local knowledge in order to lay out sustainable land and forest management across the whole country. This can only be done by placing what we know, all the wonderful resources we now have, in the hands of people in their landscapes, people who know their landscapes.

None of the existing ‘experts’ or organisations need to fear this, because help is needed and there has never been as much available help by way of case studies, (including ‘transition towns and soft power), resources, (including the Map4England and other websites), research, (open access journals or by way of an expert), legislation and regulations, (including the European Landscape Convention and NPPF).

All this information is pulled together and given to a group representing those in a place, parish or particular location. With help if needed, they then use their knowledge to provide the lateral (or horizontal) information needed to define management and development in that place.

This prevents further disenfranchisement of people from the planning and political processes that affect them immediately, it re-empowers those practitioners who are able to build and maintain elements of the landscape which define local heritage, in turn defining the UK landscape as a whole. It ensures that consideration towards soil, archaeology and biodiversity in a particular location is ascertained. It helps in including real social needs; housing or infrastructure, into the process from the start. It integrates all existing organisations, knowledge and research, then filters out that which is irrelevant to a particular place and defines boundaries according to a landscape appraisal in all landscapes.

Si Jakeman shares with us his thoughts on the new film and book, Harmony, by His Royal Highness Prince Charles, leading environmentalist Tony Juniper and broadcaster Ian Skelly.

When a future King calls for a Revolution. It’s worth sitting up and listening, what ever side of the fence you sit.

HRH the Prince of Wales’ film Harmony is a call to action, more of a thinking revolution which will lead you to a more sustainable way of living.

I was lucky enough to get to see the Royal, World Theatrical Premiere of this film at the O2 at Greenwich, formerly the Millennium Dome. It was part of Robert Redford’s Sundance film festival. The Prince introduced the film, and even jokingly said “I hope you don’t fall asleep.” A cynical jibe at himself I suppose, after going on about environmental issues for over 30 years. Even though the film is narrated by HRH, It’s not really about him. He takes you on a humbling journey across the world to listen to real people’s stories.

The main theme of the film is one of Interconnectedness.

Throughout the film many of the planet’s arising problems are highlighted. The Prince isn’t preaching at all, but just shows how if we all start thinking and acting differently in our outlook of the world, things may change, It seems that since the Industrial Revolution we have become so disconnected from Nature , that we now believe we are separate from it. But we are nature.

A Tag line from the film states “We have lost something very precious, that is an understanding of our Interconnectedness with nature and a world beyond material.”

As the journey of the film continues you meet visionary people, in which The Prince states have a vital role to play, in helping the world to find the strength needed to address its problems.

Unlike Al Gores’ ‘An Inconvenient Truth’, this film is of a more positive and optimistic nature. It includes farming, engineering, medicine, architecture and education all in a holistic way. It’s about restoring the balance between Man and Nature. Even nature herself may provide the answers to many of the problems we face. The film is based on the book Harmony which is co-written by Prince Charles, Tony Juniper and Ian Skelly, which delves into the idea of a deep connection, a golden thread that runs through everything, which is also a deep felt feeling. As I like to put it, it runs through everything; the trees, the Seas, the Bees and even galaxies. In essence a sacred geometry present throughout nature including us.

Harmony comes from the Greek term that describes the joining of things together. In a way the film and book do join the dots together. It puts hopes for a more sustainable, spiritual and harmonious relationship with the planet. Please believe me, when I say you can’t really read about how amazing this film is you truly need to sit back and watch it and let it change the way you think, as I know it will. It’s the kind of film you will remember where you were when you first watched it.

As the final powerful images of the film washed over the audience, the beautiful U2 song ‘Running to Stand Still‘ filled the theatre. For me it was a bit of a light bulb moment of how our current economic model of ever growing consumption is an addiction that is killing the life giving systems of the planet, and that we need to change before it’s too late. Cross Political action needs to emerge soon.

