The James Cup is presented by the Royal Forestry Society annually to the author of the best original article for the year in the Quarterly Journal of Forestry in memory of NDG James, a distinguished forester and former President of the RFS.
A panel of RFS members judges the award and the winning article for 2013 is “Cord-Forming Fungi in British Woodlands”, written by Sylva Scholar Kirsty Monk, a final year DPhil student at the Department of Plant Sciences, University of Oxford, and Gabriel Hemery, chief executive of the Sylva Foundation. The article investigates the ecology, diversity and distribution of cord-forming fungi in Great Britain, and was published in the July 2013 issue.
The article concludes: “On-going research is uncovering the numerous ways in which cord-forming fungi enhance and encourage woodland growth, health and productivity. … The time has come to consider all components of woodland ecosystems when managing for timber or woodland products. Future improvements to timber yields and woodland health will lie in improving nutrient cycling and woodland resilience, especially in the light of projected environmental change and the uncertainty it presents to woodland owners and managers.”
More information on the RFS James Cup, including free access to the article
