Nature
The Environment
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Deforestation occurs around the world, though tropical rainforests are particularly targeted. NASA predicts that if current deforestation levels proceed, the world’s rainforests may be completely in as little as 100 years. Countries with significant deforestation include Brazil, Indonesia, Thailand, the Democratic Republic of Congo and other parts of Africa, and parts of Eastern Europe, according to GRID-Arendal, a United Nations Environment Program collaborating center. The country with the most deforestation is Indonesia. Since the last century, Indonesia has lost at least 15.79 million hectares of forest land, according to a study by US University of Maryland
Though deforestation has increased rapidly in the past 50 years, it has been practiced throughout history. For example, 90 percent of continental United States’ indigenous forest has been removed since 1600. The World Resources Institute estimates that most of the world’s remaining indigenous forest is located in Canada, Alaska, Russia and the Northwestern Amazon basin. Common methods of deforestation are burning trees and clear cutting. These tactics leave the land completely barren and are controversial practices.
Clear cutting is when large swaths of land are cut down all at once. A forestry expert quoted by the Natural Resources Defense Council describes clear cutting as “an ecological trauma that has no precedent in nature except for a major volcanic eruption.” Deforestation occurs around the world, though tropical rainforests are particularly targeted. NASA predicts that if current deforestation levels proceed, the world’s rainforests may be completely in as little as 100 year. Countries with significant deforestation include Brazil, Indonesia, Thailand, the Democratic Republic of Congo and other parts of Africa, and parts of Eastern Europe, according
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Information
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Hainault Forest is one of the remaining sections of the former Forest of Essex in England. Epping Forest and Hatfield Forest are other remaining examples. The forest belonged to the abbey of Barking until the dissolution of the monasteries;[4] it extended northwards to Theydon Bois , east to Havering-atte-Bower, on the south to Aldborough Hatch, and westwards to Leytonstone. In a survey made for Henry VIII in 1544 its extent was some 3,000 acres.
After public pressure to retain some remnant of Hainault Forest, headed by Edward North Buxton, a total of 804 acres (3.3 km2) of land was bought for public use on 21 July 1906. It included 253 acres (1.0 km²) of woodland and rough pasture. The Hainault Forest Country Park protected areas include: open space parklands — with numerous public footpaths and a large lake; the Hainault Forest Golf Club; and Fox Burrow Farm — which is used in part for preserving rare breeds of animals.
The forest land was condemned as waste by an Act of Parliament, 1851, disafforested, the deer removed, and 92% of the old growth forest cut down. The land became very poor quality agricultural land and subsequently a significant proportion of that has been built on.The destruction was deplored by Sir Walter Besant in his works on London: the forest is also the setting for his novel All in a Garden Fair. Oliver Rackham described how the outrage at the destruction of Hainault led to the modern conservation movement with the creation of conservation groups which successfully opposed such a fate happening to Epping Forest.
With an area of 136 hectares (336 acres), Hainault Forest Country Park is a Site of Special Scientific Interest. The Redbridge section of the Park is being developed by the Redbridge Council as a country park. The Essex section is managed by the Woodland Trust, who are contracted to do so by its owners, Essex County Council. The destruction was deplored by Sir Walter Besant in his works on London: the forest is also the setting for his novel All in a Garden Fair. Oliver Rackham described how the outrage at the destruction of Hainault led to the modern conservation movement with the creation of conservation groups which successfully opposed such a fate happening to Epping Forest.
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Deforestation Deforestation is considered to be one of the contributing factors to global climate change. According to Michael Daley, associate professor of environmental science at Lasell College in Newton, Massachusetts, the No. 1 problem caused by deforestation is the impact on the global carbon cycle. Gas molecules that absorb thermal infrared radiation are called greenhouse gases. If greenhouse gases are in large enough quantity, they can force climate change, according to Daley. While oxygen (O2) is the second most abundant gas in our atmosphere, it does not absorb thermal infrared radiation, as greenhouse gases do. Carbon dioxide (CO2) is the most prevalent greenhouse gas. In 2012, CO2 accounted for about 82 percent of all U.S. greenhouse gas, according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Trees can help, though. 300 billion tons of carbon, 40 times the annual greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuels, is stored in trees, according to Greenpeace. The deforestation of trees not only lessens the amount of carbon stored, it also releases carbon dioxide into the air. This is because when trees die, they release the stored carbon. According to the 2010 Global Forest Resources Assessment, deforestation releases nearly a billion tons of carbon into the atmosphere per year, though the numbers are not as high as the ones recorded in the previous decade. Deforestation is the second largest anthropogenic (human-caused) source of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere, ranging between 6 percent and 17 percent. (Van Der Werf, G. R. et al., 2009) Carbon isn't the only greenhouse gas that is affected by deforestation. Water vapor is also considered a greenhouse gas. "The impact of deforestation on the exchange of water vapor and carbon dioxide between the atmosphere and the terrestrial land surface is the biggest concern with regard to the climate system," said Daley. Changes in their atmospheric concentration will have a direct effect on climate.
