Not for the first time since moving to Purbeck in Dorset fifteen years ago I have seen a Facebook post bemoaning the destruction of Wareham Forest by the felling of trees that are so vital for our wildlife and where there will be a knock on effect on the bog containing more water which will lead to flooding in the town. Where there is no intention of replanting and thus restore the heathland is seen in a negative light.
I can quite understand how anyone with no basic understanding of ecology might think this to be the case and I am not critical of them as we all have own fields of knowledge and expertise but the reality of the situation is, of course, the opposite. What is happening will be for the benefit of the environment and its wildlife.
It may be hard to comprehend now that the now well established conifers in Wareham Forest are a planted crop intended to be harvested. Wood was once a major construction material as well as being used for all sorts of things including telegraph poles and pit props. They were planted just after the second world war, some seventy five years ago, as part of a plan to ensure we never endured the dangerous shortage of food and basic materials we needed to survive that had been prevalent during the very harsh war years. The Dorset heaths were seen as derelict land that could be put to productive use growing trees; at the time that must have seemed a perfectly sound strategy.
The species chosen for planting were selected for their qualities as a construction material not their wildlife value. Corsican pine, Scots pine, Sitka spruce, Norwegian fir, Lawson Cypress, Redwood and the like are not indigenous to the area and totally alien to the native creatures of our islands. Probably only grey squirrels, coal tit and wood ant have really benefitted from their introduction and, even then, one of those, the grey squirrel, is not indigenous either! It is true that some other species use the conifers; siskin and crossbill can sometimes be seen in winter and sparrowhawk may nest but none have really gained substantial advantage from the presence of these trees.
The dense canopy of conifer plantation along with the deep layers of useless pine needles underneath creates a hostile environment in which few plants and insects can survive. If one looks along the edges of the forest tracks however an abundance of flowers and insects can be seen which may give the false impression that the forest is healthy and full of life but, in reality, this is just a glimpse of what the area may have been like before the planting of the trees took place.
Much of the crop planted all those years ago is now ready to be harvested but there is less demand for wood these days; telegraph poles and pit props are long since gone. There is little need to replace the felled trees for commercial uses and so much of the forest can be left to return gradually to the way it once was. This provides more scope for Dartford warbler and woodlark, for example, to flourish and will expand the area smooth snakes, sand lizards and other reptiles can inhabit. Rare insect species such as the heath grasshopper, heath potter wasp and heath tiger beetle can colonise.
As for the increase in boggy areas it is worth remembering that the existing bog is known as Morden Bog National Nature Reserve through its importance to wet mire plants and insects, any expansion is to be applauded not abhorred. There will bo no increased risk of flooding from the stream that drains it into Poole Harbour.
The revitalisation of lost heathland areas through the removal of commercially motivated forestry will have far, far more benefit to our beleaguered planet than yet more unwanted conifer trees.
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