To see the forests of The Fens, you would need to be a time traveller, as they were ‘lost’ some four thousand years ago. Today, The Fens are a low lying agricultural region that forms part of Norfolk, Lincolnshire and Cambridgeshire. The Fens contain some of the best agricultural land in the U.K., growing […]
Every now and then, some trees produce massive numbers of their fruits and seeds. This sudden ‘excess’ of seeds / fruits, mens that the various animals that feed on the fruits / seeds cannot eat all of them - so many will survive to germinate, and go on to develop into seedlings and saplings. This […]
Bees and light Honey bees need to sleep. Unlike us, they do not sleep for long periods but they take ‘naps’ during the day and the night - within the hive where it is dark. If the hive becomes over heated, then bees will move outside the hive and beat their wings to fan […]
A lot of research work now focuses on the resilience of woodlands and forests in the light of climate change, that is their ability to cope with conditions like drier, hotter summers and/or warmer/wetter winters. It has generally been assumed that trees at the limit of their range in dry regions would be most affected […]
We purchased Knox Wood in August 2023, part of Boltonmuir Wood, an old woodland site on fairly boggy ground in East Lothian. Our five acres are split 50% almost pure birch (Silver and Downy) regenerating [about 20 years old] and 50% mature Scots Pine that is well thinned over mixed natural regeneration. All of the […]
The diet of bees has changed over the years. In the past, bees were able to forage and collect pollen and nectar from a variety of plants. With the spread of highly mechanised agriculture, increasing urbanisation and road network - now their options are somewhat limited. Large fields of monocultures, for example, of oil […]
The woodlands blog has previously reported on the damage being wreaked by bark beetles. These beetles may be small (less than a centimetre in length) but their effects on the western forests of North America has been immense. Some areas have lost 90% of their conifers. Outbreaks of these beetles have been increasing in […]