After the showing of the film there was a Q and A session with the film makers and authors of the book. I remember a journalist asking a question from the heart, saying “But how do we get people to listen to this message?” as she broke down in tears. Ian Skelly one of the authors of Harmony, with 30 years experience of producing for the BBC, answered by quoting a story he was told many moons ago. He said “It only takes one lit candle to fill a room with light.” It reminded me of the story of the 100^th monkey. How one individual can change thinking by simply passing on that changed way of thinking to another. In essence this is what The Prince of Wales’ does with this film, he provides the candle.

I was honoured to meet Tony Juniper for a brief chat, about the film and book, and how if we all just realised that we are interconnected, it might just be the start of the long awaited change.

Please, please watch and read Harmony and pass the message on!

I hope this has lit the candle…

Read more SOW articles by Si Jakeman –

The Great Big Earth Dig

What does sustainability mean to me

Back in 1979, when the effects of Dutch elm disease (DED) were still much in evidence throughout the UK, a campaign was launched using disease resistant elms to help replace some of the estimated 28 million that had been lost.

Originally developed by the University of Wisconsin, a hybrid species, Sapporo autumn gold, was used to propagate a large number of new trees which enabled parks and gardens to begin replacing their lost elms.  Many of these have become substantial much-loved trees long since after they were described as ‘Japanese weeds’ by some tree purists at the time.

However, the ‘Elms Across Europe’ campaign led to more than just a new species of elm added to the UK’s biodiversity, it also led to the launch of The Conservation Foundation in 1982.

Since then the Foundation has created and managed a large number of initiatives covering a wide range of environmental interests throughout the UK and around the world, but it has never forgotten its roots and has continued to create elm interest and support enthusiasts for whom ‘ulmus’ remains a special word.

Over the years the Foundation moved the focus of its elm project towards mature, native trees and has propagated from many to see whether they too contain a resistance to DED which might be passed onto future generations.  Elm propagating can be frustrating with a successful season being something of a rarity, but in recent years micro-propagation has enabled the testing period to become quicker and the Foundation’s Great British Elm Experiment has now got over 700 schools growing young elms.

The Foundation was careful not to call this project ‘The Great English Elm Experiment’ to ensure that it did not give the wrong impression about the species it is using in the experiment and removes supplies of any young trees whose parent succumbs to DED during the experiment.

This has unfortunately happened to a few of the trees earmarked for a unique tree project – Ulmus londinium – which the Foundation has created to celebrate its 30th anniversary and the Queen’s Jubilee this year.

With so many of the country’s elms part of a fading memory, it is commonly thought that all elms have disappeared. This is often held to be the case in London, but there are still healthy elms growing throughout the capital and there may well be more than even the experts know.

Since there has been no comprehensive survey Ulmus londinium began with an invitation to all Londoners to record any elm they may know.

Another feature is a research programme on the heritage of London’s use of elm from early water pipes to lock gates, furniture and transport equipment.  The research has also discovered current uses of elm for furniture and art. This will provide the material for a video, and hopefully an exhibition, later in 2012 when the London elms will be distributed. Before that, as they are beginning to outgrow their initial nursery, the young elms are being found new homes in a variety of temporary venues including the grounds of the American Ambassador’s residence and Lambeth Palace.

Two short promotional videos have been produced, one encouraging anyone living in London with the word ‘elm’ in their address to apply for an Ulmus londinium elm for their community and a second to encourage Londoners to identify elms during the distinctive elm blossom time. Anyone discovering an elm is encouraged to record their ‘find’ on a web elm map being managed by the Natural History Museum Urban Tree Survey.

And so after 30 years of ‘helping  to spread the positive news about the environment’ The Conservation Foundation is also continuing to spread the news that there is still life in elms.  A lot have been lost in the past , but by the end of 2012 there will be a few more in new homes and maybe even more in years to come.

Details of The Conservation Foundation’s elm projects are at www.conservationfoundation.co.uk and www.facebook.com/elmselmselms and to become involved, please contact elms@conservationfoundation.co.uk

This is a photo blog of some of the wonderful signs of Spring I have found in woodlands around Exmoor this past week or so. I’m hoping to see hawthorn flowers and bluebells by the end of the week. Can’t wait!

