Aim: protecting and managing
Overview
Although London has high existing canopy cover compared to other cities, as the city grows the urban forest faces multiple threats, particularly outside the network of protected open space, where pressures for built development can reduce land for trees.
Climate change also presents risks to health of the urban forest, just as the need for more trees to help adapt to its impacts, such as flooding and overheating, becomes acute.
Protecting and proactively managing trees and woodlands is essential for maintaining a healthy, resilient, ecologically diverse urban forest.
Resources by goal
Goal 1 - Improve resilience
Manage London’s urban forest according to a set of principles ensuring improved resilience against pests, diseases and climate change.
Forest Research’s Climate Change Hub provides a range of resources on woodland related climate risks (flooding, pests & disease, drought, windthrow, wildfire, frost), adaption measures, taking action, and practical advice.
Forest Research’s forestry and tree health resources include climate change factsheets, decision support tools, guidance and frameworks on managing resilient forests.
This report commissioned by the Forestry Commission highlights key threats climate change as well as pests and diseases pose to trees and woodlands in London. It also provides a set of principles, good practices and recommended actions to support future management.
TreeAlert is the only online tool for flagging up potentially new tree pest and disease threats and can act as an early warning system to protect trees. Once a TreeAlert report is submitted it is triaged by Forest Research and assigned to pathology or entomology diagnosticians for review.
The UK Plant Health Information Portal includes information about plant pests and diseases, including risk assessments. The Portal also provides information on plant health controls and services provided by government.
The Oak Processionary Moth (OPM) Resource Hub contains resources for owners and managers of oak trees which are or could be affected by OPM to understand and evaluate the risks associated with OPM and take the appropriate risk management actions.
Goal 2 - Manage more woodlands
Manage more of London’s woodlands to maximise their benefits for people and wildlife.
London Wildlife Trust are creating a consistent approach to determining the quality of urban woodland through a London woodland condition self assessment. Training will be provided to improve the skills base of woodland managers to be able to assess the quality of their woodlands to a city-wide standard. The self assessment template will be available from 2024.
This work is funded by the Trees Call to Action Fund and is part of the project 'Delivering the London Urban Forest Plan'.
A London Deer Strategy is being developed by the London Wildlife Trust to set out how the complex and sensitive issues of deer management would be tackled in London. The Strategy is due to be published in 2024.
This work is funded by the Trees Call to Action Fund as part of the 'Delivering the London Urban Forest Plan' project.
Parks for London and the London Tree Officers Association conducted the first London tree and woodland skills survey. The survey results provide a more accurate assessment of London-specific skills gaps and the needs of employers.
This work is funded by the Trees Call to Action Fund as part of the 'Delivering the London Urban Forest Plan' project.
Seven London authorities have received funding through the Forestry Commission’s Woodland Creation Accelerator Fund to increase internal capacity to find sites to plant on Local Authority land or work with third parties to get trees. These are the City of London, Barnet, Greenwich, Haringey, Hillingdon, Lambeth, Islington
myForest provides comprehensive online mapping, digital tools and the latest resources to sustainably manage forests.
The Woodland Wildlife Toolkit contains advice on managing woodlands for wildlife, and useful information on rare and declining species that depend on woodland habitats.
Goal 3 - Produce local urban forest plans
Support all London boroughs to produce a local urban forest plan as a key part of a comprehensive green infrastructure strategy.
A Trees and Woodland Strategy (TAWS) sets out a vision for how a local treescape will be managed now and for the future. This toolkit describes the phases or steps required to develop a comprehensive, evidence-based Trees and Woodland Strategy tailored to the local context. The toolkit provides a diverse range of examples from local authorities across England, showing how Trees and Woodland Strategies have been created and implemented.
Goal 4 - Protect against loss and damage
Better protect London’s urban forest against loss and damage, particularly irreplaceable assets including veteran trees and ancient woodlands.
The Joint Mitigation Protocol is an agreed method of subsidence claims management where trees are implicated as being the cause of building movement. Its principal aims are to speed up the process of claims handling, decision making and mitigation implementation leading to resolution. At the same time it recognises the value of trees in the built environment. It seeks to establish best practice in the processing and investigation of tree root induced building damage, benchmarking time scales for responses and standards of evidence.
The Risk Limitation Strategy for Tree Root Claims provides recommendations for both public and private trees. The aim of the strategy is to reduce the number and cost of tree root claims to local authorities within London.
Funding available
- Woodland Tree Health grants are available to restock or improve woodland after tree health problems.
- The Tree Health Pilot scheme will test different ways of slowing the spread of pests and diseases affecting trees in England. Those who join the scheme will get a grant to help pay back some of the costs of carrying out work, for example, to remove and replace diseased trees.
- The Woodland Management Plan grant is part of Countryside Stewardship. It is a capital grant for farmers and land managers to produce a woodland management plan that meets UK Forestry Standards.
- Woods into Management Forestry Innovation Fund is intended to stimulate the development and testing of new ideas that can help improve the ecological condition of woodlands, and their resilience to climate change, through increased demand for wood and increased levels of woodland management.
Maps and data
- The Ancient Woodland Inventory (AWI) identifies over 52,000 ancient woodland sites in England. The AWI is currently being updated for London.
- Ancient and veteran trees are mapped by volunteers on the Ancient Tree Inventory:
Training
- Applications can be made to the Forestry Commission’s Forestry Training Fund.
- Capel Manor College provide industry training in arboriculture and forestry.
- Learn how to identify and record London’s deer species.
- The Woodland Trust run ‘Introduction to Ancient Woodland Restoration’ training sessions, which are free to professionals working in the sector. Visit their website to see events running in London.
- Cumbria Woodlands run a host of online Continue Professional Development courses that are transferable to London’s woodlands including survey and planning, halting further decline, maximising ecological integrity, and management approaches and opportunities.
- Receive training from government tree health experts to survey and monitor the spread of existing threats and monitor for any new pest or disease introductions through Observatree.
Get involved
- Take part in the ‘Keep it Clean’ campaign - a call to action to everyone to incorporate biosecurity measures into their daily routine.
- Learn how to minimise the risk of further introduction of pests and diseases through biosecurity e-learning.
- Take part in the London Deer Survey to support understanding about deer numbers and distribution, and possible impact on the capital's natural environment.
- Visit one of four Veteran Tree Trails owned by the City of London. The self-guided trails in Ashtead Common, Burnham Beeches, Epping Forest and Hampstead Heath have been designed at each site to allow people to visit and see for themselves the work that has been undertaken to safeguard veteran trees on these sites.
- If you see any ancient or old trees you can put them on the Ancient Tree Inventory map and help to better protect them.
Funders
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