There is global recognition that woodland expansion could be one of the most effective solutions in the fight against climate change.
There is global recognition that woodland expansion could be one of the most effective solutions in the fight against climate change.
However, new research has shown that the level of growth needed to produce the amount of trees required by UK targets is unlikely to be achieved through natural means alone.
Environmental scientists and ecologists at the University of Plymouth showed that browsing behaviour by livestock is a major determinant of the expansion and connection of fragmented UK upland oak woodlands – so-called ‘temperate rainforests’.
The study, focused on Dartmoor in South West England, found the presence of livestock led to far fewer oak saplings surviving. When saplings did survive, they were smaller and in poorer condition, and seldom lived beyond eight years old without protection.
Interestingly, however, disturbance by grazing livestock may not be all bad and its precise impact may depend on surrounding plant species.
For example, although toxic bracken may help protect the youngest tree seedlings from grazing animals, too much bracken may reduce suitable conditions for oak sapling establishment due to increased competition for light.
Read more at: University of Plymouth
