DiversiTree: diversifying our woodlands to increase resilience

Lead Research Organisation: James Hutton Institute
Department Name: Ecological Sciences

Abstract

The UK government plans to increase woodland cover as part of its plans to store more carbon, to mitigate climate change. However, many of the UK's trees are threatened by climate change and a range of pests and diseases, which might limit their ability to contribute to carbon storage and the wide range of other benefits delivered by woodlands. We therefore need to make our woodlands resilient to these future threats. Resilience is the ability of a system, such as a woodland, to recover from a disturbance. One commonly proposed approach to increase the resilience of woods is to increase their tree diversity. Thus, spreading the risk amongst many different trees, as we don't know exactly how each tree species will respond to climate change, nor what threats from pests and diseases they may face decades into the future. However, woodland managers have different perceptions of diversity, and how management may best deliver it, and we know that different tree species will support the woodland ecosystem in different ways. Therefore, it is important to combine stakeholders' knowledge with ecological knowledge to identify which tree species and management approaches best deliver diversification that increases resilience.

DiversiTree focuses on woods dominated by two conifer species, Scots Pine and Sitka Spruce, as in the year to March 2021 54% of all new woodland was coniferous. Scots Pine is the UK's only native conifer of economic significance. It is planted for timber production but is also the dominant species in the culturally iconic native Caledonian pinewoods. Scots Pine is at risk from the tree disease Dothistroma. Sitka Spruce is not native to Britain but is our most economically valuable tree species and is at risk from invasive bark beetles and climate change.

This project addresses four knowledge gaps related to the diversification of woodlands: 1) How do stakeholders understand forest diversity, their diversification strategies, and their visions and ambitions for diverse future forests? 2) Are the microbes found on the leaves of trees more diverse in woodlands with mixed tree species and does this help trees to better defend themselves against diseases? 3) How may diversification of tree species within a wood allow the continued support of woodland biodiversity? 4) How do we implement and communicate management strategies to increase woodland resilience?

To address these knowledge gaps, we work across disciplines bringing together ecologists, microbiologists, social scientists, and woodland managers. The Woodland Trust is embedded at the heart of our project to enable us to co-develop and check the feasibility of our results with practitioners. Results from interviews with woodland managers, focus groups and analyses of policy documents, will be used to improve knowledge of the options for woodland diversification, and both the enthusiasm for, and capacity to, implement diversification strategies.

The microbes on leaves are important for plant health. Utilizing existing long-term experiments, we will examine the microbes on the leaves of Scots Pine grown in monocultures and in mixed woods. We will assess if the diversity of microbes on a leaf increases as the diversity of tree species increases, and whether this enables the trees to resist existing diseases.
Surprising we don't have lists of which species use which trees. This information is required if we are to plant trees that will continue to support woodland biodiversity. We will collate data on the biodiversity hosted by Scots Pine and Sitka Spruce and assess which other tree species could also support the same biodiversity.

Finally, we bring the results together to co-develop with practitioners, management strategies for diversification and case studies illustrating how the results can be implemented. The results will be shared via videos, podcasts, social media, and practitioner notes in addition to publications in the scientific literature.

Publications

10 25 50
 
Description We now know how many species use Scots pine and how many use Sitka spruce and if these species will use any of 46 other tree species that might be used to diversify Sitka spruce or Scots pine forests
Exploitation Route It could be used in the identification of speices mixes to increase the resilience of forest associated biodiversity.
Sectors Environment

 
Description Attendance at Defra Trees and Woodlands Science Advisory meetings
Geographic Reach National 
Policy Influence Type Participation in a guidance/advisory committee
 
Description Contribution to RSE enquirey on Public financial support for tree planting and forestry
Geographic Reach National 
Policy Influence Type Contribution to a national consultation/review
URL https://rse.org.uk/expert-advice/inquiries/tree-planting-inquiry/
 
