DiversiTree

DiversiTree: diversifying our woodlands to increase resilience

DiversiTree aims to increase the resilience of current and future woodlands to climate change and tree diseases by understanding the methods to, and the impacts of, diversifying tree species composition within our woods.

Scientific challenge

Currently there is rapid woodland expansion within the UK as part of the government plans to store more carbon, to mitigate climate change and to reverse biodiversity declines. However, many of the UK’s trees are threatened by climate change and a range of diseases, which may limit their ability to contribute to carbon storage and the wide range of other benefits delivered by woodlands. We therefore need to make our woodlands resilient to these future threats.

One commonly proposed approach to increase the resilience of woods is to increase tree species diversity. This approach spreads the risk amongst many different trees as we don’t know how different trees will respond to climate change, nor what threats from diseases they may face decades into the future.

DiversiTree will combine woodland managers’ knowledge with ecological knowledge to identify which tree species and management approaches best deliver diversification that increases resilience.

YouTube webinar from the team, showing early results from the project
What is DiversiTree? Dr Ruth Mitchell explains – YouTube

Project summary

DiversiTree focuses on woods dominated by two conifer species, Scots Pine and Sitka Spruce, as in the year to March 2021 54% of all new woodland was coniferous. Scots Pine is a native conifer of economic significance. It is planted for timber production but is also the dominant species in the culturally iconic Caledonian pinewoods and is at risk from the tree disease Dothistroma. Sitka Spruce is not native to Britain but is our most economically valuable tree species and is at risk from invasive bark beetles and climate change.

DiversiTree addresses four knowledge gaps related to the diversification of woodlands:

  • How do stakeholders understand forest diversity, their diversification strategies, and their visions and ambitions for diverse future forests?
  • Are the microbes found on the leaves of trees more diverse in woodlands with mixed tree species and does this help trees to better defend themselves against diseases?
  • How may diversification of tree species within a wood allow the continued support of woodland biodiversity?
  • How do we implement and communicate management strategies to increase woodland resilience?

Principle investigator

Ruth Mitchell
Dr Ruth Mitchell
Plant Soil Ecologist

Collaborating institutes

DiversiTree is one of six interdisciplinary projects receiving a share of £3 million funding from UK Research and Innovation as part of its Future of UK Treescapes programme, which will inform decision making by governments, local authorities and land managers.

DiversiTree graphic
DiversiTree graphic
DiversiTree graphic
DiversiTree graphic

In March 2024 we held a practitioners panel at Norbury Park where we discussed:

  • How much diversity is “enough”?
  • Managing diverse woodlands
  • Stakeholder perceptions, objectives and attitudes to diversity
  • How many species use Scots pine and Stika spruce?

An illustrated summary of our discussion can be seen in these four drawings

In September 2023 we held a practitioners panel at Mar Lodge estate where we discussed:

  • How much diversity is “enough”?
  • Managing diverse woodlands
  • Stakeholder perceptions, objectives and attitudes to diversity
  • How many species use Scots pine and Stika spruce?

An illustrated summary of our discussion can be seen in these four drawings

Putting practitioners at the heart of DiversiTree

At its essence, DiversiTree is a collaboration between academics and practitioners. One of the ways we are ensuring those who are at the coalface of woodland management have a voice in DiversiTree, is by convening a Practitioners Panel. The Panel will meet in-person four times throughout the project to engage in field-based 360 learning, to scrutinise, test feasibility and enhance the implementation of findings from the project. The Practitioners Panel is made up of individuals with in-depth and diverse experience of woodland management for a range of different objectives and priority outcomes. See the latest graphical outputs from our Practitioners Panel meeting below. Thank you to National Trust for Scotland and Norbury Park for hosting the events, and to Holly McKelvey for producing these outputs.

Outputs

Impact and Insight notes (They are designed to be accessible for policymakers and practitioners to both understand the research and apply recommendations from it, 2 pages)

Research notes (longer notes giving more detail on the data behind the Impact and Insight notes)

Peer reviewed publications

Videos

Follow us on @DiversiTree_UK

Additional Knowledge exchange: In addition to the knowledge exchange occurring within this project, this project is one of three Future of UK Treescapes projects that are part of the Tree of Knowledge: community the complexity of forest resilience.”