Growing woodland to withstand storms and gales

Growing woodland to withstand storms and gales - Royal Forestry Society

Our woods need to change if they are to survive the impacts more storms and gales will have as a result of climate change in the future, says the Royal Forestry Society (RFS).

Measures can be implemented now. They include growing more species suitable for local soils and predicted climate conditions. Changing thinning regimes and introducing structural diversity – different trees of varying heights and ages – should also be considered.

RFS Chief Executive Christopher Williams He says: “Our thoughts go out to all those who have suffered loss or injury as a result of Storms Arwen and Barra. These events underline why we must be thinking now about how we minimise windthrow risk in the future. In past centuries we planned and grew our woodland believing the environment was stable. We now know there is a likelihood of increasingly frequent and severe gales under predicted climate change scenarios for the UK. We must therefore plan and manage our woodland differently to future proof not just against windblow events but against the spread of pests and diseases carried on the wind.”

Woodland in England typically relies on a small number of key species. Five conifer species account for 88% of the softwood forests and five broadleaf species make up over 72% of the hardwood woodland resource. Many are grown in monoculture.

For those restocking woodland after trees have blown down, Christopher Williams says there is an opportunity to add structural and species diversity into woods. Such moves would lessen the chances of storms toppling whole areas of single age/single height trees, leaving nothing standing. Depending on management objectives, considering continuous cover forestry, introducing shorter rotations or earlier thinning might also help adapt existing woods.

Those planting new woodland to meet Government tree cover targets should incorporate storm proofing into their forest design and operational planning. This should include a diversity of species planted at different ages to ensure that the woodland matures over time rather than at one point in the future.