Tree Weaver

Radiate boundless love towards the entire world.

— Siddhārtha Gautama

It’s strange that there are no really ancient yew trees in Ireland.

There are a handful that are reckoned to be 700 to 800 years old, but that’s not really ancient for a tree with a life-expectancy in millennia rather than centuries. But the age of most yew trees tends to be based on educated guesses rather than scientific data. When they’re ancient they are invariably hollow, which makes it impossible to extract cores from them and count the annual rings. Anyway, to my knowledge very few cores have been taken from living Irish trees.

Take the yew that grows in the cloisters of Muckross Abbey near Killarney. It’s always assumed that the tree was planted by the Franciscans when they built the abbey in 1448, giving it an age of over 550 years. It’s much more likely the abbey was built around a tree that was already mature and well-established, making this tree a lot older. There’s plenty of evidence that in earlier times ecclesiastical sites were chosen on the basis that an old yew tree grew there. There are Anglo-Saxon churches in parts of southern England where archaeological evidence has shown that the tree was there before the church. Some of these churches are up to 1,200 years old and the trees are still alive. Choosing to build an abbey round a yew tree is one of many examples of the Christianisation of a much older pagan belief. There is quite a bit of evidence in folklore and mythology indicating that yews were venerated.

They are our largest native evergreen and, when they grow in mixed woodland, the shade they cast and the toxins they secrete in their root systems create an open clearing — the ideal place for a ceremony. Our ancestors also seem to have been impressed by the fact that they remained green and vibrant when all the other large trees had succumbed to winter. They became associated with victory over death. But we also have hard evidence, from bog wood and studies of fossil pollen, that they were once much more widespread than they are today. And the probable reason for their decline is that they were persecuted. Yew foliage is quite poisonous to livestock (and humans) and, while we may have revered yew trees, over the millennia we have shown that we revere cattle and horses even more. There is an ancient yew tree still growing in the Scottish borders and there’s a legend that Pontius Pilate once sat under it. It’s unlikely but not impossible. The tree was certainly mature 2000 years ago and Pontius Pilate, as a Roman civil servant, served on the border between England and Scotland before he was posted to the Holy Land.

Reference https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.irishexaminer.com/lifestyle/outdoors/dick-warner/yew-trees-are-ancient-friends-247610.html

Wild bison will roam British woodland for the first time in more than 6,000 years when they are reintroduced in Kent

1. Bison are being introduced to Blean Woods in Kent to restore an ancient habitat
2. They will be enclosed despite being ‘peaceful’ and not posing a threat to humans
3. European bison are the closest relative to steppe bison that once roamed the UK
4. It is thought European bison grazed here thousands of years ago – but none of their bones have ever been found under British soil
5. However, their bones have turned up under North Sea from nearly 12,000 years ago on Doggerland – the land bridge that connected UK to Europe

Four wild bison will be released into woodland in Kent by spring 2022 as part of a plan to naturally boost Britain’s wildlife habitats.
The European bison will live in a cordoned-off area of Blean Woods near Canterbury, close to the University of Kent campus.

Although they are thought to have grazed here thousands of years ago, no bison bones have ever been found under our soil.

Their bones have, however, turned up under the North Sea from nearly 12,000 years ago on Doggerland – the land bridge that connected the UK to Europe.

The lottery-funded project, led by Kent Wildlife Trust and the Wildwood Trust, aims to use the grazing 6ft-tall beasts, which can weigh up to 1,000kg (2,200lbs) to help rejuvenate the native woodlands.

It is known as an ‘ecosystem engineer’ because of its ability to create and improve habitats for other species.

European bison – the continent’s largest land mammal – is the closest living relative to ancient steppe bison that once roamed Britain, becoming extinct at the end of the last Ice Age 10,000 years ago.

The enormous animals are largely peaceful and live on a diet of grasses and other forms of vegetation.

They are not dangerous animals and only manifest aggression in response to prolonged disturbance at close range, according to a 2018 study.

Despite being peaceful, the closely-knit herd will be introduced into a fenced enclosure away from public footpaths.

