Study suggests two million ancient and veteran trees in England – ten times as many as previously recorded
by the University of Nottingham
June 30, 2022
A new study has shown there could be around eight to ten times as many ancient and veteran trees in England than currently recorded, with estimates ranging from 1.7 to 2.1 million, compared to the 115,000 currently on record.
As many of these trees are yet to be recorded, most are not likely to be protected by conservation methods, policy or legislation, and therefore we don’t know how many are at risk, why, or where. New location mapping, developed by experts at the University of Nottingham, means work towards recording and mapping them could become easier.
The new research builds upon work carried out by the Woodland Trust, Ancient Tree Forum and the Tree Register, which has currently mapped 180,000 trees.
In this new study, published in Ecological Applications, experts from the School of Life Sciences at the University teamed up1 with the Woodland Trust, to develop the first robust nationwide estimate of ancient and veteran trees in England.
Keep reading: https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/news/ancient-trees
Read the Ecological Applications paper: https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/eap.2695