<
https://phys.org/news/2025-04-analysis-tree-diversity-climate-resilience.html>
'In the face of mounting threats from climate change, mixed species forests
have been called an "insurance policy" for UK forestry in a new literature
review supported by DEFRA and Teagasc.
Looking beyond a traditional monoculture approach to forestry, the
paper—published in the
Quarterly Journal of Forestry—shows that greater
species diversity in productive forests can address multiple crises, from
climate change and biodiversity loss, to housing and domestic timber shortages.
The authors, Andrew Leslie of Forest Research and Ian Short of Teagasc, suggest
that mixed species forest stands (consisting of broadleaves or broadleaves with
conifers) can increase resilience to extreme weather, benefit wildlife, reduce
damage from pests and diseases, increase productivity and improve the financial
returns from broadleaved trees.
As broadleaved trees, also known as hardwoods, occupy the majority of British
woodlands, these findings are of particular importance, not just for addressing
climate change and biodiversity decline, but also meeting sustainable housing
targets laid out in the government's new
Timber in Construction Roadmap.
This strategy aims to address the housing and climate crises through greater
adoption of sustainable building materials while strengthening the UK's
domestic timber market and meeting construction targets.
Comparing the average production volume of hardwood sawlogs against France and
Germany demonstrates how far the UK is lagging behind its European
counterparts. According to data presented in the paper, the UK produces
approximately six times less hardwood sawlogs per hectare annually than France
and fifteen times less than Germany.'
Via Susan ****
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
