New woodlands created adjacent to existing woodlands grow faster, taller and have higher structural diversity than isolated counterparts

Hughes, Samuel; Kunin, William E.; Watts, Kevin; Ziv, Guy

doi:10.1111/rec.13889

Cited by 5 publications

(4 citation statements)

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“…At distances greater than 20 m from the seed source, the tree density may be more linked to seed dispersal, which declines with distance ( Nakagoshi & Wada 1990;Letcher & Chazdon 2009;Broughton et al 2021). Colonized trees are taller next to the seed source than further into the open habitat as they potentially arrived earlier and pre-existing mature trees (seed source) are likely having a commensal effect, protecting developing trees from wind, reducing water stress, and reducing competition from ruderal species (Meng et al 2006;Craine & Dybzinski 2013;Hughes et al 2023). We did not identify an effect on the pattern of tree distribution between former land uses, but each had markedly different baselines of tree density and height.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In this study, acid grassland and heathland sites tended to be at higher elevations in the northern extent of England, around the Pennines, Lake District, North York Moors, and Northumberland. These upland environments are often more exposed and on steeper terrain, potentially offering less favorable conditions for tree establishment and growth due to increased wind buffeting (Miller et al 1987; Messaoud & Chen 2011; Hughes et al 2023). Former land use has long‐term impacts on forest biodiversity (Dupouey et al 2002), and early successional structural differences in forests can last for decades (Jakovac et al 2021).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Assessing the use of natural colonization to create new forests within temperate agriculturally dominated landscapes

Bauld,

Guy,

Hughes

et al. 2023

Restoration Ecology

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There is a global drive to increase forest cover to protect biodiversity and help combat climate change. Tree planting is widely used to increase forest cover, although there is growing interest in using natural processes. However, predicting the outcome of natural colonization is challenging as it is a highly variable process and evidence is sparse, especially in temperate landscapes. Our study aims to evaluate the spatial and temporal scale over which natural colonization may be an effective approach to create new forests within temperate agriculturally dominated landscapes. We examine the spatial patterns in tree density and height across 90 sites in the United Kingdom that attempted to use natural colonization to create new forests between 1994 and 2004. Tree density and tree height were measured using light detecting and ranging point cloud data, an increasingly common technique for surveying forest characteristics. This research shows that natural colonization is a highly variable, relatively slow process in temperate agricultural landscapes, spatially restricted to a narrow fringe around existing forests and trees (105 m; 95% CI: 70–174 m, within approximately 19 years), although exact distances vary with former land use. This suggests that in some circumstances natural colonization will need to be assisted and supplemented with tree planting to increase forest cover, especially in areas away from a seed source. In reality, a blend of approaches will be needed to meet policy and land manager objectives, increase forest cover and tackle the biodiversity and climate crises.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessing the use of natural colonization to create new forests within temperate agriculturally dominated landscapes

Bauld,

Guy,

Hughes

et al. 2023

Restoration Ecology

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“…Only broadleaf and needleleaf woodland vegetation classifications are used and so nearest neighbour interpolation is utilized to expand similar species to those nearby, working on the principle woodland is locally similar which is preferable for ecological functioning (e.g. Hughes et al 2023). Seventeen land cover types from the Climate Change Initiative 2020 land cover map (ESA 2017) are converted to the nine modelled, and each land cover type is calculated as a fraction of each grid cell (Bush et al 2020).…”

Section: Land Cover Scenariosmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hydrometeorological response to afforestation in the UK: findings from a kilometer-scale climate model

Buechel,

Berthou,

Slater

et al. 2024

Environ. Res. Lett.

