A £15 million institute dedicated to studying how climate change is affecting Britain’s woodlands is to be created at the University of Birmingham. Source: The Telegraph (UK)
The new centre will examine how trees can be protected from the threat of invasive pests and diseases such as the Chalara fraxinea virus, which has caused the spread of Ash dieback across the UK.
Scientists working at the centre will use autonomous sensors to record continuous measurements remotely, from above the tree canopy to deep within the soil.
The institute has been funded by a gift, one of the largest ever given to a British university, by Prof Jo Bradwell, a former academic at Birmingham, and his wife Barbara.
Forestry experts are concerned that the impacts of rising deforestation, climate change and the spread of pests are not fully understood because not enough thorough research has been conducted in the wild.
Forests are essential to the world’s carbon, nutrient and water cycles, are home to more than half of all known species and play a critical role in regulating the temperature of the planet.
“The UK has the lowest woodland cover of any large, European country because of deforestation over the centuries,” said Prof Bradwell.
“What little we have remaining is now under serious threat from climate change and imported tree diseases.
“The new forestry institute will increase our understanding of these challenges in order to help planners, owners and foresters maintain and improve the health of our woods.”
