Multi-functional silvopastoral systems provide a wide range of services to human society including the regulation of nutrients and water in soils and the sequestration of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2). Although silvopastoral systems significantly contribute to enhance aboveground carbon (C) sequestration (e.g. C accumulation in woody plant biomass), their long-term effects on soil C pools are less clear. In this study we performed soil physical fractionation analyses to quantify the C pool of different aggregate fractions across three land use types including (1) silvopastoral system with ash trees (Fraxinus excelsior L.), (2) planted woodland with ash trees, and (3) permanent grassland, which were established in 1989 at Loughgall, Northern Ireland, UK. Our results show that 26 years after the conversion of permanent grassland to either silvopastoral or woodland systems, soil C (and N) stocks (0-20 cm depth) did not significantly change between the three land use types. We found, however, that permanent grassland soils were associated with significantly higher C pools (g C kg-1 soil; P < 0.03) of the large macro-aggregate fraction (>2 mm) whereas soil C pools of the micro-aggregate (53-250 μm) and silt & clay (< 53 μm) fractions were significantly higher in the silvopastoral and woodland systems (P < 0.05). A key finding of this study is that while tree planting on permanent grassland may not contribute to greater soil C stocks it may, in the long-term, increase the C pool of more stable (recalcitrant) soil micro-aggregate and silt & clay fractions, which could be more resilient to environmental change.

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The translocation of wildlife habitats remains controversial in the UK and as a last resort where prime ecosystems are involved. None is more contentious as those for woodland designated as 'ancient semi-natural woodland' (i.e., have been in situ for some 400 years or more). There are very few accessible and informative first-hand reports of woodland translocation schemes from which to learn. In this paper we discuss the outcomes of the monitoring of vascular plants and invertebrates one year after translocation of part of an ancient semi-natural woodland, following the granting of planning consent to extend a nationally important aggregate resource. The monitoring in the first year following translocation has been of particular importance as it identified that the representative species, which are needed to re-establish and develop into similar woodland communities to those of the donor, are present. It demonstrates that the physical translocation of the 'whole woodland' vascular plant assemblage is more feasible than previously canvassed, and something that is equivalent to familiar woodland practices of clear-felling operations or coppice rotations. It also determined the need and focus for the proactive control of invasive species that will be needed to achieve the longer-term objective in the vicinity of both the donor woodland and the receptor site, prior to, during and after translocation. The findings are timely and of relevance, beyond the mineral extraction industry, to infrastructure and other built developments involving important woodland ecosystems.