I can’t resist sharing with you one of my favourite Springtime poems by Phillip Larkin…

The Trees

The trees are coming into leaf

Like something almost being said;

The recent buds relax and spread,

Their greenness is a kind of grief.

Is it that they are born again

And we grow old? No, they die too,

Their yearly trick of looking new

Is written down in rings of grain.

Yet still the unresting castles thresh

In fullgrown thickness every May.

Last year is dead, they seem to say,

Begin afresh, afresh, afresh.

by Philip Larkin

Fresh Beech leaf

Woodpecker holes - the bottom hole is full of dry moss!

Baby Wood mouse - Apodemus sylvaticus

Blackthorn flower

Tree roots

Bumble bee feeding on a Willow flower

Whortleberry - or bilberry, or blaeberry, or myrtleberry...

Willow flowers

Speckled Wood

Rowan flower buds

All photographs are protected by copyright, Helen Anderson 2012. Please ask permission before using. Thank you.

This article draws on and expands upon a number of posts recently written for the Landscapism blog, a forum to discuss, promote and bring together landscape related themes, subject matter and marginalia of all kinds.

My rationale for starting up the blog was straightforward: as someone who is constantly immersed in the landscape, both physically (as we all in fact are) and conceptually (a more specialised pursuit) I am just as fascinated by theoretical concepts of cultural and physical landscapes as spending a day walking in a National Park or observing the natural history of an ancient woodland; or indeed looking at a collection of landscape paintings or photographs, experiencing an urban adventure in a new city or working to landscape my own modest garden. I could go on with further diverse examples of landscapism. To my mind these are all naturally linked activities and areas of interest, and I do not consider myself unusual in this regard.

The frustration that I, and many other like-minded souls, have felt is observing these landscape themes, which should be organically but messily inter-twined, grow further and further apart from each other as the individual professional, academic and organisational structures develop into their 21^st century maturity; this is the curse of specialisation, an evolving feature of Western society since the heyday of the Enlightenment and Victorian polymaths.

Yes, there are many examples of relatively modest inter-disciplinary exchange and collaboration in academic research or conservation projects, and some more enlightened local authorities have taken steps towards a more holistic approach to landscape planning. Maybe if a cultural geographer, a landscape art historian, a farmer, a landscape architect, a mountain-biker, an ecologist and a landscape archaeologist were put together in a room you would hope for a degree of common ground and certainly some lively discussion; but each would soon return to the familiarity of their divergent agendas and objectives back in the workplace.  Moreover, in responding professionally to a government policy proposal, a threat to a particular landscape or some other specific challenge (a hose-pipe ban for instance) they would narrow their focus to one of self-interest, because this is the received wisdom of how a pluralistic society operates.

Why does this matter? Well, I would argue that this segregation has contributed to the marginalisation of landscape in terms of both government policy and public opinion. Given the importance that many people attach to their local, regional and national environments and landscapes as an essential part of the bedrock of who they are and where they come from, should this not be a central motif of public policy, given the same weight as key elements of education, health and economic development? Instead landscape has been channeled into the comparative back-waters of the environment, planning, heritage and tourism, from where it modestly shouts to be heard but is often pushed back by more assertive beasts: ‘global warming!’, ‘jobs and growth!’, ‘housing targets!’.

So, building on the foundations of the European Landscape Convention and taking at face-value the Coalition Government’s commitments to be the ‘greenest ever’ and promote ‘localism’, here is my personal Manifesto for a working landscape for England[1] (based on an aspirational ‘Devo-max’ model of a UK federal state with devolved governments in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales, and possibly further regional devolution in England; well, you can but hope):

1.    A unified Working Landscapes Service, organised regionally and locally and composed of both professional and community volunteer expertise, to replace the current disjointed and complex  governmental infrastructure of DEFRA, Natural England, English Heritage, Environment Agency, local authority departments etc.

