A major project is underway to revise the ancient woodland inventories for England, taking them down to patches of 0.25 ha, improving the evidence base and the precision of the mapping. We will soon have a much better estimate of how much ancient woodland there is and where it is. However we know already that… Continue reading Improving ancient woodland condition
Tag: conservation
The Knepp Estate revisited
In 2003 an unusual note appeared on my desk from English Nature’s office in Lewes (Sussex) about a local local landowner who wanted to let his farm run wild. It sounded interesting but it was not clear what the biodiversity benefits would be, how it could fit with the English Nature’s priorities for improving the… Continue reading The Knepp Estate revisited
Sound thinking, but uncertain comparisons
At the British Ecological Society Annual Meeting in Liverpool (2024) there was a soundscape of tropical birds and mammals running in the lecture halls in the run-ups to the start of the talks. Back home I encountered something similar recently when I walked on to Port Meadow. It was still dark but there was a… Continue reading Sound thinking, but uncertain comparisons
The Old Man of Wytham 