They will be within a wider 500 hectare (1,200 acre) patch of land which will also use other grazing animals such as Konik ponies to create varied and healthy habitat.

It will be the first time bison have been introduced to a nature reserve to help woodland thrive in the UK.

‘The partners in this project have long dreamt of restoring the true wild woodlands that have been missing from England for too long,’ said Paul Whitfield, Director General of Wildwood Trust.

‘This will allow people to experience nature in a way they haven’t before, connecting them back to the natural world around them in a deeper and more meaningful way.’

The UK project will likely initially involve four bison who are already acquainted with one another to ensure the herd is a tight group.

The animals will be introduced from a wild population from other similar projects in Europe, according to the Kent Wildlife Trust.

Similar projects across the continent since 2000 have already seen the successfully reintroduced in Poland, Romania and the Netherlands.

Bison are particularly useful as a form of natural environment control because of the unique way in which they graze.

They prefer bark to other parts of plants and trees, which is the opposite to many other large herbivores.

They fell trees by rubbing up against them and then eat the bark, creating areas of space and light in the woods.

It also benefits a range of smaller animals and plants by providing trees which turn into deadwood, offering food and habitat for insects, small mammals and plants.

Bison have shaggy coats and can often be seen rolling around in dry patches of land, a habit called dust bathing.

The practice helps them rid themselves of parasites while simultaneously removing moulting fur.

In Blean Woods, dust bathing would be good for lizards, burrowing wasps and rare arable weeds, while bark stripping would create standing deadwood that benefits fungi and insects such as stag beetles, conservationists say.

Due to their large size and strength, they also create corridors through densely vegetated patches, which joins various swathes of lands and prevents populations of smaller animals from becoming isolated.

Clearing paths also provides more light to the woodland floor which helps plants grow.

‘Without an animal like bison these functions are missing in woodlands, and this project aims to restore those functions,’ a Kent Wildlife Trust spokesperson told MailOnline.

The project is funded by £1,125,000 from the People’s Postcode Lottery Dream Fund, created to help realise good causes, over a two-year period.

Kent Wildlife Trust owns several woods in the Blean area, one of the largest areas of surviving ancient woodland in England.

It will be responsible for the overall management of the project, including the installation of maintenance of infrastructure, such as fencing.
‘Using missing keystone species like bison to restore natural processes to habitats is the key to creating bio-abundance in our landscape,’ said Paul Hadaway, director of Conservation at Kent Wildlife Trust.

A HISTORY OF THE EUROPEAN BISON

European bison previously roamed throughout western, central and south eastern Europe.

Their range originally extended eastward across Europe to the Volga River and the Caucasus Mountains.

The animals are known to historically populate Poland and Belarus, but other countries that are home to the European bison include Lithuania, Russia, and Ukraine.

European bison – the continent’s largest land mammal – is the closest living relative to ancient steppe bison that once roamed Britain, becoming extinct at the end of the last Ice Age 10,000 years ago.

After the Ice Age, man hunted the bison so intensively that it was forced into the most remote corners of Europe.

Although European bison are believed to have grazed in Britain thousands of years ago, no bison bones have ever been found under our soil.

Their bones have, however, turned up under the North Sea from nearly 12,000 years ago on Doggerland – the land bridge that connected the UK to Europe.

European bison (Bison bonasus) went extinct in the wild mainly due to hunting, but habitat degradation and competition with livestock also played a part.

In Europe it became extinct in the wild after World War I.

Occupying German troops killed 600 of the European bison in the Białowieża Forest for sport, meat, hides and horns.

By 1927, the species had been lost from the wild entirely and only 54 individuals survived in European zoos.

Between 1920 and 1928 there were no single European bison in the Białowieża Forest.

The European bison was successfully reintroduced in the Białowieża Forest in 1929 from the animals kept in zoos.

The first two bisons were released into nature to the Białowieża Forest in 1952 and by 1964 more than 100 existed.

Since then there have been re-introductions to forests in Belarus, Poland, Russia, Lithuania, the Ukraine, Romania and Slovakia.

