Number 73 • September 2011 In Practice Bulletin of the Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management Woodlands and Forestry INFORMATION In Practice No. 73, Sep 2011. ISSN 1754-4882 Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management Editor: Jason Reeves ([email protected]) IEEM aims to raise the profile of the profession of ecology and environmental management, to establish, maintain and Editorial Board enhance professional standards, and to promote an ethic of environmental care within the profession and to clients and Mr Jonathan Barnes Mr Matthew Chatfield employers of its members. Dr Andrew Cherrill Ms Sally Hayns Dr William Latimer Mrs Allison Potts Patrons Mr Paul Rooney Mr Paul Scott Prof Charles Gimingham Prof David Goode Miss Katrena Stanhope Miss Emma Toovey Mr Chris Packham The Earl of Selborne Mr Darren Towers Baroness Barbara Young In Practice is published quarterly by the Institute of Ecology and Office Bearers Environmental Management. 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Naturally Professional © Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management IEEM is a member of the following organisations and networks: The Institute is immensely grateful to those organisations below which have made financial contributions or provided substantial ‘help in kind’ to support its activities during 2011. European Network of Environmental Professionals Atkins ARUP McParland Finn RPS EDITORIAL AND CONTENTS CONTENTS Information 2 Editorial Editorial and Contents 3 A Deeper Shade of Green: The Case for 4 - 6 Whither Woodland and Forestry in Britain? Trees and Woods in Green Infrastructure Sian Atkinson orestry should be on a roll. After a decade or so in the Fdoldrums, timber and wood prices are starting to rise; Irish Forest Biodiversity Research: New 7 - 10 interest in agro-forestry is up. The sector was exploring concepts Knowledge from the Canopy Sandra Irwin of multiple benefits and valuing non-market products and services long before the concept of ecosystem services became Deadwood: Importance and Management 11 - 15 fashionable. Forest expansion is seen as a potentially cost- Chris Cathrine MIEEM and Andy Amphlett effective way of increasing carbon sequestration. New woods How Forest Product Markets Deliver 16 - 19 and trees can improve the diversity of the countryside and the Woodland Biodiversity permeability of landscapes to species movement to help meet Mariska van der Linden the aspirations set out in the Lawton Report and the Natural In Pursuit of the Truth About Coppice 20 - 21 Environment White Paper. By and large the public ‘get’ trees and Woodland Management in the South East woods, as is clear from the interest the Big Tree Plant. Big Society Debbie Bartlett CEnv FIEEM initiatives may revive interest in community woodland. The New LISS/CSCS Skills Card – One 22 Card Does It All Yet there are considerable challenges ahead for the forestry sector. The Forestry Denise Ewbank Commission is having to bear its share of spending cuts. Forestry policy is What is an Ecologist/Environmental 23 - 26 being reviewed in England by an independent panel; in Wales there is a study Manager? How Do Students and Other around merging Forestry Commission Wales, Environment Agency Wales and the Professions See Us? Countryside Council for Wales. Peter Glaves MIEEM Woodland management is hampered by inadequate deer management in Closing the Gap: Making the Case for 27 - 29 many places. There is the impact of emerging pests and diseases, particularly Investment in Ecological Skills Phytophthora spp., acute oak decline and red band needle blight; other threats Max Wade CEnv FIEEM await just across the Channel. IEEM Summer Conference 2011: 30 - 31 Biodiversity and the Big Society There is concern in some conservation circles that forest expansion could be at Becky May AIEEM the expense of valued open habitats, if not the peatlands targeted in the 1980s, then dry heathland soils or other unproductive agricultural land. We cannot afford IEEM Medal Awarded to Pavan Sukhdev at 33 - 35 the House of Lords a re-run of the antagonism that existed between the forestry and conservation Jason Reeves AIEEM sectors. Both groups need to work together to identify where different types of woods and other non-woodland tree cover provide the greatest overall benefits. Competencies for Species Survey 36 - 37 We then must get the funds or other incentives in place to deliver these. Jessica Batchelor GradIEEM Trees and woods starting to grow now will mature at the end of the century Professional Guidance Series 37 Jessica Batchelor GradIEEM when the impact of climate change is expected to have become significant. The countryside and society’s needs could be quite different to what they are now. NERC BESS Funding 39 Both native species and current commercial species could come under pressure. Jason Reeves AIEEM We must find a balance between what trees will be wanted in, say, 60 years time, All Party Parliamentary Group 39 and what will survive and thrive in the meantime. Jason Reeves AIEEM At the same time we must not neglect the legacy of the past. Ancient semi- CIRIA Working With Wildlife 40 natural woods, wood-pastures and parkland may change but they are still likely Jason Reeves AIEEM to remain rich in tree and woodland species. Throughout the country there are RTPI Planning Convention 40 good examples of replanted ancient woods being restored to native broadleaves, Jason Reeves AIEEM of veteran trees being ‘rescued’ from over-shading by younger growth. Such Institute News 41 - 42 processes must continue. These woods and trees are the sources from which woodland plants and animals will spread out to the new trees and woodland Geographic Section News 43 - 47 that (I hope) are going to be created. Open habitats that were planted up with Partnership News 48 conifers in the post-War period should also continue to be restored, but to expand this programme without decreasing the total area of woodland, the rate of Recent Publications 49 afforestation must also increase. In the Journals 50 - 53 Foresters need to embrace non-woodland trees. In cities the concept of the ‘urban News in Brief 54 - 55 forest’ as including all types of tree cover is promoted, but in the countryside Tauro-Scatology 56 there can be a divide between ‘proper forestry’ that deals with woods and the management of the rest of the tree-scape. Yet many of our most important Advertisements 57 - 62 veteran trees are outside woods; many of the benefits that woods bring can also New and Prospective Members 63 be provided by dispersed tree populations. Diary 64 Discussions on the next round of rural development programmes under Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) reform are underway. These could provide an opportunity to integrate and, if possible, simplify, incentives and regulation across land-use generally. So in the International Year of Forests let us plan for the century of trees Cover image: Gamlingay Wood, Cambridgeshire and woods. Photography: Pete Johnstone CEnv MIEEM ([email protected]) Keith Kirby FIEEM Artwork on the cover will normally illustrate an article in, Forestry and Woodland Officer (Evidence Team), Natural England or the theme of, the current issue. The Editor would be pleased to consider any such material from authors. A DEEPER SHADE OF GREEN A Deeper Shade of Green: The Case for Trees and Woods in Green Infrastructure Sian Atkinson Conservation Adviser, The Woodland Trust here is nothing new in the idea that green spaces Tare important and should be incorporated in our spatial planning. More than a century ago, Ebenezer Howard1 dreamed up garden cities – small, planned communities that would combine the amenities of urban life with the ready access to nature typical of rural environments.