Woodland Power- Cooling the pace of Climate Change

 

July saw some of the hottest temperatures on record for the UK, with a day and night temperature average of 16.3C (The Guardian, 2014). 

This of course, was good news for many tourist destinations and supermarkets who profited from the increase demands from customers for BBQ food, cold drinks and ice creams. 

Many scientists argue that heatwaves are likely become more frequent in the future. The cause of this year's heatwave is unknown, but thought to relate to a Typhoon which occurred in the Northwest Pacific Ocean.

The storm, had a ripple affect on the Pacific and Atlantic jet streams, causing the jet stream over the Atlantic to move far north of Europe, thus allowing hot weather from the Gulf to come through and dominate weather systems. (BBC Weather, 2014).

With this in mind, it is important that the UK puts in long-term measures to help reduce global temperatures and offset our ever-growing carbon emissions.

Why woodland benefits our climate

The maintenance and protection of our woodland is one step in the right direction. Woods are able to help reduce our greenhouse emissions in two ways. Firstly, through photosynthesis, all plants remove carbon dixoide from the atmosphere through their growth . Secondly, plants are able to store carbon emissions in their stems, branches, leaves and soil beneath their roots. Releasing any carbon back into the atmosphere once they die. (also known as carbon sequestation). 

The amount of carbon a woodland can store varies, depending on plant species, age (young saplings taking up more carbon dioxide than mature trees) and management. For instance, a report conducted by The Forestry Commission found that annually confier forests are able to sequester 14 tonnes of carbon dioxide per hectare. Broadleaf  and other unproductive woods sequester less, with an average of 1.4 tonnes of carbon being removed from the atmosphere per hectare per year.

At current UK forests and woodland remove roughly 10 million tonnes of carbon from the atmosphere every year (Foresty Commission, 2008). In 2012 the total UK greenhouse emissions were estimated to be around 541 million tonnes (Co2E). Looking at these two statistics it could be argued that planting a few million extra trees would not substantially offset the UK's current growing greenhouse emissions. 

Nontheless, planting new trees will still have a significant effect on both removing carbon emissions from the atmosphere and acting as a carbon sink.

Reducing our emissions is important. Our ever growing demand for energy and consumption of energy-using products is causing more green house emissions to be produced.

Theses gases are becoming trapped in our atmosphere, unable to escape they continue to push global temperatures up around the world. Scientists link such temperature rises to an increase in extreme weather events such as the heatwave experienced in the UK this summer.

Mini-fact: Remember: heatwaves are relative depending on the average seasonal temperature of a country. 

What is being done?

The UK government has pledged that it will invest £6m into woodland creation over this year and next. This funding is expected to create over 2,000 hectares of new woodland.

However, despite this investment, this sum will still fall short of the goverment's own target of creating 5,000 hectares of new woodland per annum, thus increasing UK woodland cover from 10 to 12% (The Guardian, 2014).

Trees are currently facing more threats then ever. Climate change is impacting on the growth and the adapability of certain species, pests and diseases such as Ash Dieback are still prevalant. As yet, it is unknown how many Ash trees have been lost to the disease.

In short, greater protection for current stock and the prioritisation of planting new trees is paramount if we are to effectively reduce our emissions in the UK and support our forests and wildlife as climatic changes occur over the century. 

 

Please follow the link to The Woodland Trust website to find more information on why planting trees is essential

Why Boris Johnson needs to swot up on Ancient Woodland

Ancient Woodland on the island of Inchmaholme,  Nr Aberfoyle, Scotland- © Copyright Eileen Henderson 

Last month, the mayor of London, Boris Johnson made a significant tree faux pas.

In response to the growing environmental backlash over the implementation of the High Speed 2 project, Boris stated that the average life expectancy of a tree “can’t be more than 60 years old” and that “there is no tree in this country over 200 years old” (The Telegraph, 2014).

Unsurprisingly, Boris was wrong on both of these accounts. Records from The Woodland Trust’s Ancient Tree Website show that there are many Oak trees in this country that are over 1,000 years old. Moreover, a mature Oak tree can reach 400 years old.

This ignorance of basic environmental facts is not as an uncommon as you would think. A recent poll by the BBC Wildlife Magazine indicated that half of school children aged between 9-11 are unable to identify the names of common plants and animals such as the bluebell or daddy-long-legs (The Independent, 2014).

However, this lack of knowledge in a senior politician is worrying. If plans for HS2 go ahead, then 84 Ancient Woods could be completely destroyed or negatively impacted on by building works.  If Boris and other MP’s don’t recognise or understand the value of woodland, particularly ancient woodland then they are unlikely to make efforts to protect it.