Up until now, zoos and wildlife parks have helped save the European bison from extinction, including at Highland Wildlife Park near Kingussie, Highland, Scotland.

The European bison closely resembles their North American cousin but is considered a separate species.

The European bison’s dense coat is dark to golden brown in colour and is less bushy than that of the American bison.

Both sexes have short horns that project outwards and then curve upwards.

European bison prefer a woodland habitat where they live in small herds browsing on leaves and other vegetation.

Reference https://www.kentonline.co.uk/canterbury/news/bison-to-be-introduced-to-kent-woodland-230138/

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/07/09/wild-bison-reintroduced-15000-years-part-groundbreaking-rewilding/amp/

Located near Polegate, Abbot’s Wood is a great place for a stroll at any time of year, with walking trails, a medieval lake, play area, barbecues and picnic tables.

This ancient woodland is teeming with wildlife. Dormice live in the woodland understory and the extensive network of paths is home to nearly thirty species of butterfly, including the rare pearl-bordered fritillary. In early spring, the extraordinary song of the nightingale can be heard and summer evenings could reward you with encounters with bats, glow worms and the sound of the elusive nightjar.

8th December 1919. The Forestry Commission plants the first trees in the grounds of Eggesford Forest in Devon. They are planted by Lord Clinton and are a combination of beech and larch.

Sowing acorns by hand in a large seed bed in Kennington, Oxfordshire, April 1933.

Lumber Jills operating portable ‘liner’ saw at Rendlesham Forest, Suffolk, July 1945.

The Soldtrac plough cuts a furrow 10″-14″ deep, turning out a satisfactory turf for planting. Smales Forest, Kielder 1949.

Her Majesty the Queen unveils a stone at Eggesford Forest, Devon, May 1956.

Picking cones from the top of a Serbian spruce using support poles on top of a ladder lashed to a tree at Alice Holt Forest, Hampshire 1963.

Extracting Norway spruce Christmas trees in the New Forest, Hampshire, November 1966.

Lining out machine and transplant trays, Wykeham Nursery, North Yorkshire, August 1971.

Reference ~ https://www.forestryengland.uk

Local conservation group asks province to cancel cutblocks containing ancient yellow cedars and unofficial bear sanctuary.

A new plan plotting the course of the logging industry on B.C.’s Sunshine Coast over the next five years has placed a treasured forest, home to some of Canada’s oldest trees and an unofficial bear sanctuary, on the chopping block.

The logging plan for the Elphinstone area released by BC Timber Sales in late March, include an abnormally high number of cutblocks for auction for the planning period, according to local conservation group Elphinstone Logging Focus.

“We haven’t seen this many blocks in a five-year period before,” said Ross Muirhead, a forest campaigner with Elphinstone Logging Focus, which counted an unprecedented 29 blocks slated for clearcut logging from 2020 to 2024.

Because of the area’s sensitivity, BC Timber Sales has usually limited logging to about one block a year.

Muirhead is calling on the B.C. government to cancel 63 hectares of cutblocks slated for auction on Dakota Ridge, a roadless high-altitude forest west of Port Mellon, where he believes Canada’s oldest tree may be located.

Some of the oldest trees in Canada grow in the 3,361-hectare Dakota watershed, with tree coring showing one yellow cedar is 1,036 years old, Muirhead said.

Last fall in the Dakota area, Muirhead and his colleagues measured a tree that was too big to be cored because boring instruments aren’t made long enough.

“This tree is wider than the oldest recorded tree in Canada,” Muirhead said.

That record-breaking tree was a yellow cedar that grew in the Caren Range on the Sunshine Coast. It was cut by loggers in the 1980s, and a ring count put its age at 1,835 years.

“This tree is the same elevation, same species, and it’s bigger,” Muirhead said.

Black bear dens, ancient yellow cedars at risk

Elphinstone Logging Focus unofficially named the forest on Dakota Ridge the Dakota bowl bear sanctuary after the first black bear den study on the Sunshine Coast, in 2015, found an unusually high number of dens in the area.

