There are likely to be skills and local knowledge within nearby wildlife groups, and individual naturalists and ecologists. Others may be affected in unexpected ways for example, bats may be disturbed if the ambient conditions around their roost are altered. Some species, such as lichens, ferns and mosses, will have taken centuries to build up and can be very quickly impacted by machinery, a change in light conditions or competition with other species. This will help you work out what management might be best across your site, while avoiding disturbance to rare or protected species. By managing woodlands sustainably we are nurturing a habitat that is brilliant for both wildlife and people.īefore you begin any management work on a woodland, assess what is currently growing and living on site. They absorb noise, pollution and carbon dioxide, they release oxygen, screen buildings, reduce flooding and provide a source of sustainable livelihoods and timber. For people, they provide places to explore and connect with nature and a sense of well-being. Woodlands define the landscape and, whether ancient or young, provide homes for thousands of species of plants, animals and fungi. Ultimately this reduces the amount of wildlife that can live in them so we often aim for a mix of habitats in our woodland nature reserves.
Without some form of management many of our woodlands will become dark, over-shaded and dominated by big mature trees without any variation in structure, age or cover. Often this work is mimicking natural processes like wind and storm damage or grazing by large animals like bison and elephants that would have once lived in our woodlands. The Wildlife Trusts manage hundreds of woodland nature reserves and this often involves a mix of approaches – some areas are managed by coppicing and maintaining open areas like rides and some areas are left to go wild. Much of the wildlife within our woodlands now relies on active management to provide a mix of different habitats, from piles of dead wood which can help beetles and fungi to open glades which help butterflies.
THE COPPICE WOODLAND PATCH
Anyone who owns a patch of woodland can help make it as diverse as possible for wildlife.
THE COPPICE WOODLAND FULL
Keeping our woodlands full of wildlife is an important job. Since the last ice age our woodlands have massively reduced in their extent and the UK now has less tree cover than most European countries. Woodland habitats in the UK are varied and unique, ranging from ancient beech woodlands in the south to native pinewoods in the north, where red squirrels and wildcats roam.