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Many foresters have long assumed that trees gradually lose their vigour as they mature, but a new analysis suggests that the larger a tree gets, the more kilos of carbon it puts on each year. “The trees that are adding the most mass are the biggest ones, and that holds pretty much everywhere on Earth that we looked,” says Nathan Stephenson, an ecologist at the US Geological Survey in Three Rivers, California, and the first author of the study, which appears today in Nature1. “Trees have the equivalent of an adolescent growth spurt, but it just keeps going.”
The scientific literature is chock-full of studies that focus on forests' initial growth and their gradual move towards a plateau in the amount of carbon they store as they reach maturity2. Researchers have also documented a reduction in growth at the level of individual leaves in older trees3.
In their study, Stephenson and his
colleagues analysed reams of data on 673,046 trees from 403 species in monitored forest plots, in both tropical and temperate areas around the world. They found that the largest trees gained the most
mass each year in 97% of the species, capitalizing on their additional leaves and adding ever more girth high in the sky. Although they relied mostly on existing data, the team calculated growth rates at the level of the individual trees, whereas earlier studies had typically looked at the overall carbon stored in a plot. mass each year in 97% of the spec ies, capitalizing on their additional leaves and adding ever more girth high in the sky.
Estimating absolute growth for any tree remains problematic, in part because researchers typically take measurements at a person's height and have to extrapolate the growth rate higher up. But the researchers' calculations consistently showed that larger trees added the most mass. In one old-growth forest plot in the western United States, for instance, trees larger than 100 centimetres in diameter comprised just 6% of trees, but accounted for 33% of the growth.
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What to do all year outdoors Summer’s here - the warmest season of the year when the days are long and the nights are short. It's a beautiful time to explore and celebrate our woods. The woodland canopy closes over and spring’s woodland flowers go to seed. The light in woodland changes as they become cool and shady, offering respite from long, hot summer days. Listen out for migrant birds that return to our woodland for the summer. Warblers produce some of the most melodic birdsong you’ll ever hear. Willow warblers are slim, delicate birds of woodland, scrub, parks and gardens. They can be heard singing their warbling song from the tree canopy.
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Meteorologists conventionally define each season as three months long and spring in the UK as March, April and May. The spring Equinox is on 20 March 2015 - this is when the day and night are approximately the same length. In the southern hemisphere, 20 March is the date of the autumn equinox. In temperate parts of the world, spring is the season that follows winter and is associated with the fresh growth of vegetation, germination of dormant seeds, resuming of activity in hibernating creatures and the start of animal and plant reproduction.
Woodland in wintertime has its own unique quality. From bright, sparkling mornings to damp, murky afternoons, discover a winter wonderland with our inspirational ideas.
Autumn is a spectacular season as our trees transform from lush greens into stunning displays of red, gold and brown. Embrace the crisp air and celebrate with our top ideas.
Woods can be stunning places for a winter stroll. Be inspired by our top woods for a winter walk, wrap up warm and head out into the crisp air. You can make your visit even more special by exploring with your senses. You may discover something unexpected. Winter may be the season of bare trees and hibernating animals, but woods are still full of life.
It’s a time of change, of migration and arrival and frantic activity. Some animals leave for the winter while others prepare for the cold weather to come. Stunning fungal sculptures emerge and trees put on a dazzling display of colour. This is the best time of year to get outdoors. There’s nothing better than wrapping up warm and heading out to see the leaves changing colour, from gorgeous golds to russet reds. Mist hangs over fields and parks in the morning, there are often spectacular sunsets and the stars seem brighter at night.
Woodland in wintertime has its own unique quality. From bright, sparkling mornings to damp, murky afternoons.
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There's a number of ways to save trees. Trees are crucial to our environmental system and need to be taken care of as much as possible. They come with an unlimited number of benefits to our world. If we try to save trees, our air will remain clean of impurities. Trees absorb carbon dioxide, pollutants, sulphur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide, allowing us to breathe clean oxygen. A mature tree will produce as much oxygen for 10 people in one year. There are many benefits we can gain if we try to save trees. They provide us with noise barriers and create shade to cool the hot weather. Places can get up to 6 degrees hotter when there are no trees to block the sun. In the winter, they block the cold force of wind. With many trees not only planted on lawns and in parks, many along the sidewalks make it even more important to try and save trees. Even though trees are so beneficial to our environment, they can sometimes disrupt man-made areas. When planted along sidewalk, tree roots often grow so strong that they push through the concrete, breaking or lifting the walkway. What’s usually done is someone trims the
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To save trees, new ways need to be explored rather than slowly killing trees. Though it can become costly to reconstruct a new sidewalk, installing TripStop™ during construction will make it more cost effective. Acting as a joint that is embedded into the concrete it will allow for cement to be more forgiving to growing tree roots, and move with them rather than break. TripStop™ would mean that trees can continue to live along our sidewalks and benefit us and our ecosystem. With many trees not only planted on lawns and in parks, many along the sidewalks make it even more important to try and save trees. Even though trees are so beneficial to our environment, they can sometimes disrupt man-made areas. When planted along sidewalk, tree roots often grow so strong that they push through the concrete, breaking or lifting the walkway. What’s usually done is someone trims the tree roots, which is not a good way to save trees, because eventually the tree will die. To save trees, new ways need to be explored rather than slowly killing trees. Though it can become costly to reconstruct a new sidewalk, installing TripStop™ during construction will make it more cost effective.