2.    The Service would be responsible for managing a working landscape in the interests of the local community, with equal weight given to the following in its remit:

• sustainable farming and land-based employment;

• spatial planning and land-use;

• local affordable housing and workspace;

• flora and fauna, natural and semi-natural habitats;

• the built environment, including historic landscape features;

• sustainable energy, water, forestry and raw material supply;

• recreation and amenity in the landscape;

• designated and undesignated landscapes.

3.   The Service would be transparently funded from local taxation and a new carbon and corporation tax on companies based on a size-profit-environmental impact formula; local leadership would report directly to their regional parliamentary representatives and community councils. Best practice sharing would be encouraged but there would be no national standards, indicators or league tables.

4.   Charities and professional trade organisations with a remit of conserving, managing and working the landscape and its flora and forna would remain independent but work in a legally-binding partnership with the Service.

5.    Local and regional planning decisions would be made at the lowest possible level with a presumption in favour of a legally defined concept of ‘sustainable development in the interests of the local community and in harmony with high-quality design standards, vernacular style and the landscape or townscape setting’, particularly for community self-build and renovation schemes; national infrastructure projects would be subject to a similar legal test at the national level, with the possibility of referenda on projects of substantial long-term significance.

6.    Whilst remaining independent entities, farms, small-holdings and allotment groups would be encouraged to work with local, regional or national co-operatives that would be set-up to distribute produce on their behalf and ensure a living income, through a policy of ‘enlightened self-interest’ (eg see points 7, 8 and 9 below).

7.    Supermarkets and other food retailers would be both encouraged and compelled to purchase the majority of British produced stock from the co-operatives; facilitated through a mixture of tax breaks and quotas for local and national produce.

8.    The current EU and environmental subsidy system would be channeled through the co-operatives, with payments tied to sustainable production based on a simple and transparent set of environmental, animal welfare and food quality standards.

9.    Disused and under-utilised green space and woodland in towns, cities and the urban fringe would be prioritised for community allotments and small-holdings with a supporting infrastructure of outlets for their produce.

10.  An environmental and agricultural taskforce would be developed, made up of local volunteers, people on community service and the long-term unemployed, organised by local landscape companies.

11.  Landscape would be a central part of a Sustainable Environment module in the teaching of Citizenship to children at primary and secondary education level.

12.  Multi-disciplinary landscape management programmes would be developed for the further and higher education sectors to replace the current narrowly focused professional and discipline-specific offerings.

13.  A review would be set up of the current systems for designating and legally protecting landscapes and landscape features such as National Parks, Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, Sites of Special Scientific Interest, Listed Buildings and World Heritage Sites, with the objective to develop a less complex and more joined-up process with greater community participation.

So, there you have it, a viewpoint on a more rational, joined-up and centre-stage approach to landscape and all its many components. No doubt there are omissions (probably should be something in there about renewable energy sources, but I’ll leave the wind farm can of worms to someone else) and to many this may appear naïve, utopian, a lawyers charter or too directive, but just put out there to encourage more thought and debate.

Landscapists of the world, unite and take over!
Eddie Procter

Landscapism

[1] Partly for reasons of objectivity and partly out of laziness, I have not trawled the manifestos of any political parties or vision statements and strategic plans of Government agencies, charities or professional bodies; these are simply my own views, which may, or may not, coalesce with those of others.

The RSPB is driven by the belief that we all have a responsibility to protect wildlife and the environment. Our vision is a world rich in wildlife — there for everyone to enjoy.

Put simply, we don’t think the decision is heathland or woodland, we want more, better managed and better connected areas of both.

Why do we care about lowland heathland?

Lowland heathland is an incredibly rare habitat supporting a breathtaking array of threatened wildlife:

-        Since 1800, about 80% has been destroyed to make way for conifer plantations, housing development and agriculture – that is equivalent to losing an area of habitat the size of greater London.

-       It now only covers around 0.3% of the UK’s land area. Yet, despite this being such a small area it is a fifth of the entire world total – this is a mightily rare habitat!

-       Heathland supports an extraordinary number of our most threatened wildlife, for example heath tiger beetle, marsh gentian, ladybird spider, Dartford warbler, smooth snake and natterjack toad to name a few.

