Last week a National Tree Improvement Strategy for Britain and Ireland was launched by the Future Trees Trust.
The launch of the strategy, attended by Sylva’s CEO Gabriel Hemery (whose early career helped initiate broadleaved tree improvement in Britain), marks a significant milestone in the work of the Future Trees Trust.
The vision of the strategy is:
“Through selection and breeding of a wide range of tree species capable of thriving in UK conditions — broadleaves and conifers, natives and exotics — we aim to promote economic value, genetic diversity and species resilience, producing trees with good vigour and timber quality, showing resistance to known pests and diseases, and able to withstand the seasonal and long-term climatic variations, whilst ensuring that all selected material is available to all interested parties.”
The strategy describes over the medium term an intention to have productive seed orchards for ‘new alternative’ conifer and broadleaved plus trees. In the longer-term the aim is to use genomic selection aided by DNA markers to promote important economic traits of key species. Alongside the science, the strategy highlights key elements under Governance, Funding, Intellectual Property and Communication.
The National Tree Improvement Strategy is now available to download.
It would be a great help if a list of alternative tree types were created, Baring in mind that some native
Trees may well suffer under the anticipated changes in our weather patterns.
Our village is about to plant a wood on Parish land, but available are only native trees, oak,hornbeam,beech,small leaf lime etc which is fine, but will the oak and beech still be healthy in two hundred years time, what about frost resistant eucalyptus.
It would also be clever if soil type and county advice was added to the list.
Thanks.
You may be interested in our SilviFuture website: https://www.silvifuture.org.uk/