Woodlands are among our most nature-rich habitats, but they are under threat. A guest blog by Dakota Reid, Conservation Officer, RSPB NI

On Sunday Sir David Attenborough took us on a magical tour of our woodlands – and we were captivated! From mind-blowing fungal networks to acrobatic red squirrels, our forested landscapes are brimming with life.  

But our woodlands are a shadow of their former selves. 

At only 8%, Northern Ireland has the lowest levels of tree cover in the UK, which is one of the least wooded countries in Europe. Much of our remaining woodland is not in good condition, which has had a negative impact on many of our woodland bird species. Spotted flycatcher, for example, is a species that breeds in woodlands. Sadly, this bird is in decline and is now on the amber list in Ireland, making it a species of medium conservation concern.  

Treecreeper – Dakota Reid 

To make matters worse, much of our tree cover in Northern Ireland is not delivering for nature.  

The majority of our tree cover is made up of non-native conifer plantations. These dense stands are predominantly made up of Sitka spruce or lodgepole pine, which are not naturally found in the UK or Ireland and therefore provide very little habitat for our wildlife. These non-native conifer plantations also store less carbon than our native tree species as carbon is released during the rotational harvesting of these coniferous trees. 

Scarlet elf cup fungus grows on decaying twigs and branches – Dakota Reid 

We absolutely need more tree planting, for people, nature and the climate! But it needs to be the right tree in the right place. We need more of our beautiful native broadleaved tree species, such as oak and hawthorn. Who wasn’t blown away by the complex ecosystem that a single oak tree can support, as we saw in the first episode of Wild Isles?! Many of our insect species need native tree species to survive. For example, the caterpillars of the purple hairstreak butterfly, which is only found in very small numbers in Northern Ireland, can only feed on oak. Natural native woodlands will also contain lots of deadwood, which is a vital habitat in itself.  

Species-rich grasslands are home to a diverse range of wildlife – Dakota Reid 

We need more native trees, but these shouldn’t be planted on other important habitats 

Our peatlands, wetlands and species-rich grasslands all provide homes for some of our most threatened wildlife and need to remain open and free of trees to continue supporting species like curlew, lapwing and corncrake. Furthermore, healthy peatlands can actually store more carbon than trees, but planting trees on top of them leads to the peatlands emitting carbon instead of storing it.  

By planting native trees in the right places and protecting our precious existing native woodland, we can turn things around for our woodland wildlife.  

Wood anemones emerge in spring on the forest floor – Dakota Reid 

Find out how we can #SaveOurWildIsles at www.saveourwilds.org.uk