Trees are a fantastic landscape feature. They can hold immense historical value, with some being over 1,000 years old. They also have great significance for a range of wildlife.
Ancient Trees
Ancient trees can never be replaced once lost. These features can stand alone or be part of a woodland. They have not only survived hundreds of years of historical events and a changing world, but are key habitats for many different species. The older a tree becomes the more important it becomes for wildlife, providing increasing habitat niches of value to myriad different species.
These trees can be identified by their large, gnarled, knotted, and hollow appearance with small canopies and wide coarse trunks as they have attained natural maturity and reached the final stage of their lifecycle. Even now they are likely to survive for many more years, and even as they deteriorate and eventually die they will continue to provide for wildlife.
They contain their own ecosystem and need little managing unless they are at a stage where they could be a danger to life. They will contain fungi from root to leaf and they are important to the plants and trees around them by releasing nutrients. They are also a food source for insects such as beetles and animals such as mice and squirrels. Many invertebrates rely on decaying wood (up to 2,000 species in the UK) and these ancient trees are very important for these creatures due to the fact that there is a shortage of deadwood in the UK. Finally, lots of lichens take many, many years to grow and ancient trees that can range between the ages of 150 and 5,000 years old make a perfect place for them to grow. The loss of these trees will mean a loss of many associated species.
It is important to protect the existing ancient trees in the landscape as well as planting more trees to become the ancient trees of the future.
Hedgerow trees
Hedgerow trees offer many important resources to wildlife. Over half of the priority species associated with hedgerows rely on trees. Birds nest in trees and use them as territory markers or song-posts. Hedgerow trees are also extremely important for bats.
Tree planting
Considering if a site is suitable for tree planting – The Wildlife Trusts
Pollarding trees
These are trees where the top and branches have been removed, creating a distinct growth form of branches arising from a noticeably thickened trunk. Pollarding means that valuable timber can be extracted from the tree, and it can also prolong the life of the tree by prompting renewed growth.