-       Under the Rio Convention (that international cornerstone for saving wildlife) the UK has committed to conserve this amazing habitat, because of its unique importance to nature.

-       It has a rich cultural history and links with humankind dating back over 6000 years, and is a source of inspiration to countless artists, musicians and writers, including Wordsworth and Shakespeare.

-       It brings in millions of pounds to local economies as an integral part of the habitat network drawing tourists to places like Dorset, Suffolk and Hampshire.

Heathland landscape, Avon heath country park.

Why restore more heathland?

Losing 80% of any habitat is a big deal, and this has left many of the remnant areas as small and isolated patches.  This places these sites and the wildlife that depend on them at greater risk from threats such as fires, encroachment and extinction. It is no surprise that heathland wildlife is some of the rarest in the UK. Wildlife needs space if it is to adapt and respond to threats. The report of Professor Sir John Lawton and his distinguished group of experts could easily have had lowland heathland in mind when it called for more, bigger, better managed and better connected areas.

In addition to the obvious benefits of more robust habitats, it also has positive effects on management costs. Larger habitats are easier and cheaper to manage due to economies of scale.

A few of the many rare and threatened species dependent on the future of heathland; the marsh gentian, natterjack toad, silver-studded blue butterfly, Dartford warbler and ladybird spider (photo credit Ian Hughes).

Where can heathland be re-created?

In contrast to woodland creation, only a few places have the right mix of unique conditions to return damaged heathland back to life. These are former heaths that were either lost to plantation forestry, converted to agriculture, mineral workings or have reverted to early successional woodland due to lack of management. Out of these, restoration from conifer plantations tends to be the most practical because it generally preserves the soil conditions the best. However, the clock is ticking and the longer these unique sites are used to grow conifer crops, the further the soil conditions degrade and eventually the ability to restore heathland on these sites will be lost to future generations forever. We are never going to get back to the level of heathland we once had in the UK, but there is still time to restore some of it, and give heathland wildlife a more stable future.

The importance of the Public Forest Estate:

The Forestry Commission came into existence in 1919 when it was charged with increasing timber production to help support the war effort. Vast swathes of lowland heathland, ancient woodland and other habitats were planted with fast growing plantations. The Forestry Commission has come a long way since then, and is making important progress in restoring heathland in places like Dorset, the Brecks and Suffolk Sandlings but most of their former heathland estate still has no plans for restoration.

The Public Forest estate has more former heathland under conifer plantation than anyone else. This is why the public forest estate is well placed to lead the way in habitat restoration, because it can create the landscape scale areas of heath and ancient woodland that wildlife needs, whilst also making its existing heathland habitats more economically viable to manage. This does not mean chopping down places like Thetford Forest, but rather making the small areas of existing heathland bigger to form a more robust part of a varied habitat network.

Interestingly, whilst only 14% of the Public Forest estate is currently open habitat, studies by the plant conservation charity Plantlife indicate that 77% of all the rare and threatened flowering plants found within the Public Forest Estate are actually species that depend on open habitats, such as heathland.

When given the right tools, Forestry Commission can be an excellent land manager, but this requires a clearer remit and taxpayer support, so that the business of making money is not conflicting with the business of providing a public service.

How much woodland is being lost to heathland re-creation?

The area of woodland in England is increasing approximately 5 times faster than the area of heathland being restored each year. However, we think the rate of both is still too slow. There is much misinformation about heathland re-creation. Some commentators suggest that it involves the full scale destruction of woodland. In fact, this is confusing the debate because in most cases it involves the clearance of conifer plantations, established on heathland mainly as a timber crop. Once they are felled for their timber, this is the point at which the public or private owner/manager has to decide to either allow the heathland to return or plant again with more conifers. No-one would dream of planting existing heathland with conifer crops these days, so it seems a bit strange that the few areas we have left for its re-creation are continually being restocked and degraded,

This is about ensuring the right tree in the right place, so that woodlands and heaths can both find their place in a countryside consisting of a wide variety of habitats, fit for future generations to enjoy and for wildlife to thrive. Trees can form an important component of heathlands and vice versa, and in reality most heathland restoration proposals generally maintain at least 50% of trees on a site level for landscape or other reasons.