There are many benefits we can gain if we try to save trees. They provide us with noise barriers and create shade to cool the hot weather. Places can get up to 6 degrees hotter when there are no trees to block the sun. In the winter, they block the cold force of wind. With many trees not only planted on lawns and in parks, many along the sidewalks make it even more important to try and save trees. Even though trees are so beneficial to our environment, they can sometimes disrupt man-made areas. When planted along sidewalk, tree roots often grow so strong that they push through the concrete, breaking or lifting the walkway. What’s usually done is someone trims the tree roots, which is not a good way to save trees, because eventually the tree will die. To save trees, new ways need to be explored rather than slowly killing trees. Though it can become costly to reconstruct a new sidewalk, installing TripStop™ during construction will make it more cost effective. Acting as a joint that is embedded into the concrete it will allow for cement to be more forgiving to growing tree roots, and move with them rather than break. TripStop™ would mean that trees can contin-
What can we do to save the trees?
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Over the winter you may have
walked through your local woodland or nature reserve and discovered that a section of the woodland had been cut down. This can look very destructive and you might well wonder why this should be allowed to happen. Surely we should be caring for and protecting our woodlands in an age where de-forestation around the world is increasing? The simple answer is that the trees are being cut down (known as coppicing) for the benefit of the woodland, the wildlife, and the flora. Coppicing is the traditinal way of managing British broadleaf woodland and within Norsey Wood this practice has been happening for at least the last 1000 years, if not a lot longer.
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Coppicing is undertaken in the winter when the trees are dormant. Coppicing starts when all leaves have fallen from the trees and ends just as the new buds are about to appear. The timings vary each year due to the climate but it tends to be from the end of November to the beginning of March. If coppicing were undertaken outside of these times it would seriously damage the re-growth of the trees to the extent that the tree stump may die. It would also disrupt nesting birds and damage the flora. The trees within each year’s specified area of normally not more than 3 acres (known as a plot), are felled close to ground level at a slight slope so that rain water runs off the stump thus limiting potential rot. There are certain trees that are left standing within each area. These are classified as standards and tend to be larger and older trees. Keeping them intact will increase diversification of wildlife and create larger timber in latter years.
Once spring arrives and the sap starts to rise within the stump, it has all the energy that used to supply a full grown tree. But now that energy has nowhere to go, so it starts to produce lots of shoots from the stump. Within the first year these can grow up to 5 feet and the following year they can grow to 15 feet or more. Because the sunlight can now reach the ground, dormant seeds now have the chance to spring into life. Flowers like foxgloves and wood anemonies appear where there were none visible before; brambles shoot up at an incredible rate and occasionally rarer flowers appear and the odd “unexpected� plant. Recently I found raspberry canes in a plot that was cut last year! All this new growth is very important to the wild life. It creates new and varied food sources and habitats. Species like the dormouse and certain butterflies, such as the Pearl Bordered Fritillaries, are dependent on coppiced woodlands.
As the shoots continue to re-grow they start to compete for the light. The stronger shoots grow taller and start to shade out the weaker shoots. With less light they grow less and eventually die back. This is nature’s way of weeding out the weak. The eventual outcome is that where there was once one trunk growing it now has a number of trunks growing from one stump. Once there is a full canopy creating shade and reducing the warmth at ground level, the flowers, plants, brambles etc will die back until the plot is coppiced again. Each different tree species is coppiced after varying lengths of time. For example, Hazel should be coppiced about every 6 to 7 years whereas Sweet Chestnut should be coppiced about every 21 years. The differing times were traditionally determined by the intended use of the timber.
Hazel had many uses for thatching, hurdle making etc, but if it was coppiced every 20+ years it would have been too large to use for those purposes. And finally, the timber that has been felled should be used. Traditionally there would have been a use for every piece of wood – nothing would go to waste. These days that is a lot harder to do efficiently, as demand for the same type of timber products has declined. To overcome this, I try to think of new ways to use the wood. Things like the brush wood, the small side branches, were traditionally bundled into faggots for firewood. Not much call for it now, so the brush is now chipped for mulching. So while doing the coppice work I’m continually thinking about what the timber can be used for. The ideas come fast and furious but unfortunately the making of natural timber products takes a lot longer!
I hope that this gives greater insight into why the trees are being cut down, but this is only a brief explanation and much more information can be found in various publications. Most importantly, if the woodland is managed correctly the diverse wildlife and plant life will continue to survive, people will still be able to enjoy the woodland for many more generations to come, and sustainable timber for local use will still be available.
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