Description RSE inquiry into public support for tree planting and forestry
Geographic Reach National 
Policy Influence Type Contribution to a national consultation/review
 
Description DiversiTree practitioners panel - Mar lodge 13 October 23 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact A day visit to Mar lodge with forest practitioners to discuss natural regeneration, woodland expansion and forest divesification. We looked at the methods to do this and which factors were inhibitors. One participant said " I just wanted to say how much I enjoyed and valued the Mar Lodge visit and how wonderfully you looked after us all too!
It was perhaps the best field visit experience with the most wonderful and knowledgeable group of people that I can remember."
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2023
 
Description Diversifying tree species within our forests to increase resilience - an interdisciplinary approach. 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Other audiences
Results and Impact Talk at Hutton symposium
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2023
 
Description Diversifying tree species within our forests to increase resilience - an interdisciplinary approach. 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Local
Primary Audience Other audiences
Results and Impact Talk at the Birmingham Institute of Forest Research Workshop
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2023
 
Description I grew up without Elm. What is my grandson growing up without? 
Form Of Engagement Activity Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact Blog outlining how increased tree diseases can have a cascading impact on biodiversity and lower our baseline biodiversity over generations. It discussed if greater diversity of tree species and greater biosecurity were part of the solution.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2023
URL https://cieem.net/i-grew-up-without-elm-what-is-my-grandson-growing-up-without/
 
Description Podcast on visible and invisible forest diversity 
Form Of Engagement Activity Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact A podcast on forest diversity talking about the importance of species, genetic and epigenetic diversity and how this may influence resilience.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2023
URL https://8point9.com/dr-ruth-mitchell-hutton-institute-visible-and-invisible-forest-diversity/
 
Description Practitioners Pannel to discuss diversity 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact A meeting with practitioners to discuss the DiversiTree project, specifically to discuss different management techniques to increase tree species diversity. A mix of an indoor meeting and an outdoor meeting in the field. The event sparked lots of discussion over the pros and cons of increasing tree species diversity.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2023
 
Description Presentation at AAB Creating Canopies conference on polarisation in the sector with DiversiTree PrP featured 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact Presentation at the Association of Applied Biologists' Creating Canopies conference on polarisation in the forestry/conservation sector - using DiversiTree's Practitioner Panel as an example of bridging divides.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2023
 
Description Talk to CIEEM 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact A webinar to CIEEM members describing the project. Provoked discussion around whether our woodlands are already diverse enough and which methods we might use to diversify them.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2023
URL https://youtu.be/-_BBvFYzgHk
 
Description Treescapes Webinar 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact A webinar on the inital project outputs, with c20minutes discussion afterwards over a whole range of issues
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2024
 
Description Webinar to Chartered Institute of Foresters 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact A webinar describing the project with time for discussion on the subject of diversifying tree species composition. 129 participants.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2023
 
Description Webinar to Royal Forestry Society 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact A webinar about the project with time for questions and discussion. 70 people present in total (although some logins had more than one person watching) and recorded for future use.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2023
 
Description Webinar to Small Woods Group 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact A webinar to woodland owners about the DiversiTree project
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2023
 
Description Webinar to Woodland Trust 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact A webinar for Woodland Trust staff describing the project and what we aimed to achieve
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2022
 
Description Workshop and Information Stall at Community Woodlands Association Annual Conference 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Third sector organisations
Results and Impact Project members conducting a workshop at the CWA annual conference (part of data gathering for WP1) followed by a public facing stall to disseminate information about the project to the conference as a whole.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2023
URL https://www.communitywoods.org/cwa-annual-conference-2023
 
Description Workshop and Information Stall at Community Woodlands Association Annual Conference 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Third sector organisations
Results and Impact Project members conducting a workshop at the CWA annual conference (part of data gathering for WP1) followed by a public facing stall to disseminate information about the project to the conference as a whole.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2023
URL https://www.communitywoods.org/cwa-annual-conference-2023