Ancient Tree Forum

Locations of important concentrations of ancient trees in the UK - click on the map above		The British landscape once dominated by wildwood after the last ice age has since Neolithic man been subject to constant change due to the management of land and the utilisation of its resources. Existing countryside that was once extensive forest is now predominately a mosaic of agricultural, heath and moorland with woodland covering just some 11% of the land. Even the woodland has changed and just 2% of ancient woodland (woodland that has existed since 1600 and probably before) remains. It is very precious as it is the richest habitat in the UK. More recently farmland practices included the removal of hedgerows, hedgerow trees and many small woodland copses as a means of expanding field sizes and the converting pasture to arable, which usually included the removal of farmland trees, has furthered the decline of the tree in the British landscape. Recent natural events have had a further profound impact on the landscape such as Dutch elm Disease in the 1970s resulting in the death of the entire population of mature Elms. The great storms of 1987 and 1990 continued to alter the treescape particularly in Southern areas with the loss of millions of trees. Throughout Europe further great winds such as the hurricanes of December 1999 are continuing perhaps with greater frequency to have dramatic effects on the treescape. At present, the current outbreak of oak dieback, which appears widespread throughout Europe, is causing the loss of many trees in some areas and environmental and pathogenic problems are threatening several other tree species such as alder and ash. Despite all these events, fragments of the ancient treescape still remain today. Many of the surviving ancient trees can be found in the vestiges of the once extensive system of Royal Hunting forests and their successors, the more formalised medieval deer parks. More scattered groups of trees can also be found in historic parkland, wood pasture and ancient wooded commons with small groups and individual specimens to be found on farmland, village greens, churchyards and within the grounds of old historic buildings. In the open countryside, scattered across much of England, ancient black poplars can be found on flood plains in meadows and occasionally in ancient hedges. Ancient ash cling to limestone rock in the Northern dales and in the Derbyshire dales coppiced lime stools are so old that the rock that they sit on has eroded away from their roots giving the appearance that the tree is supported by stilts. In the Scottish Borders ancient wood pasture oaks can be found at Cadzow and Dalkeith and ancient Scots pine survive in the Caledonian Forest way up in the Highlands. Wales has a history of hunting forests, a few of which were Royal Forests where occasional ancient trees can still be found. In addition old parkland oak survive in ancient parks such as Dinefwr Park and Chirk Park.

Heritage