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Afforestation is of international interest for its positive benefits on carbon storage, ecology, and society, but its impacts on terrestrial and atmospheric processes are still poorly understood. This study presents the first use of a coupled land surface and convection permitting atmospheric model (CPM) to quantify hydrometeorological effects of afforestation across the United Kingdom, focusing on atmospheric processes often missing in hydrological models. Generating a scenario of 93 000 km2 (40%) additional woodland across the UK, the periods of 2042-2052 and 2062-2072 are analyzed. Simulated afforestation alters seasonal and regional UK hydrometeorology. Countrywide runoff increases in all seasons (between 5.4-11 mm and 4.3-8.6% per season) due to elevated subsurface flows from greater soil moisture. Evaporation decreases in summer (-20.6 mm, -10%) but increases in winter (8.1 mm, 15%) whereas rainfall increases throughout all seasons (between 2.2-6.86 mm and 0.9-2.2% per season). Greater winter rainfall is detected along Great Britain’s west coastline as increased surface roughness produces prolonged and heavier rainfall. In the summer, higher albedo increases potential evapotranspiration and reduces near surface specific humidity: water is locked in deeper soil layers as transpiration diminishes and the topsoil dries out. However, the magnitude of hydrometeorological change due to altered land cover is smaller than the uncertainty in local climate change projections. This work sets a precedent in illustrating the impacts of afforestation on hydrology using a high-resolution CPM and highlights the importance of coupled hydrometeorological processes when investigating land cover impacts on hydrological processes.

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“…The data behind this research is archived in UK CEH Environmental Information Data Centre: https://doi.org/10.5285/7c2b2 878-1d15-4ddd-9d7e-cf50b d65f652 (Hughes et al, 2023).…”

Section: Auth O R Co Ntr I B Uti O N Smentioning

confidence: 99%

Spatial targeting of woodland creation can reduce the colonisation credit of woodland plants

Hughes,

Kunin,

Ziv

et al. 2023

Ecol Sol and Evidence

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Colonisation credit refers to the temporal lag between positive conservation actions and species' responses and may be one of the reasons we fail to meet short‐term conservation targets. This is particularly evident in woodlands which take decades to develop and harbour slow colonising species. Given global objectives to increase woodland cover, it is important to know the timeframe within which colonisation credit will be fulfilled. The colonisation of woodland plants was examined in recent woodlands, created between 15 and 80 years ago, and located adjacent or isolated from existing ancient woodlands. Colonisation credit was calculated as the proportion of understory woodland plant species in the nearest ancient woodland which had not colonised recent woodlands. Looking at individual species traits also allowed us to tease apart their impact on the species colonisation and establishment ability. Spatial adjacency between created and ancient woodland reduced colonisation credit by an average of 28%, and more mature created woodlands (50–80 years old) had fulfilled 24% more of their colonisation credit on average than younger created woodlands (15–21 years old). However, mature woodlands created adjacent to ancient woodlands had still only been colonised by an average of 72% of the available species pool. Plants which had reached adjacent created woodlands were dispersed by a range of mechanisms, where those that had reached more isolated sites were largely dispersed by birds or mammals. Low community weighted mean shade tolerance, high community weighted nutrient affiliation, and the dominance of Hedera helix suggest that competition from dominant natives may be preventing certain species establishing in new woodlands. This research demonstrates the need to account for appropriate time‐lags when setting biodiversity targets, with most sites still displaying colonisation credit decades after they were created. The results also indicate that spatially targeting woodland creation adjacent to species‐rich mature woodlands should be prioritised. Still, poor local habitat conditions may lead to the dominance of specific competitors which prevent a range of other species from establishing. Local management interventions such as translocations and tree thinning may ameliorate this but further research is needed.

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New woodlands created adjacent to existing woodlands grow faster, taller and have higher structural diversity than isolated counterparts

Cited by 5 publications

References 53 publications

Assessing the use of natural colonization to create new forests within temperate agriculturally dominated landscapes

Assessing the use of natural colonization to create new forests within temperate agriculturally dominated landscapes

Hydrometeorological response to afforestation in the UK: findings from a kilometer-scale climate model

Spatial targeting of woodland creation can reduce the colonisation credit of woodland plants

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