Local participation in decision making

We believe local involvement in heathland re-creation proposals is essential. The RSPB has advocated that this be built into the Government’s policy on open habitat restoration. Any change in the landscape will engender both positive and negative reactions, and plans should address both sides. The Government’s policy on open habitats sets out the importance of involving the full range of local stakeholders in decision making.

Go and see it for yourself:

Heathlands are sometimes unfairly characterised as gloomy, barren and dead places. Well-managed heathland at the height of summer is the opposite of all of these things. They are almost gaudily colourful, a riot of purple heather and pink spikes of ling, often bounded in by gorse, with its lemon-coloured flowers and sweet coconut fragrance. The clacking call of the stonechat beats time to the fluid song of the woodlark, while bees and butterflies dance among the blossoms.

Sunset at the RSPBs Arne reserve in Dorset.

But don’t take our word for it, go and experience it for yourself, and I can think of no better place than the Forestry Commission managed New Forest, which shows what can be achieved when woods and heathlands are both seen as equally valued components of the landscape.

Read more articles on Heathland Restoration and the issues surrounding it’s recreation.

Adam Winson is an Arboriculturist working in Sheffield.

His paper, ‘Flourishing trees, flourishing minds: nearby trees may improve mental wellbeing among housing association tenants’, highlights the vital importance of urban trees, progressing into solid research the ideals of Ebenezer Howard and others. It is thus an incredibly timely reminder that we cannot afford to ignore our urban trees and their role in human society as a whole.

Adam has kindly granted us permission to link to his paper –

Trees People and the Built Environment (pdf)

Adam Winson and his daughter Lilly - click to visit Adams

Adam’s paper was presented at the Institute of Chartered Foresters (ICF) Urban Trees Research conference; Trees, people and the built environment, in Birmingham, April 2011.

The groundbreaking conference was dedicated to exploring the vital importance of our urban forests, with all the environmental, social and economic benefits that they bring to our day to day lives.

Dr Mark Johnston MBE (Conference Chair) and Dr Glynn Percival edited the proceedings into a research document for the Forestry Commission.

With the kind permission of Dr Mark Johnston, here is a link to the full final report, which contains extensive and fascinating detail of the research presented on the day:

Trees, people and the built environment- Proceedings of the Urban Trees Research Conference 13–14 April 2011

Walking in the woods it is all too easy to see the trees and think no further than of a collection of trees, but our woods are much, much more than this. Our woods are home to many organisms in an amazingly diverse and complex ecology, we often think it driven by trees alone, but this is far from the truth. Hidden from view for the most part are the true masters of the forest ecosystem, the Fungi. The trees are the crowning glory on our landscapes, but within this crown are the brightest and most colourful Jewels. I hope through this article to inspire you all to look a little deeper next time you’re in the woods and seek out the fruits of the forest and true masters of woodland ecology.

Fungi go unnoticed for the most part; they are micro organisms after all, their existence not obvious to the un-enquiring eye, until the main fruiting season in the autumn when their fruit-bodies (sporocarps) bejewel the woodland scene. Because of this short lived albeit bright and prolific appearance amoung the trees their role and work in the ecology of the woodland environment is rarely acknowledged or appreciated. The reality is that almost all forest life is dependent on the work done by fungi, without them the system would not have evolved to its current complexity.

Aminita muscaria - Fly agaric which can be found under Birch trees.

Many fungi never produce the kind of fruiting bodies we call collectively mushrooms or toadstools, and their presence is only ever noticed by a few men in white coats! So this article will focus on those we may all be familiar with and see for ourselves. These are collectively known as the “macro-fungi” meaning visible with the naked eye or hand lenses.