The ancient yellow cedars in the Dakota bear sanctuary are the best trees for bear dens as they tend to rot out at the base, providing well-hidden locations, and, as the trees grow in the snow zone, there is insulation for hibernating bears, Muirhead said.

Dakota Ridge is still intact and without formal hiking trails, Muirhead said, adding the area’s five hanging lakes offer a good freshwater supply for bears. “It’s chockablock in wild blueberries.”

“I am of the opinion that black bear den activity may be concentrated on Dakota Ridge not just due to old-growth structural availability, but due to the extensive loss of similar habitat in the surrounding region from clearcut logging,” wrote Wayne McCrory, author of the 2015 study.

A map showing the location of Dakota Ridge on the Sunshine Coast. Map: Carol Linnitt / The Narwhal

The study, which was done by McCrory Wildlife Services, concluded that logging in the approved Dakota Ridge cutblocks would destroy 12 dens in one block and 16 dens in a higher elevation block.

That research is going to be updated after Elphinstone Logging Focus received a grant in late May from West Coast Environmental Law to do further bear den surveying in an expanded area.

Ben dens are not protected in B.C., except on Haida Gwaii and in the Great Bear Rainforest. In April 2019, wildlife biologist Helen Davis asked B.C.’s Forest Practices Board, the province’s independent forestry watchdog, to launch an investigation into the protection of bear denning trees, primarily old yellow and red cedars in old-growth forests.

The board found in January that there is a “knowledge gap” on black bear populations and a population assessment could determine whether it is necessary to regulate protection of bear dens.

Black bears rely on old-growth trees as second-growth forests are cut before the trees reach the necessary size for denning, so lack of denning space could affect the population, the board report noted.

Companies given harvesting licences sometimes voluntarily protect dens and “the practice of including bear-den trees in wildlife-tree-retention areas is a best practice that should be encouraged,” the report says.

Logging of old-growth forests has underlined the loss of bear dens, and in August last year more than 20 biologists, First Nations, wildlife businesses and environmental organizations wrote to the provincial government asking for protection of dens, whether occupied or not.

Black bear dens are often used intermittently for decades.

A spokesperson with the Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development said under the Forest and Range Practices Act, black bear dens can be identified in a forest stewardship plan and protection strategies can be included in the plan.

“As well, as part of BC Timber Sales’ environmental field procedures, if a previously unidentified bear den is identified, work must stop and a plan to deal with it will be developed,” he said.

Culturally modified trees promised protection

Some Dakota Ridge blocks now marked for auction by BC Timber Sales also contain culturally modified trees — trees that have been visibly altered or modified by Indigenous peoples for cultural uses — in addition to the abundance of black bear dens.

“We have three scientific studies clearly showing that [Dakota Ridge] has very high natural and cultural values that wildly supersede any small financial gain from destroying it,” said Hans Penner, a director of Elphinstone Logging Focus.

The Dakota area is in the territory of the Skwxwu7mesh (Squamish) First Nation, which conducted a joint review of identified culturally modified trees with BC Timber Sales. Both parties agreed to exclude those trees from logging.

Elphinstone Logging Focus brought a proposal for the Dakota bowl bear sanctuary to a councillor with the Skwxwu7mesh Nation, where it remains under consideration within the rights and title department, Muirhead said. “I haven’t had a formal reply yet.”

Calls to the Skwxwu7mesh First Nation from The Narwhal were not returned by time of publication.

Culturally modified trees will be buffered with a minimum 10-metre reserve and bear dens will be protected, a spokesperson with the Ministry of Forests stated.

“Any tree that meets the definition of a legacy tree will not be harvested,” she said.

Legacy trees include those that are exceptionally large for their species or have been culturally modified.

Muirhead said the McCrory study looked at active, used and potential dens, but BC Timber Sales appears to be looking only at dens that are in use.

“We think at least one forest in the entire province should be set aside for bear den supply. So, no, I’m not confident that they will go to the extent of ensuring the den supply is protected,” he said.

Elphinstone Logging Focus members are also worried the massive trees won’t be given adequate protection.