So how do we define ancient woodland? And why does it matter so much to those rallying against HS2.

In accordance with The Woodland Trust definition ‘Ancient woodland is woodland which has been continuously wooded or managed since 1600’ (Woodland Trust, 2014).  Over time, complex ecological communities of; fungi, lichen, plants and insects have developed within the soil. 

As such, ancient woodland contains some of the most biologically diverse and threatened species of plants and animals in the country. For instance, the extremely rare ‘Bechstein bat’ roosts in the holes of old broad-leafed trees such as Oak and Ash. Their decline is thought to be due to a mixture of habitat loss and pesticide use (The Wildlife Trusts, 2014). 

Species of plant such as the UK’s favourite spring-plant, bluebells are also best suited to life in ancient woodlands. The undisturbed soils in combination with the moist and shade provided by the under canopy of mature trees forming the best growing conditions for the plant.

Each Ancient Woodland is unique, the particular climate, geography and history of management makes each wood unique.

At present, little is known about how ecological communities within ancient woodland’s evolve. What we do know, is that if destroyed, we will be unable to research ancient woodland and expand our scientific knowledge of the relationships between species of plants and animals and soils.  

Those in favour of HS2, argue that the project will bring environmental benefits by decreasing the number of car and air journeys made thus reducing carbon emissions (HS2, 2014).

In the 2012 environmental impact assessment of HS2, mitigation proposals put forward included the translocation of soil from ancient woodland (moving it elsewhere and planting new trees within the soil). Scientifically this is an unproven and dubious method of mitigating the loss of ancient woodland. The soils of ancient woodland are influenced by a number of different factors, including the microclimate and geology of the local area.

As such, it is difficult to see how such a movement could completely compensate for the loss of a habitat which includes mature trees, rare plants and animals as well as microorganisms present in the soil.

Looking forward, it is important to recognise the importance of protecting Ancient Woodland in the UK. Their environmental benefits include their use as a carbon store, the high levels of biodiversity present within them and their role as a inter-connected buffer zone-enabling the dispersal and movement of various species of flora and fauna around the countryside.  

Moreover, Ancient Woodland presents an untapped resource of scientific knowledge. There are still many things we do not know about Ancient Woodland and the way in which it develops over time. It would be sheer ignorance to not expand our environmental awareness, I’m sure Boris would agree.

For more information on Ancient Woodland and HS2 please follow the link to The Woodland Trust website:

http://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/campaigning/campaigns/hs2-rail-link/  

Supertrees- The role Woodland can play in the fight against floods



Newly planted trees beside the river Muick, Aberdeenshire

© Copyright Gwen and James Anderson and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.

Since Christmas 2013, the UK has experienced the worst winter weather of the century, with January being the wettest since records began in 1766. High winds, heavy rainfall and tidal surges have battered the country, with Western and Southern counties bearing the brunt of the low pressure systems moving across from the Atlantic Ocean.

Much has been made of the government’s lack of action in both responding to and preventing flooding in sensitive low-lying areas such as the Somerset Levels. In particular, many have criticised the Environment Agency for not spending enough money on hard-defences such as Dykes and the dredging of river-beds.

Although appropriate in some circumstances, such defences are often ineffective (and expensive) in the long-term due to the increased threat from Climate Change. For example, the Holderness coast in the North-east of Britain, is one of the fastest eroding areas in Europe. On average, two metres of land is being lost to the sea annually. Placing hard-defences along this long-stretch of coast would do very little in the way of preventing erosion or protecting homes from storm-surges. Stormy weather contains high levels of energy and as such, this energy is often better dissipated through our natural systems.

Models produced by the Forest Research Organisation show that placing Woodland strategically on a floodplain can significantly reduce the size and speed of a flood event. This is because trees absorb water and stabilise the soils. These two effects reduce the size of the flood and also delay the release of water into the river.

A further study commissioned by The Woodland Trust indicated that placing tree belts on upland farmland, can mitigate flooding in adjacent low-lying land, potentially reducing peak stream flow by upto 40%. This is a significant reduction and highlights the role that Woodland can play in alleviating future flooding events.

Despite the success of the above studies, it is imperative that further research is undertaken on how trees and woodland can best reduce flooding. For instance, one study conducted by the Environment Agency found that the tactic of damming rivers with trees to prevent flooding in an area was haphazard and could cause worse flooding downstream, as the water was able to bypass river-bends and flow through neighbouring fields.