Trees cannot relocate when they find they have used all the resources in a given location by building their immense structures which defy gravity and support their heavy sun worshipping crowns. It is down to the fungi to recycle the woody debris on the forest floor and re fertilise the soils

Sarcocypha coccinea- The scarlet elf cup

with essential nutrients. Some fungi have evolved complex relationships with trees to such a degree they actually generate a sheath of mycelium over roots and become an extended part of the root hair structure increasing the potential for water uptake, mineral acquisition and even defence against more harmful pathogenic fungi, collectively known as “Ectomycorrhizae” Some of these relationships are “species specific” and forming part of the “tree species specific ecosystem” or T.S.S.E (Gerrit J Keizer) like the Larch bolete, Suillus grevalii below

Larch bolete, Suillus grevalii

Some fungi have become specialists in a different way and only rot down dead or redundant tree parts, such as limbs that no longer function because of shading out like Peniophora quercina which helps Oaks and other broadleafs shed redundant branches up to about 4 inches in diameter. Others like Inonotus hispidus help ash trees shed limbs that have become too heavy and could potentially cause the tree to blow over. This relationship is complex and little researched or discussed but it has clear and obvious benefits despite seeming like a catastrophic affair!

A very large bracket of laetiporus sulphureus.

Another specialist that does the same thing but on Oaks (mainly) is Laetiporus sulphureus or the Chicken of the woods fungus, this lives on the woody tissues known as “heartwood” and hollows old trees out helping shed overweighed limbs. These heartwood tissues are not needed by the trees and fungi can help return nutrients long since locked up back into the soil. Sometimes trees even grow new roots directly into this rotting inner core to gain new vigour. This ecology makes homes for owls, bats and other beasties of the forest too, everything is intertwined in the web of life.

A great forester once coined a phrase “the demons of D” in this he referred to the D for Disease, Decay, Dysfunction and even Death,  probably never intended, but this perpetuated a rather Victorian perspective of fungi and decay which is wholly wrong. This perception of decay, this “dis-ease” still largely persists, but decay is an essential part of the ecosystem on which everything is dependant,  to despise decay is to despise the life of the forest for it is the driving force in the ecology of trees and woodlands. Because of fungi the forest is more than just a collection of trees; it is a system resplendent with life of many forms. Life in the forest is about far more than trees, and I hope that this little article has inspired you all to look out for these little gems for they great fun to search for, like hidden treasures.

A perfect home for Owls!

The brown rotter Laetiporus Sulphureus (above)sometimes causes limbs to fall, in a similar way to Inonotus hispidus, as we can see above in this oak this makes a perfect place for owls to nest!

Ganoderma applanatum & galls of the flat foot fly Agathomyia wankowiczii

Ganoderma applanatum (above) with “nipple galls” of the yellow flat foot fly (Agathomyia wankowiczii) a species of insect totally dependent on this one species of fungus. These complex relationships are not uncommon, there are many such relationships making ancient woodland a very fragile ecosystem.

Inonotus hispidus

The heart/ripe wood rotter Inonotus hispidus also causes cavities for woodpeckers and bats (below a Group of female Noctule bats making a hollow ash a maternity roost

Female Noctule bats

This complex interplay between Fungi and trees is the basis of forest ecology without fungi the system would not work because trees would store up and lock in all the nutrients in the system. Forests are the lungs of the earth and the filters  to our river systems which provide us with clean pure water. Fungi form huge networks within the forest soils, a single gram of soil may contain 30 metres of fungal mycelium. This massive network of roots and fungal mycelium hold on to the soils and filter toxins from pollution, both natural and industrially made. Many fungi absorb heavy metals and other toxins as do certain trees, Black walnut-Juglans nigra for example, and the reed Phragmites. This network of roots and fungi mycelium act as a giant sponge holding onto water and releasing it slowly both back into the atmosphere via trees and filtered and pure into our river systems. This service is yet to be fully appreciated! We have to learn to love all the life of the forest, we depend on them in ways we are only just beginning to comprehend. It is hard to imagine the huge task and service rendered to this planet by such a tiny organism as single cellular fungi, but life is almost if not completely dependent on them in one way or another. In the future new medicines will be born from fungi, Trametes versicolour has been found to boost the immune system to such a degree it is proving to be an effective secondary treatment in breast cancer (Paul Stamets), and Hericium erinaceus has been found to stimulate nerve and myelin regeneration.