“They could leave a few of the biggest in clearcuts with no buffer. That’s poor conservation for these ancient trees,” Muirhead said, noting there are problems with the practice of leaving legacy trees uncut within larger cutblocks.

“Right off the top, leaving single trees standing in an open clearcut is typically a recipe for their quick demise. They’re subject to more windthrow because they’re in an opening, so you get tops breaking off, branches get snapped off and then the whole trunk is more subject to wind conditions.”

He also expressed concern that BC Timber Sales will be left to make the final determinations about which trees are considered for legacy protections. “And then who is overseeing which trees are being set aside? Is it their own subjective analysis of which are the best legacy trees?”

BC Timber Sales, which was created in 2003 by the Liberal government, manages 20 per cent of the province’s annual allowable cut, making it the biggest tenure holder in B.C.

Two government investigations into BC Timber Sales’ actions in the Nahmint Valley on Vancouver Island found the government agency failed to protect legacy trees from being harvested.

High-elevation logging a watershed concern

Muirhead is also worried about the safety implications of increased logging in the region.

The lower slopes around the Dakota Creek watershed were logged in the 1950s and 1960s, and, after a series of landslides, a logging moratorium was put in place in 2000.

However, BC Timber Sales now claims the steep-walled valley is hydrologically stable, despite a series of flash floods and predictions of increasing extreme rainfall events, Muirhead said.

A spokesperson for the Ministry of Forests said BC Timber Sales will continue talking about the proposed logging plans with stakeholders, First Nations and the Sunshine Coast Regional District, which is concerned about the effect of logging on groundwater and stormwater runoff.

Provincial old-growth protections awaited

More than 140,000 hectares of old-growth forests are logged each year in B.C. An independent report released Thursday found that the majority of British Columbia’s productive old-growth forests are gone, and the majority of the old growth remaining is slated to be logged.

Although the province was slated to table amendments to the Forest and Range Practices Act this spring, the timing was set back because of the pandemic.

An independent old-growth strategic review panel submitted its report to the government at the end of April. The province has six months to release the report.

At a time when the pandemic has shocked the world into halting industrial activities, governments must remember they also have to deal with the ongoing climate crisis, said Jens Wieting, Sierra Club BC’s senior forest and climate campaigner, who believes this is the time for a complete rethink of how B.C. deals with its old-growth forests.

“We know some of these trees are older than 1,000 years. This is a legacy. There is a global responsibility to protect trees like this,” Wieting said.

Wieting is not confident new legislation will concentrate on the environment, rather than short-term forestry jobs, and wants the provincial government to stop issuing permits and auctioning logs until there has been an in-depth discussion with communities and First Nations on the future of B.C.’s forests.

“We need time,” he said. “As a society, we need to have a conversation about what kind of future we want for these last intact old-growth forests and biggest trees before it’s too late.”

Lori Pratt, chair of the Sunshine Coast Regional District, is also calling for an expanded conversation with all involved ministries, rather than only with BC Timber Sales, and a broad look at the cumulative effect of all logging in the area, including logging on private land.

Government ministries tend to operate in silos, with one ministry not knowing what another is doing in the same area, Pratt said. What is needed, she said, is a big-picture look at logging, protection of watersheds and land use plans with local First Nations.

“Whatever you are doing up on the mountain affects everything all the way down to the ocean,” she said. “We see bits and pieces of it, but, when you get some of the torrential rains we get, we need to see how this all fits together.”

Reference ~ https://thenarwhal.ca/bc-opens-sunshine-coast-forest-logging/

Many cities around the globe are struggling to reconcile ambitious environmental targets with development pressures, a study has suggested.

Scientists in Melbourne recorded a net gain in street tree cover but a net loss in parks and private land.

The Australian team says measures to protect mature trees are “critical” if the urban forest’s cover is to be enhanced in the future.

The findings appear in the Sustainable Cities and Society journal.

Globally, the role of trees in towns and cities are well recognised, such as providing shade during hot summer months, and helping to absorb noise pollution and floodwater.

The team of researchers in Australia examined the plight of trees in the city of Melbourne in the decade between 2008 and 2017.

