Woodland to be left to nature in Forestry England project

A new project by Forestry England will see 8,000 ha of woodland 'left to nature' at four sites, with species reintroduction programmes among the plans.

The scheme will be carried out in four areas, including Castle Neroche in Somerset and Kielder Forest in Northumberland, and will include a number of initiatives, including the possible reintroduction of lost wildlife, such as butterflies, plants and beavers, and the moving of funghi to restore soil.

Andrew Stringer, Forestry England's head of environment, said: "We will intervene less in these four wild areas, giving nature the time and space to reshape the forest landscape."

Forestry England's plans aim to boost woodland wildlife such as Hawfinch (Steven Brown).

Sustainable timber

Forestry England said the areas, which also include Newtondale in North Yorkshire and Purbeck in Dorset, will welcome visitors but will continue to be a source of sustainable timber through an innovative model of productive forestry.

Mr Stringer said while they do not know exactly how each of the areas will change, the "uncertainty is a positive part of being experimental and allowing natural processes to shape each landscape in the years ahead."

"We are confident that whatever happens these areas will become more nature-rich, with benefits for neighbouring landscapes," he added.

Reversing biodiversity loss

He said that forestry will "still be an essential activity" but that over time the benefits of less intervention "will be enormous in terms of climate resilience, reversing biodiversity loss, providing greater natural capital benefits to society such as natural flood mitigation, soil health, air quality and carbon storage".

The work will also be carried out alongside nature restoration and scientific data-gathering experts to analyse progress.