Britain's woodlands are suffering from 'neglect'

Thursday, August 06 2009 17:30:42 by Editor

Woodlands across Britain have suffered from a huge drop-off in diversity and character over the past 70 years, it has been warned.

According to a new study, which compared many areas of natural beauty with detailed botany reports from the 1930s, modern farming methods and neglect are to blame for the decline in quality of the UK countryside, the Guardian reported.

Looking at records made by ecologist Professor Ronald Good on 1,500 woodland sites in Dorset, botanist Sally Keith claimed that woodland is today much duller and darker because of fertiliser from farms.

"In the past, the woods would all have been quite different, but now they share many of the same species," the Bournemouth University graduate told the Guardian.

Last month, a voluntary conservation scheme was launched in Scotland to encourage 16-to-24-year-olds to plant trees in and around Falkirk.

Run by the Scottish Waterways Trust, the project aims to teach youngsters gardening skills such as landscaping and maintenance.