The Landscape Ecology of Forests, Woodlands and Trees
2021 ialeUK Conference
7-8 September 2021, Online
Download the full programme [pdf], including text and visual abstracts. Links to video recordings of the sessions are provided below.
It is increasingly recognised that forests, woodlands and trees provide societal benefits and nature-based solutions to wicked problems, including the climate emergency and the biodiversity crisis. This international conference explored how landscape ecology can inform the expansion and restoration of forests, woodlands and trees to secure these public benefits into the future.
We brought together people with relevant expertise from across science, policy, conservation and industry, to learn from each other, and identify ways in which landscape ecology can support ambitious policy targets, including those for woodland expansion, greenhouse gas reduction, biodiversity conservation, commercial viability, and sustainable development goals.
The programme for the conference included 34 talks, with keynotes by Jo Pike (CEO of the Scottish Wildlife Trust); Jenny Hodgeson (conservation biologist at the Liverpool University); Sallie Bailey (deputy chief scientific advisor at Scottish Government) and Jon Stokes (director of Trees, Science & Research at The Tree Council).
We were pleased that a third of the talks were by non-academic experts from conservations NGOs (Woodland Trust, RSPB), Government agencies (NatureScot, Natural England), and other organisations with an interest treescapes including Galbraith and the National Forest Company. This multidisciplinary conference attracted over 70 delgates with an interest in the protection, planning and management of trees and forested landscapes, including researchers, policymakers, and foresters and conservation practitioners.
During the conference we reflected on two central questions
What learning has significantly informed landscape scale policy and management of forests, woodlands and trees in the last 20 years?
What evidence or solutions do we need to support landscape scale policy and management of forests, woodlands and trees in the next 20 years?
The conference was hosted by The Edinburgh University Centre for Sustainable Landscapes and Forests with support from Forest Research, The Woodland Trust and the University of Reading. Organisers were Prof. Marc Metzger (The University of Edinburgh), Dr Vanessa Burton (Forest Research), Dr Chloe Bellamy (Forest Research), Dr Adrian Southern (Woodland Trust) and Dr Jess Neumann (University of Reading) with support from Jonathan Porter (Countryscape) and guidance from the ialeUK committee.
An online conference - recordings now here
Unfortunately the conference had to be fully online, but the advantage is that all sessions were recorded and are now available as a resource for anyone to watch again. Click the links below to watch on Vimeo.
Public benefits
Forests, woodlands and trees provide a wide range of cultural, provisioning, regulating and biodiversity benefits, but evidence and understanding is complex and incomplete, and practical planning and ecosystem services-based management approaches are new. This symposium will demonstrate emerging models, evidence and practical case-studies that illustrate how the ecosystem services framework can support landscape and forestry decisions. Tuesday 7 September.
09.30 - 10.20: Conference welcome, session intro & keynote Jo Pike
11.20 - 12.05: Madeleine Barton; Alessandro Gimona; Alice Broome
Restoring, planting and connecting
It is now a decade since the publication of the Lawton review put the landscape ecology principles of ‘bigger, better, and more joined up’ into the limelight. This symposium will present exemplary initiatives putting these principles in practice, along with new research that can support restoring, planting and connecting forests, woodlands and trees. Tuesday 7 September.
Monitoring forests, woodland and trees
We added this mini-session to group three talks reporting progress to understand and quantify change woodlands and trees and hedgerows. Wednesday 8 September.
Trees and hedgerows
Outside forests and woodlands – in both rural and urban landscapes – trees and hedgerows provide important ecological habitats and play a crucial role within ecological networks. This symposium will highlight the ecological and socio-cultural importance of trees and hedgerows, bringing together both urban landscape ecology and the more traditional focus on rural landscapes. Wednesday 8 September.
Ecological resilience
Forests, woodlands and trees face a diverse and often inter-related set of pressures including climate change, invasive species, herbivore damage, pests and diseases. This symposium will present new understanding of these impacts and strategies to increase resilience in a range of settings, including native and productive forests. Wednesday 8 September.
Plenary & Panel Discussion
Short reflection from the session chairs and plenary discussion of what we have learned during the first day of the conference
15.20 - 16.00: Plenary reflections and discussion Tuesday 7 September
Concluding panel discussion reflecting on evidence or solutions needed to support landscape scale policy and management of forests, woodlands and trees. Panellists were: Jo Pike, Jenny Hodgson, Jon Stokes, Sallie Bailey and Eleanor Harris
15.30 - 16.15: Closing panel discussion Wednesday 8 September