British woodlands 'at crisis point'

The United Kingdom's native woodlands face a "barrage of threats", according to new research that finds just 7 percent are in good condition.

Climate change, habitat damage, and nitrogen pollution are pushing woodlands to crisis point, warned the Woodland Trust's State of the UK's Woods and Trees 2021 report.

It warned that unless these threats are addressed, the UK's ability to manage climate and nature crises will be "severely damaged".

Among its key findings, the report found that although woodland cover across the country is gradually increasing, woodland wildlife is decreasing.

Woodland birds are down 29 percent since 1970, butterflies have declined 41 percent since 1990 and plants by 18 percent since 2015, the report warned.

The study highlighted the slow rate of expansion of woods, despite a government promise to more than double the annual planting rate by 2025.

Woodland today covers 13.2 percent of the UK's land surface, and the UK's Climate Change Committee last year recommended that this proportion should rise to at least 17 percent by 2050 to help the UK to meet its target of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by storing carbon in trees. This would mean planting 2 billion new trees and require a tripling of the growth rate, the committee said.

The trust's report noted that existing native woodlands are "isolated "and "in poor ecological condition". It said these factors, in addition to the widespread loss of "trees outside woods" from the landscape, including treasured ancient trees, have all contributed to wildlife loss.

"The warning signs in this report are loud and clear," said Abi Bunker, director of conservation and external affairs at the Woodland Trust, quoted by the BBC.

"If we don't tackle the threats facing our woods and trees, we will severely damage the UK's ability to address the climate and nature crises."

The report said that in relation to the mental well-being of individuals in society, woods and trees "lock up carbon to fight climate change; reduce pollution and flooding, and support people, wildlife and livestock in adapting to climate change in towns and countryside".

The authors of the study warned that woods and trees face "coinciding" threats from development, climate impacts, imported diseases, invasive plants and air pollutants. It said these threats "diminish the benefits of woods and trees for people and for wildlife".

It said "not nearly enough" is being done to create "high-quality and resilient native woodlands as part of larger ecological networks".

The study said solutions must include highlighting best practice, building a stronger evidence base, and learning from existing local initiatives.

A spokesperson for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, quoted by Sky News, said: "As part of our ambitious environmental program, we have committed to increase woodland creation across the UK to 30,000 hectares per year by 2025. We have already announced the Nature for Climate Fund and will shortly publish our action plan for trees and woodland, which will help us meet this target by ensuring we plant new high-quality, well-managed woodlands and improve the condition and resilience of existing ones."