Protection of Woodland
Clearing of woodland for farmland and wood harvesting has pushed many plant and animal species on the edge of extinction, while over 40 species of broadleaved woodland have become extinct in the United Kingdom in one century only. The United Kingdom is one of few countries with increasing woodland areas but despite that it remains impoverished in regard to woodland areas. At the turn of the millennium, woodland covered about 10% of Britain’s land surface in contrary to most European countries with woods covering over 40% of their total territory.
The history of the United Kingdom is closely tied to clearing woodland in order to get more agricultural land. By the end of World War I, wooded areas in the country dropped to 5%. In 1919 was established the Forestry Commission which started a campaign for reforestation that has doubled the forested area in the United Kingdom by the end of 20th century. However, expansion of woodland in the United Kingdom saw predominantly emergence of fast-growing conifer plantations rather than native, broadleaved woodland. The trend has turned the other way around by the mid-1980’s and over 50% of “new” woods predominantly consisted of broadleaved trees by the mid-1990’s. At the same time, governmental and non-governmental woodland heritage organizations started to emphasize the importance of protection of ancient woodlands consisting of native tree species which are believed to exist in Britain for over 10,000 years.
Newly created woods are any less important than protection of ancient woodland but ancient woods are especially important because they provide an ideal habitat to native plant, animal and fungi species which depend on woodland either directly or indirectly. In addition, ancient woodland is just as important part of Britain’s heritage as historic palaces, homes and cathedrals giving the landscape an unique charm and beauty which served as inspiration to numerous artists. The thing that makes protection of ancient woodland one of the main priorities of the county’s forestry organization is the fact that ancient woods represent only 20% of all country’s woodland. In addition, they are very fragmented. About 50% of all ancient woodland is estimated to cover less than 5 hectares.
A detailed inventory of ancient woodland has been created in order to determine the exact location of this rare natural heritage as well as to identify the woods that need protection. The main threats to woodland have changed after the first half of the 20th century and most woods in the United Kingdom are no longer threatened by clearing and wood harvesting. However, many woods in the country face just as serious threats which have slightly changed. The awareness of the importance of woodland for the ecosystem as well as people has significantly improved over the past few decades but very problematic are the surrounding areas, in first place intensive agriculture. Many species are also threatened by a series of diseases of which are most serious fungal diseases. Insects are not as problematic at least in regard to native species. The methods of woodland protection therefore primarily base on identification of the main threats and taking measures for their prevention or elimination.
Protection of Britain’s woodland heritage does not focus on elimination of threats only. Governmental and non-governmental woodland heritage organizations that work on protection of woodland are also focused on acquirement of ancient woods, expansion of the existing ancient woodland and creation of “new” ones on their original sites, and campaigning to increase the awareness of importance of woodland heritage. They also go beyond the traditional woodland protection measures by emphasizing the greatest threat of all which could have a devastating effect for all life on our planet including people – climate change. Protection and expansion of woodland is the key to combat the global warming but on the other hand, the climate change threatens the woods as well, especially the native species. This means that protection of woodland will help reverse the climate change, while everyday measures that reduce the negative human impact on the environment will help protect heritage woodland.