In short, policy-makers must look carefully into the ways in which Woodland and other natural systems can mitigate flooding. This winter has demonstrated the variability and strength of Atlantic weather systems. Climate change is likely to cause more extreme weather and as such, it is important that the UK puts into practice the most sustainable and effective flood-management policies. As a result, we will be better prepared and able to protect the things that are most precious to us; our homes, family and way of life.

The Death Of The Ash Tree?

Image courtesy of: Matthew Common- http://instagram.com/mattycbeme.  

There are an estimated 80 million Ash trees in the UK (the third most populous species after Birch and Larch). However, recent findings from environmental organisations suggest that 90% of the current Ash population will be eradicated within the next decade.

A shadow is looming - the fungal disease Chalara fraxiena has made its way across mainland Europe to the shores of the British Isles. The changing season makes it more difficult to spot for signs of disease, but if you look closely - in certain parts of the country - you will be able to spot trees with dark lesions, dying leaves. The disease affects mature trees by reducing the numbers of twigs and branches at the crown, giving them a strange spiky-topped appearance.

The loss of Ash Trees on our landscape will have a severe and long-lasting impact. In some areas of the country, Ash Trees dominate as 'hedgerow trees'. They are the main species of tree planted in hedgerow's along our farmland. Such trees provide a valuable habitat for plants and animals. In particular, it is thought that certain species of Ash-dependent Lichen (an organism consisting of fungus and algae) could disappear altogether. These impacts, of course, would deeply hamper the government's post-2010 targets of conserving and enhancing the UK's biodiversity.

On a positive note: scientists in Denmark and the UK have found that not all Ash Trees succumb to the disease. In fact, 2% of the British Ash Tree population are estimated to be genetically resistant to the strain. At present, scientists in Denmark are collecting the seeds of trees which have not been infected and are hoping to plant new, disease-resistant trees.

Regardless, the disease is spreading fast within the UK, with incidences having increased rapidly since the outbreak was first discovered in areas of East Anglia in October 2012. As of the 15th November, there have been 200 confirmed cases of Chalara fraxiena reported to the Forestry Commission. Of this total, 116 were cases of the disease occurring in natural woodland. Moreover, the disease is thought to have spread not just from infected imports but also through wind-borne spores; which can survive for extended periods of time and move up to 20-30 km per year (Forestry Commission, 2012).

The rapid pace and character of the disease could mean that, despite the best efforts of the government and environmental bodies to control and stop the spread of the disease, many Ash Trees (particularly younger trees) will leave a large, empty space in our countryside. It will likely be many years before woodland and Ash-dependant plant, animal and insect populations are able to recover.


If you want to know more about the disease and what solutions are being put forward then please head to The Woodland Trust's specialist prevention website- www.treedisease.co.uk.

There is also information available from The Forestry Commission: http://www.forestry.gov.uk/chalara. 

Lincolnshire's Missing Woodland

Statistics from The Woodland Trust show that Lincolnshire is one of the least wooded counties in the United Kingdom, with there being an average of 4.2% coverage. This is less than half the national average of 10% and below the recommended average of 15%.

These are worrying figures as woodland has a vital role to play in our environment. This includes: limiting the damage caused by floods, supporting local wildlife, preventing soil erosion and - perhaps most significantly - acting as a sink for our carbon emissions, thus lessening the impacts of global climate change.

Lincolnshire is a county in which the economic livelihood is dependent on agricultural output. Estimates from the Lincolnshire Research Observatory (LRO) show that the food and farming industry employs 10% of people who live in the county and that the economic reliance on this sector is four times the national average (LEFM, 2006). From this it is difficult to see how enough land could be spared to meet the recommended target of 15% without local farmers and communities suffering.

Nevertheless, a recent report by the Forestry Commission has suggested one way in which economic and environmental concerns could be equated. The Forestry Commission puts forward the idea that we should create and encourage the planting of small woodland areas on arable land. This includes: planting trees and other shrubbery (around farm buildings), tracks, storage yards and water courses. This proposal would not encroach upon available crop-planting land and, instead, could  increase the arability and profitability of the land.

This is because wooded areas help stabilise the soil, thus protecting land from soil erosion and nutrient run-off into rivers and streams. In areas prone to flooding, woodland can also protect against crop damage by soaking up excess water. This may be particularly relevant to agricultural areas near the coastline, who face the risk of storm surges due to the changing climate.

With the additional threats posed to Woodland by the fungal disease Chalara Franxiena (Ash dieback), it is essential that the Forestry Commission and other government bodies work together to advance all current Farm Woodland Schemes (FWS) and the English Woodland Grant Scheme (EWGS) in Lincolnshire and across the rest of the UK.