This guide summarises the threats to woodlands from issues such as:

• browsing by deer and wild boar
• damage from grey squirrels
• invasion by non-native species, including plants

Read guidance on how to manage woodlands to benefit biodiversity.

Deer and wild boar

All species of deer are increasing in number and expanding their range in England and Wales. Wild boar are also expanding their range in England and in the longer term may be expected to establish in areas of high woodland cover over larger areas of England. Although deer and wild boar have value – aesthetically, culturally, as a sporting quarry and for their meat – they can also have negative impacts.

Populations which become too great can lead to:

• damage to trees, hedges and fences, to woodland flora and non-woodland habitats
• increasing traffic accident numbers
• poor health within localised populations
• winter starvation

Advice on dealing with deer and wild boar

The Deer Initiative (DI is a broad partnership comprising statutory agencies, nature conservation and animal welfare non-governmental organisations, Government, landowners and a range of other interests, who share a vision for a healthy and sustainable future for deer in England and Wales. They offer advice on deer and wild boar life cycles and their management, including help to source grant funding.

Read
managing deer for woodland biodiversity
(PDF, 171KB, 2 pages)

for further information on the impacts that deer have on plants and animals and the options you have in dealing with them.

Grey squirrels

The grey squirrel was introduced to the UK from North America in 1876 and its population has grown rapidly since then with detriment to our native red squirrel. Grey squirrels damage our forests and woodlands by stripping bark from trees’ main trunks (at the base and up in the canopy) and branches. When they strip a complete ring of bark around the tree, it will kill the tree.

The Forestry Commission is committed to helping you manage the impacts of grey squirrels in your woodlands by:

• providing support through Countryside Stewardship (see below) for you to control grey squirrels where they’re a threat to management plan objectives – including conservation of red squirrels
• supporting the UK Squirrel Accord partnership (see below), including its work to develop fertility control for the grey squirrel
• taking action on its land holding (public forest estate) – see the
  grey squirrels policy and action plan
  (PDF, 161KB, 5 pages)
  
  for more information
• updating guidance on controlling grey squirrel damage to woodlands

Advice on dealing with the grey squirrel

Find more information and advice from Squirrel Accord – the partnership of 32 leading woodland, timber industry and conservation organisations was created following policy development discussions and formally launched by HRH Prince Charles in 2014. They aim to bring a concerted and coordinated approach to securing the future of red squirrels and woodlands, and to control the introduced grey squirrel.

You can also find out more about the management of grey squirrels from Forest Research.

Other invasive species

In 2015, the EU Alien Invasive Species regulations came into force including a list of 49 ‘Invasive Alien Species’ of EU concern for which the UK must take action to eradicate if found here unless the population is already well established. See the full list of Invasive Alien species.

In the UK the Invasive Non-native Species Strategy has been developed to give a strategic framework within which the actions of government departments, their related bodies and key stakeholders can be better co-ordinated. This should help you meet the challenge posed by invasive non-native species.

Invasive plant species of particular concern in woodland

Invasive non-native plants that may cause problems in the UK include:

• Japanese knotweed (Fallopia japonica)
• Himalayan balsam (Impatiens glandulifera)
• rhododendron (Rhododendron ponticum)
• giant hogweed (Heracleum mantegazzianum)

The first 3 are a threat to native flora and habitats, as they are aggressive and form dense stands that exclude other plants. Giant hogweed is less aggressive to other plants, but is poisonous and can cause severe skin reactions.

Find out how to prevent the harmful spread of invasive plants. See detailed advice on preventing the spread of Japanese knotweed and
managing and controlling rhodendron
(PDF, 1.57MB, 44 pages)

.

Invasive animal and insect species

Invasive non-native species include:

• grey squirrels (Sciurus carolinensis) – they outcompete red squirrels and damage young trees – see above
• American mink (Mustela vison) – they threaten birds and mammals inhabiting river systems (which may be present in your woodland)
• Muntjac and Sika deer (Muntiacus reevesi and Cervus nippon) – becoming more abundant and widespread and cause damage to tree and shrub shoots – see above
• Citrus longhorn beetle, Anoplophora chinensis

Advice on dealing with non-native species

The GB Non Natives Invasive Species (GB NNISS) secretariat offer online tools and information including species risk assessments, species fact sheets and species management advice.

Countryside Stewardship: woodland improvement

For grants find out about the eligibility and requirements for the woodland improvement option of Countryside Stewardship which offers incentives to control deer, grey squirrels and non-native species including the control of rhododendron.

Find out more about grants and funding to create and manage woodlands in the create woodland: overview guide.

The conservation of biodiversity is an essential part of sustainable forest management. Forests cover nearly one-third of the world’s total land area and are vital in ensuring environmental functions such as climate regulation and soil conservation in addition to biodiversity. They provide habitats for a large array of plants and animals, some of which are rare or threatened. Through these important ecosystem services, biologically diverse forests and woodlands contribute to the sustainability of the wider landscape.

Support priority habitats and priority species

Many habitats that are important for biodiversity in the UK have been reduced in area and fragmented and, while they are generally protected, are in need of restoration and expansion. Priority habitats have the potential to provide the richest and most varied components of biological diversity within the UK. All types of native woodlands, as well as wood pasture and parkland, are woodland priority habitats.

