Race against time to save our ancient woodlands

ENGLAND is “running out of time” to rescue ancient woodlands buried under 20th-century tree plantations, conservationists warn.

- BY EMILY BEAMENT

The Woodland Trust fears the government is far short of its target to restore the ecosystems by 2030.

Almost no woods on private land were restored in the last few years, a Forestry Commission report found.

The charity says it is the “last chance” for our “forgotten forests” - native woodlands cleared or poisoned after the Second World War to make way for monoculture plantations of conifers for timber.

The original “irreplaceable” ecosystem of soils and seeds, and fragments of native woodland plants and trees, is still hanging on, the Woodland Trust’s Nick Phillips said.