While woodland creation and restoration are generally believed to enhance biodiversity, the slow rates of habitat succession and delayed species responses have led to a scarcity of empirical studies evaluating the long-term benefits of these activities.

Dr Elisa Fuentes-Montemayor, with the University of Stirling, led this research to use ancient semi-natural woodlands as reference sites to assess how secondary woodlands planted over the last century are performing in terms of their value for biodiversity. Moths were used as the case study as they are good indicators of wider biodiversity.

Whilst the characteristics of vegetation differ between secondary and ancient woodlands, with ancient sites showing higher heterogeneity, native tree species and canopy and understory cover, the preliminary data suggested that both are valuable habitats for moths, albeit for different species.

Outcomes

The project report gives provides details on the methodology used and preliminary results. The Woodland Creation & Ecological Networks (WrEN) was a large-scale natural experiment designed to study the effects of long-term woodland creation on biodiversity and inform landscape-scale conservation. You can find more information on the WrEN research programme webpage.