The Woodland Trust welcomes the opportunity to respond to the above document. The comments that follow are delivered on behalf of the United Kingdom’s leading charity solely dedicated to the conservation of native and broadleaved woodland. We achieve our purposes through a combination of acquiring woodland and sites for planting and through wider advocacy of the importance of protecting ancient woodland, enhancing its biodiversity, expanding woodland cover and increasing public enjoyment. We own over 1,050 sites across the country, covering 17,400 hectares.
The Woodland Trust and the Ancient Tree Forum are working together in promoting the conservation of ancient trees. The Ancient Tree Forum advocate no further avoidable loss of ancient trees, good management of ancient trees, the development of a succession of future ancient trees, and seek to raise awareness and understanding of their value and importance.
Overview
- We regard this as an important opportunity to comment on a document which will influence the management of some of our most important sites with ancient trees and also ancient woodland in large parks.
- We are pleased to see that there are references to the importance of veteran trees in the document and that the plan should recognise wildlife interests and Biodiversity Action Plans.
- We approach this paper from the standpoint that our ancient woods and trees are an integral part of the historic environment and may well predate the designed landscape, especially registered parks and gardens. These ancient features are likely to be remnants of earlier landscapes and are among the great glories of our heritage, not simply from a nature conservation standpoint but also as rich reflections of our cultural history.
- We feel that the document would be greatly enhanced through stronger reference to the role which the historic countryside and semi-natural habitats have played and continue to play as part of the setting and context for designed landscape. Our concern is that too often the designed, man made landscape takes precedence over more natural features without appropriate evaluation.
- Research undertaken for the Woodland Trust (R. S. G. B. (1998) Woodland Trust Omnibus Survey, 0843/16) revealed that 90% of the general public believe ancient woodland (land continuously wooded since AD1600) to be as much part of our heritage as castles and cathedrals and should receive special protection. As well as being diverse, complex ecosystems which support a huge wealth of plants and animals, ancient woods are places of inordinate beauty, reservoirs of evidence for environmental change, archaeology and economic history and a source of inspiration for local culture and folklore. In some cases ancient woods form a direct link back to the original wildwood which became established after the last Ice Age whilst Bronze and Iron Age earthworks, ancient park boundaries,
woodbanks, coppice stools and pollards all help to give us a picture of land use by our ancestors.
- Ancient woods and trees are therefore not only a vital part of our historic environment but also contribute to outstanding historic landscapes. Despite this they are alarmingly lacking in any protection. We would like to see within this document greater recognition that although they lack any formal protection, ancient woods and trees are in fact extremely important from an historic point of view and their best interests are met through management which is focused upon preserving historic continuity (England for example may be home to most of Europe’s ancient trees).
- Modern intensively reared stock and agricultural practices have been extremely damaging to ancient trees. We would therefore like to see greater emphasis on the use of historic types of stock (rare breeds) and grazing regimes in management plans. At the time of the designed landscape the stock would have been organic and at densities which would utilise the grazing area
sustainably.
- Similarly modern intensive forestry practices have impacts on ancient woodland. We would like to see appropriate woodland management which would reflect the historic origins of the site.
Some Further Detailed Observations
Page 4, Para 3: in planning to restore an historic park or garden the owner or manager will need to understand the significance of the historic natural landscape which predates the designed landscape.
Page 8, Developing an overview: we welcome the focus on cataloguing the features which have been lost and would emphasise the importance of identifying areas of ancient woodland and ancient trees which have been lost.
Page 12, Site Description and list of designations: we would like to see County Sites of Nature Conservation Significance included in this list although they are not a statutory designation.
Page 16: choosing consultants. It would be our experience that an arborist with specialist experience in working on ancient trees would be vital in any management of a site with ancient trees. We would be pleased if the Ancient Tree Forum web site could be mentioned in the appropriate place: www.ancient-tree-forum.org.uk
Page 19, References: we are pleased to see the English Nature handbook:
'Veteran Trees – a guide to good management’ in this section.
The Woodland Trust, Autumn Park, Grantham, LINCOLNSHIRE NG31 6LL
http://www.woodland-trust.org.uk/policy
http://www.epolitix.com/forum/woodland-trust
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