I hope by now you’re getting the bigger picture and seeing that there is a whole lot more to the forests than the trees alone. So next time you see “a rotten old tree” spare a thought for all the bats, the owls and especially the fungi and dont be too quick to clear up those fallen dead branches, there’s life in that wood you know! Fungi are so very special and can be so very beautiful, get out in the woods and find them for yourselves.

If your VERY lucky you may find one day, high in a beech or Oak tree a fungi like this one below Hericium erinaceus. Please don’t take fungi from the wild their fruit-bodies that we see are important because they are forming the spores for new fungi to form, they sow the spores that fungi germinate from. Some fungi are also very poisonous and should be avoided. The Hericium erinaceus is one of a few fungi to be especially protected by law and it is an offence to take them from the wild or damage the habitat they live in. So please go and find them and enjoy them but leave them be for somebody else to see.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this little look into the world of the fungi in our forests and that it inspires you to learn more about them, to seek them out and enjoy them for I promise you it is a great way of enjoying and interacting with the woodland environment. Next time I will tell you about some of the more common fungi and how to find them.

Enjoy your woods!

Hericium erinaceus

By Hamadryad

Antony Croft, Arboroculturist and VTA (Visual Tree Assessment) practitioner

Tiziano Fratus is a celebrated Italian writer, artist, poet and rambling man.

Regularly reviewed in the Italian national media, with exhibitions in Natural History Museums, Festivals, Botanic Gardens, Regional and National Parks, his poetry has been translated in several languages and presented in Italian Cultural Institutes in North America, Europe and Asia.

He is a tree seeker and advocates the philosophy that we have roots intangibly linked to tree roots and through this connection it is easier for us to understand our wider connection with our landscapes. homoradix.com

Here he writes exclusively for SOW:

Homo Radix

To be a Rootman or a Rootwoman, a Rootboy or a Rootgirl (Homo Radix / Phoemina Radix / Puer Radix / Puera Radix)

Everyone could be a Rootboy, Rootgirl, Rootman or a Rootwoman, someone who tries to identify his or her roots; physically, theoretically, literary and materially. Roots are changing everyday, acquiring the colours, dimensions, peculiarities that modify the identity of Human Beings’ themselves.

Every Man and every Woman is full of roots! A Rootman is the individual who decides to cultivate their imaginary and physical identity, living in first person with a deep interaction with the Landscape.

Every Green Space could be this Landscape: the park in your town, the garden of your house, the forest on the Alps or in Alaska. Also in the heart of the Society of Humans, in the middle of the great Metropolis (New York, London, Singapore or Tokyo), you can farm these roots walking in the public park, in the botanical garden, in any little space devoted to Nature.

A Rootman can understand the great design of the Lord of Creatures; understanding to distinguish species and varieties, to characterise old tree specimens and their age. You can map this place, giving names to animals and trees, discover them and create your own personal ‘Treegraphy’ (in Italian ‘Alberografia’).

This is a way to enhance personally and socially the biodiversity of our landscape, to discover more of what we consider all too often as expectable, not so important – only a tree or only a park. This is a way to begin a long trip that is so full of elements and creatures you understand the complete history of our land, our province, our region or State. A personal study that makes you more rooted in the land you live, you work, you love.

We all can become Tree Seekers’, Rootmen or Rootwomen who cross the Landscape (a country, a continent, the world) to find old monumental / champion trees, the biggest and oldest creatures living on Earth.

Tiziano Fratus (born 1975) is a rambler, a tree hunter, photographer, writer, designer of footpaths and landscape scholar. He has published books and guides dedicated to trips and wanderings in the Italian Landscape, from the north of the Country, on the Alps, to the Southern Islands as Sicily and

Sardinia, from the biggest Towns as Rome, Milan, Turin and Genoa to the little villages of the Provinces.  Fratus works on a new form of identity, both local and international, through the evaluation of the heritage and secular trees in his region, the Piedmont (NW Italy), his country and the world. He works to create a new simple way to allow humans to feel proud to live and work in their locality on the Earth.