Priority species are those that are declining, rare, at risk of extinction, and/or have special requirements. A high proportion of priority species are associated with semi-natural woodland.

Conserve ancient and native woodland

Woods that are both ancient and semi-natural in character have the greatest value for biodiversity. Known as ancient semi-natural woodland (ASNW) these are still widespread although fragmented. They serve as valuable refuges of woodland biodiversity, particularly for sedentary species that, once lost, do not readily recolonise. ASNWs also frequently retain characteristics of previous management such as coppice and other traces of cultural history.

Sites that were once ancient woodland but have been converted to planted forests are known as plantations on ancient woodland sites (PAWS). Many PAWS retain at least some characteristics or remnants of native woodland, which give them the potential to be restored to native woodland, contributing to policy objectives for native woodland restoration.

Good practice

Read the guide Managing ancient and native woodland in England, which brings together all of the current good practice in one document. The guidance looks to the future, advising how to help woodlands adapt to climate change and the challenges it brings, and includes information on, for example, harvesting woodfuel from native woodland in ways that will enhance biodiversity and heritage.

The handbook Managing Native Broadleaved Woodland, produced by Forest Research, gives more detail and underpinning evidence for the value of an ancient and native woodland. It complements the UK Forestry Standard. You can buy it at a cost of £30.

Find out if your woodland is good for wildlife

Assessing the ecological condition of native woodland will help you to get an overview of the condition of your woodland’s habitats and identify any issues you may need to address to help support habitats and species. A simple straightforward assessment has been developed and tested by members of the England Woodland Biodiversity Group, including Forestry Commission, Natural England, and The Woodland Trust, which enables owners to assess woodland condition in a standardised way.

To complete an assessment, you need to do a walking survey through your woodland and use a form to record features along your route, then compare your results to a standard set of condition thresholds. You can use the completed assessment to support the development of your woodland management plan and improve the long-term resilience of your woodland.

To allow native flora and flora to recover from damage caused by non-native species, you should manage your woodlands to counter threats from invasive plant and animal species like deer, grey squirrel and rhododendron.

Find out more about how you can manage threats to your woodland.

The rules about forest operations and land use change

You must consider wildlife species and habitats when you’re creating woodland or managing woodland to comply with regulations. These include the European protected species (EPS) listed in the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2017 and protected species under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.

For both priority species and priority habitats the timing and equipment to be used for certain forest operations can be damaging. Use the UK Forestry Standard, European protected species good practice guidance and knowledge from your woodland survey to help plan these operations proportionately, and for an appropriate time of year.

If you’re proposing a land-use change you must take into account the relative merits of existing habitats, and the potential impact of change on priority habitats and species, both on the site and on adjacent land. So you’ll need to ask for an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) to determine if effects due to afforestation or deforestation are likely to be significant. Find out more about EIAs.

Where there’s likely to be a significant impact you’ll need to get EIA consent. If you plan to convert woodland to open habitats you must also have felling permission to permanently remove woodland.

Find out what you must do to protect woodland wildlife and habitats and how you must apply for wildlife licences so you can legally operate in woodlands and forests.

Creating new forests and woodlands

Increasing woodland creation in England is in line with our aspiration of 12% cover by 2060: this would involve planting 180,000 hectares by end of 2042. We want to increase the long-term supply of English-grown timber, given strong current and projected demand.

We will increase tree planting by creating new forests and native woodlands, and incentivising extra planting on private and the least productive agricultural land, where appropriate.

Trees and forests provide a unique blend of social, economic and environmental benefits. However it’s important to make sure that the right trees – in terms of biosecurity, value for money, air quality impact and biodiversity among other criteria – are planted in the right places, in line with the UK Forestry Standard.

Contact the Forestry Commission, England

You can contact the Forest Commission, England. The Forestry Commission area offices assist with:

• grants
• licences
• advice for woodland owners and managers
• pests and diseases

Forest Research

The research agency of the Forestry Commission offers a range of services that will help with pest and disease control and also offer resources such as publications, statistics and datasets.

Following withdrawal from the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom), the UK will be introducing new Nuclear Safeguards Regulations to enable a domestic nuclear safeguards regime to operate in the UK. This consultation seeks views on the operability and effectiveness of these draft Nuclear Safeguards Regulations.

The government has committed to establish a regime that will operate in a similar way to existing arrangements, but with changes made to the regulations to ensure they are appropriate for the domestic, legislative and operational landscape in which they operate.

If passed into law, these proposed Regulations will allow the Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) to meet international obligations from day one of exit, and to build, over time, a safeguards regime equivalent in coverage and effectiveness to that currently provided by Euratom.

This guidance gives you a step-by-step approach to design techniques used in the forest management planning process. You can apply this guidance to the creation of new forests and woodlands – by planting or encouraging natural regeneration – and the management of existing forests and woodlands.

Although you’ll find information on how to follow aspects of forest planning for small woods, this guidance mainly focuses on larger forest areas that involve more complex issues and need more time to programme woodland management activities.

The guidance is organised into sections covering:

• introduction and overview
• how to document your plans
• the process – scoping, survey, analysis, synthesis, implementation, monitoring, revision
• design techniques
• survey information – what to collect