Fire is a major driver of forest dynamics and helps determine the structure and composition of continental forests of pine and spruce. Evidence that natural fires were an important factor in the history of the Scottish native pinewoods is more limited: in our Atlantic climate, the chances of lightning setting off a fire without it then… Continue reading Fire down below
Back to my roots
I recently went back to the corner of Essex where I grew up, a roughly 30 x 30 km square defined by Epping in the top left corner and Orsett in the bottom right. Forty-five years on I see it in a different light. We regularly visited Hainault Forest on the way to see dad’s… Continue reading Back to my roots
The Woods of Hazel
Hazel was a major component of post-glacial forests and small areas still survive today.
How do we get more trees planted?
The past is a foreign country: we might imagine that medieval kings were primarily concerned with affairs of state such as wars, hunting or other courtly pursuits, but firewood supplies?
The Old Man of Wytham 