Creating woodland through natural processes: Current understanding and knowledge gaps in Great Britain

Susannah Fleiss, Vanessa Burton, Bianca Ambrose-Oji, Luke Barley, Kate Beavan, Laura Braunholtz, Richard K. Broughton, Emma Dear, Heather Gilbert, Pip Gullett, Simon Greenhouse, Matt Guy, Jenny Knight, Julia Koricheva, Thomas Murphy, Matt North, Rachel Orchard, Kirsty Park, George Porton, Ian Sargent, Cat Scott, Dominick Spracklen, Clive Steward, Darryl Stubbs, John Sutherland, Richard Thompson, Robin Williams, Elisa Fuentes-Montemayor, Kevin Watts, Marc J. Metzger

1. Creating new woodlands through natural processes, as opposed to traditional tree planting, is expected to result in more structurally diverse, locally-adapted woodlands that enhance the resilience of existing treescapes. However, the outcomes of natural colonisation can be variable, and there is still considerable uncertainty around the ecological processes involved. 2. To address knowledge gaps and guide a future research and policy agenda, we synthesise current knowledge of the ecology of natural colonisation. We combine expertise from 31 practitioners and researchers spanning varied British contexts, including insights from 15 case studies and an expert survey on the relative importance of ecological factors influencing natural colonisation. 3. The most important determinants of successful natural colonisation, identified by practitioners and researchers, were availability of seed sources and low levels of herbivory. However, key knowledge gaps remain around the timeframe and trajectory of woodland development, and appropriate management practices. Natural colonisation and tree planting can be combined to meet diverse woodland objectives, but this has been little explored to date. 4. Synthesis and applications Land managers and advisors face uncertainty and many knowledge gaps when creating woodland through natural processes. Site monitoring and adaptive management can help meet site objectives that, in turn, can be supported by policies reflecting uncertainties in the process. Collaboration between researchers and land managers to monitor woodland development, use experimental approaches, and share knowledge, will help further applied ecological understanding, supporting informed decision-making by land managers.