Tree Charter

Combat the threats to our habitats

Pests, diseases and climate change pose serious threats to our precious trees. Enlightened management of woods will help ensure their future health: planting strong seeds and saplings, selecting species suited to the site, keeping forests mixed in age and kind, regular thinning, combatting invasive plants, and controlling infections and pests at the earliest sign.

TREE CHARTER IN ACTION

Articles
Evidence

Bring all woods into management
Managed woods are more resilient to the threats of pests, disease and climate change than neglected woods. Effective incentives are needed for woods to be brought back into management and for all woodlands to be managed to nationally recognised standards.

Provide clear good practice guidelines on planting and management
Informed decisions about species choice can ensure the best chance of newly planted trees thriving to create, replenish or buffer woodland habitats. Selection of the right tree in the right place should be supported through free-to-access, site-specific decision support tools. Knowledge networks should be created and maintained so that the skills required to manage woods well are available to all those who own or manage them.

Ensure diversity of trees across the landscape
Woodland habitats dominated by one species of tree are vulnerable, because the impact of a pest or disease that affects that species could decimate the landscape. Diversification of tree species and ages should be encouraged in all woodland and across landscapes to enhance resilience to threats.

Let woods breathe
A crowded wood leads to weaker trees more vulnerable to threats. Young woodland should be regularly thinned to promote growth of healthy trees by giving them the light and space to thrive.

Actively manage orchards for the future
Orchards need active management to endure. Good orchard management practice, including regular pruning and mulching, should be encouraged and supported to maximise the health and resilience of orchards long term.

Act fast on pests and invasive species
Woods can be irreparably damaged when populations of destructive animals and plants get out of control. Woods and landscapes with trees should be monitored closely, and the rigorous and sustained control of pests and destructive invasive species should be undertaken where needed to deliver management objectives, contain outbreaks and avoid extensive damage.

Invest in research to find solutions to tree diseases
Knowledge is our greatest tool in protecting the woods and trees of the future. Support should be provided for research into causes and treatments of tree disease, development of more productive and resilient tree species, and the sharing of knowledge and data between professionals and through volunteer networks.

Ensure an early warning system for tree disease and pests
We need to monitor for threats closely to ensure problems are identified before they get out of control. Properly funded and co-ordinated methods to report and effectively control pests and diseases should be maintained. This should include encouraging and enabling the general public to report sightings, outbreaks or concerns.

Maintain a disease-free supply chain for trees and timber
Preventing the spread of disease is better than treatment. Seed should be regulated to ensure it meets at least the basic standard of being sourced from trees and woods certified disease free, germinated and grown in the UK before planting. Rigorous biosecurity should be in place for all trees and timber to prevent the spread of pests and diseases.

Farm Forestry
This special report by Confor features four case studies where farmers have successfully embraced forestry on their lands.
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Combatting Climate Change
The Forestry Commission commissioned an assessment of the potential of the UK’s trees and woodlands to mitigate and adapt to climate change.
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Sustainable forest management
The Food and Agricultural Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) promotes sustainable forest management to address deforestation and to provide societal and environmental benefits.
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Seeing the Wood for the Trees
The House of Commons Forestry in England report looks at the incentives for a barriers to woodland creation in England.
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National Tree Improvement Strategy
This Future Trees Trust strategy advises on how to select the appropriate tree species to ensure sustainable woods.
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Climate change impacts
Forest Research have produced a number of reports examining the impacts of climate change on England’s woodlands and adaptations to forestry management required.
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Right Tree, Right Place
Guidance from the Forestry Commission advises on planning for forestry and woodlands.
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Selecting tree species
Plan planting and management for the future using the Ecological Site Classification Decision Support System (ESC-DSS) from Forest Research.
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Coping with change
The Sylva Foundation provides a digest of the issues facing woods and trees in 2017 and in years to come.
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DON'T STOP THERE

Forestry machinery lifting felled timber

Access free woodland management tools and guidance from Sylva Foundation

Find out more

Volunteers checking a tree for signs of disease

Recognise and treat tree pests and diseases with guides from the Forestry Commission

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Fallow deer locking antlers during the rut

Support The Deer Initiative - sustainable management of deer in England and Wales

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Trees outside of woods in an open landscape

Help the Forestry Commission gather information about the health of the nation's trees

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Hawthorn leaf speckled with changing colour in autumn

Help track the effects of weather and climate change on trees with Nature’s Calendar

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Person choosing trees to plant in an urban garden

Use Royal Forestry Society resources to help inform tree selection

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Rows of newly planted saplings in protective tree guards

Find resources and training on orchard care from The Orchard Project

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Forester in protective gear with a quad bike spraying tree pests

Learn about the UK Forestry Standard (UKFS) for sustainable forestry management

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Non-native grey squirrel on the woodland floor

Understand how the UK Squirrel Accord is helping woodland and native wildlife

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Learn about the benefits of woods and trees for the wider environment

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YOUR STORIES

Young trees protected by guards by a new development

"There are beautiful horse chestnut and newly planted silver birch in the park near where I live. As well as being life giving they are soothing and peaceful in a busy urban setting. In Scotland tree planting has to compete with subsidies given to farmers for grazing sheep - which are in direct competition to tree planting. As a taxi driver in Edinburgh it is plain for me to see how trees make my city beautiful. All cities should manage all the trees in their boundaries as a forest to be managed and maintained and developed. So trees in cities could be grown commercially with a solid replanting programme and expansion plans."

Peter

Image: Trees For Cities

Cyclist riding past an ancient oak tree on the roadside

"We in our area of Livingston have a large park, Craigshill Almond Park. We have already planted about 500 trees with the help of Woodland Trust, the public love walks through the park and seeing all the different kinds of trees and the wildlife they attract. More trees need more wildlife. We hope to plant many more trees in the future."

Alexander

Image: @WHEELZWHEELER

"To me trees provide the heart beat of the earth. If it’s healthy then we all are healthy. There is nothing sadder than watching a tree deteriorate through disease and neglect, and nothing more uplifting that watching one grow and flourish over the years."

Sue

Image: Emma Aitken

Woodland den made from large fallen branches

"Trees are important to me for many reasons, the biggest being they are the filter system for the whole planet and without them there would be no us! Also, there is protection from the elements for many animals, big and small. They have been a major source of building materials for centuries, right down to young children building treehouses or just a tree camp. Without trees we would just be a desert. We need to look after our trees for now and the future, because without them there is no future."

Jamie

Image: Matt Larsen-Daw

Mixed woodland of mature and young trees

"We need to protect and increase the numbers of native trees to ensure our wildlife heritage and diversity. When I was younger I worked as a volunteer at Nower Wood in Surrey, helping with woodland management including coppicing areas where bluebells were abundant."

David

Image: Debbie Hookway

View of a mixed deciduous woodland from above

"Trees in UK are under more threats than ever before. Climate change, pests, but more importantly, a seeming lack of government protection. Living near Horsham, the area is constantly under threat of ever more redevelopment. We have already lost so many beautiful trees. There’s a continuing threat to woodland, but we must protect it for future generations. Trees play a vital part in the ecosystem, and therefore integral to our countryside and towns. In our so-called advanced society, it seems strange that we don’t have stronger protection for our woodlands."

Gill

Image: Durham Wildlife Trust

"As well as being a traditional part of our landscape, trees provide many important functions – they cleanse the air, turn CO2 back into oxygen and provide valuable habitat for birds, plants, fungi and microorganisms. In addition, by planting and managing a wide variety of trees, we could become much less dependent on imported timber. Further, by stabilising the ground they can cut down, even prevent, soil erosion and flooding."

John

Image: Matt Larsen-Daw