They observed a complex pattern: “Our analyses showed a net gain in tree canopy cover in public streets and a net loss of canopy cover in public parks and private properties,” they say in their study.

Losing young ones
The team said the most frequently removed trees from public parks and streets were small ones, with trunk diameters less than 15cm.

They identified that trees near to developments were among the most at-risk trees.

Almost 2,000 street trees were removed within 10m of major development sites, equivalent to almost 20% of all street trees removed… but this only constituted only 8% of streetscape tree canopy cover losses,” they wrote.

Co-author Thami Croeser, a PhD student at the Centre for Urban Research at RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia, said they were able to record the size of trees removed in Melbourne.

“We found that most of them were quite young,” he said.

“Only about one-in-20 was a mature tree thicker than 60cm [diameter].”

He told BBC News: “Overall, the tree canopy cover in the inner city stayed just ahead of losses to development.

“Our parks lost canopy, as did private properties, but canopy from street trees grew slightly on balance.”

He suggested this was a result of officials in Melbourne operating a strong tree protection policy – it can cost tens of thousands of Australian dollars to remove a large, mature tree. This seems to act as an effective disincentive.

Melbourne city officials also operate a considerable planting programme, with about 3,000 new trees being put into the ground each year.

“This offsets the losses somewhat,” observed Mr Croeser, “although replacing a 20-year-old tree with a sapling definitely is not the same, the sheer volume of planting helps.”

Melbourne is well-known as a tree city. Officials had tagged every tree in the city and gave each one an individual email address. The scheme was set up so that people could report problems or concerns. Instead, people sent affectionate notes to the gums, oaks and elms.

Siege of Sheffield
While some cities are supportive of trees, and the benefits they provide – such as mitigating the urban heat island effect, providing habitats for insects, animals and birds, and improving our sense of wellbeing – other cities have fallen foul of angry protesters and residents.

Sheffield, in the UK, is considered to be one of the nation’s greener cities. Yet the council undertook a widespread programme of street tree removals in 2017.

The strategy of the council’s “Streets Ahead” strategy – under which about 5,500 trees have been removed since 2012 and replaced with saplings – said that felling was only considered as a “last resort”.

But residents and protesters said that trees that did not need to be felled were being cut down. Tensions and tempers rose. Protests were staged. People were arrested.

The stand-off resulted in widespread media coverage. An investigation by the UK’s local government ombudsman found that Sheffield council had misled residents. The council accepted the findings and issued apologies to the residents.

Tree canopy cover in England’s towns and cities is, on average, 16%. A citizen science project, Forest Research – in partnership with Trees for Cities and Brillianto – found that the cover in 283 urban conurbations ranged from 3% to 45%.

Explaining the motivation for the UK-wide map of urban tree cover, Forest Research said: “Urban trees are being increasingly recognised for the many benefits they provide, such removing carbon dioxide and pollutants from the air, providing habitats for wildlife, and making our urban areas more attractive, enjoyable and healthy places to be.”

As the issue of climate change forms a central pillar of government policies, many cities are setting targets to boost their urban tree canopy cover.

Growing ambitions
In the last UK General election, the government – in its manifesto – pledged to plant an additional 75,000 acres of trees each year by “the next Parliament” – in other words, by 2024. In order to deliver this ambitious target, councils in urban areas would be expected to help deliver this goal.

At the World Forum on Urban Trees, held in Italy during 2018, delegates issued a call for action to highlight the benefits of trees in cities.

More than half of the world’s population now live in urban areas, and this is forecast to grow to 68% by the middle of the 21st Century.

While is it widely accepted that tree cover can improve people’s daily wellbeing, Thami Croeser said the Melbourne study highlighted a few factors for tree officers around the globe.

“Many cities measure the number of trees they plant as their main target for urban forests,” he told BBC News.

“That’s not actually the real challenge; it a matter of planting them and keeping them alive and healthy.”

He said that tree canopy targets were a good idea because they focused “on the cover that trees give us, rather than planting numbers.”

Reference https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-52231899