Importance of Woodland
Even the smallest wooded area has a priceless value for both humans and wildlife. Woodland helps stabilize the soil, serves as a habitat for thousands of animal and plant species, absorbs the harmful carbon dioxide and generates oxygen which in turn enables us to breathe a cleaner air as well as to combat the global warming. Woodland has also a major economic value and is the key for timber industry although the latter is one of the greatest threats for woodland which is particularly obvious in the United Kingdom. The British use at least 50 million tonnes of timber per year, while Britain’s woodland and forests are unable to supply the demand. Britain has about 10% of wooded areas which cannot compare with other European countries which have in average 44% of wooded landscape. In addition, native woodland in the United Kingdom represents about 40% of wooded areas only. Ancient woodland accounts for about 20% of Britain’s wooden areas, while the remaining 40% are non-native woods.
Humans have been closely connected with woodland since prehistory. The wood provided them a shelter, raw materials as well as food. However, humans started to clear woodland in order to gain new agricultural areas, harvested trees for wood and used the woods to graze livestock as early as 4,000 BC although some archaeologists estimate that clearance of woodland by fire and axes has started much earlier. Deforestation continued until the early 20th century when Britain’s woodland fell to 5% of total land surface. After the World War I that seriously affected the supply of timber, the British government established the Forestry Commission in order to protect and expand the country’s woodland and forests. Wooden areas in the United Kingdom have been increasing since 1919 reaching about 10% by the end of 20th century which is encouraging but still far below the European average. The increased use of reclaimed timber and reclaimed furniture is assisting the slow increase in forestation. Another major problem is the fact that reforestation mostly based on planting of fast-growing conifer trees rather than native trees until the early 1980’s which has left the country impoverished in regard to native tree species as well as biodiversity because many animal and plant species depend on native trees. However, the United Kingdom is one of few countries in the world with increasing percentage of wooded land although the rate has slowed at the turn of the millennium.
Most people associate importance of woodland as the source of wood but its role as a habitat for wildlife and absorption of carbon dioxide is even more important. Woodland is crucial for survival of thousands of wild animal and plant species both directly and indirectly. In the United Kingdom, wooded areas provide food and shelter to many mammals including squirrels, weasels, mice, hedgehogs, foxes, badgers, voles and many others which spend at least a part of their time in woods, while some such as dormice live almost exclusively in woods. Woodland is also of vital importance for numerous birds such as woodpeckers, swallows, starlings, etc. not to mention the countless insects. In compare to other European countries, Britain is home to relatively little reptiles and amphibians but those few species that live in the United Kingdom depend on woodland as well. In addition to trees, woodland is also home to numerous other plant species and fungi. Without woodland, many plant and animal species would be unable to survive and subsequently humans as well.
Woodland is the most important air filter because the more the trees the less the carbon dioxide. All plants absorb carbon dioxide and release pure oxygen but trees absorb much more carbon dioxide and other harmful gases than smaller plants. For that reason preservation of woodlands and forests is crucial if we want to reverse the global warming which is linked to increase of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Afforestation or reforestation alone is inadequate to fight the climate change but without restoration of depleted woodland the humanity has no future. The conditions in the United Kingdom have been improving since the end of World War I at a steady pace but the country’s forest management and reforestation still have a long way to go.