Kevin Watts

A new pre-print outlining 15 case-studies of natural colonisation of woodland over multiple decades in uplands & lowlands in England & Scotland: ecoevorxiv.org/repository/v...

New research investigates role of natural processes to create woodland - Forest Research New research reviewing natural processes as a method for woodland creation has been published by Forest Research.

Interested in creating new woodlands 🌳with 'natural processes'? read on 👇

www.forestresearch.gov.uk/news/new-res...

Great to see research briefing from our @uktreescapes.bsky.social TreEPlaNat project on using natural processes for woodland creation published by @forestresearchuk.bsky.social
Research briefing: www.forestresearch.gov.uk/publications...
News: www.forestresearch.gov.uk/news/new-res...

Ever caught yourself wondering whether natural processes or tree planting are better for woodland creation?

You're not alone!

Check out this research to find out why hybrid approaches that combine the two might be the answer 🌳

Contrary to the perceived dichotomy, most land managers value both 'tree planting' and 'natural processes' to increase tree cover 🌳🌳 - read more 👇

Contrary to the perceived dichotomy, most land managers value both 'tree planting' and 'natural processes' to increase tree cover 🌳🌳

besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

Tree planting, natural colonisation, hybrid approaches: Land manager decisions explored Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.

🌳🌳Tree planting, natural colonisation, hybrid approaches: Land manager decisions explored @forestresearchuk.bsky.social besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

Excited to see our recent paper on ‘Spillovers and legacies of land management on temperate woodland biodiversity’ on the front cover of @natecoevo.nature.com www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Think globally, act locally: Temperate rainforest – how do we best research and conserve a globally distributed habitat? What's on at the University of Plymouth: Think globally, act locally: Temperate Rainforest, how do we best research and conserve a globally distributed...

Interested in Temperate Rainforests Globally 🌧️🌳- come to this webinar www.plymouth.ac.uk/whats-on/thi...

It would be great if we could try & embed some ‘large-scale, long-term’ experiments within these ambitious Strategic Nature Networks to provide much need evidence to support adaptive management for the future

Agricultural landscapes impede woodland ground-dwelling beetle colonisation and establishment in planted woodlands Global insect declines have been partly attributed to habitat loss and agricultural intensification. Large-scale habitat restoration is crucial to add…

New paper out with PhD @naturefromsam.bsky.social and the @wrenproject.bsky.social 🌳🚜🪲team @forestresearchuk.bsky.social
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Thanks @jmbecologist.bsky.social 🌳👍we have some field-based papers on the way looking at tree species composition, biomass & biodiversity across a chronosequence of planted & naturally colonised sites - watch this space 👀

One of our LERN (Large-scale Ecosystem Recovery Network) experiments 🌳- now visible from space 🛰️#EcologicalRestoration @forestresearchuk.bsky.social

Spillovers and legacies of land management on temperate woodland biodiversity - Nature Ecology & Evolution Data on beetle, bird, plant and mammal occupancy of woodland sites in UK agricultural landscapes demonstrate how contemporary spatial spillovers and legacies of past land use interact to affect specie...

Data on beetle, bird, plant and mammal occupancy of woodland sites in UK agricultural landscapes demonstrate how contemporary spatial spillovers and legacies of past land use interact to affect species richness and community composition www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Can the spatial targeting of woodland creation boost bird populations? - Forest Research

Modelling in partnership with Stirling Uni, Uni of Glasgow & RSPB Science suggests that planting next to existing woodland is likely to be much more effective in boosting woodland bird populations than planting in isolated patches or small clumps.

More ➡️ www.forestresearch.gov.uk/news/145043-...

Spillovers and legacies of land management on temperate woodland biodiversity Nature Ecology & Evolution - Data on beetle, bird, plant and mammal occupancy of woodland sites in UK agricultural landscapes demonstrate how contemporary spatial spillovers and legacies of...

🌳 Nature remembers. 🌿
Happy to share our new paper showing that where species live today isn't just about where habitats are - it's also about what happened there before. 🕰️ rdcu.be/eiVZE @watts-km.bsky.social @stir.ac.uk @tfinch.bsky.social @forestresearchuk.bsky.social

Key takeaway? The past shapes the present, and smart conservation must consider both spatial spillovers and temporal legacies to succeed. 🐦🐞🌱🐁
#Biodiversity #Ecology #ConservationScience #Woodlands #NatureLegacy #HabitatManagement

By studying 373 species across 134 UK woodlands (from 10 to 250+ years old), we found that both historical land use and neighboring habitats shape biodiversity. And it’s not just one or the other—their interaction matters most.

Combining occupancy and dispersal models to predict the conservation benefits of land-use change - Landscape Ecology Context Economic incentives for habitat creation in productive agricultural land are an important tool for halting biodiversity loss. Given inevitable funding constraints, assessing the cost-effective...

Latest paper showing that woodland birds benefit from targeted woodland creation link.springer.com/article/10.1...

I've started an ecoacoustics starter pack! Very aware that there are many more people in the field than are currently on this list, so please reach out if you'd like to be added/have colleagues who should be! 🐦🐸🎙️

go.bsky.app/NekQiFj

How management and creation of woodland can benefit biodiversity 🌳🌼🦅🐛
www.forestresearch.gov.uk/publications...

Habitat fragmentation in conservation versus restoration - Conservation Corridor Although the impacts of fragmentation per se for biodiversity conservation are still under debate, the impacts for restoration seem more clear-cut.

Habitat fragmentation & restoration conservationcorridor.org/digests/2024...

The WrEN project is now on bluesky! We are a collaboration of academics, policy makers and practitioners interested in ecological restoration. You can find out more at: www.wren-project.com. @kirstyjpark.bsky.social @watts-km.bsky.social

Claire Woodall stands in front of a green display holding a publication. The display reads "Urban Tree Research - Building Knowledge".

🏡 Yesterday our researchers were at #FutureBuild2025 talking about the importance of trees in the urban landscape.

“It’s been great to meet so many engaged warm people interested in urban trees,” said urban forest scientist, Claire Woodall.

#urbanforestry | #treeplanting

Finally found some time to label 56 sample plots on our first LERN (Large-scale Ecosystem Recovery Network) research site #NatureRecovery @forestresearchuk.bsky.social @forestrycommission.bsky.social

Biodiversity for woodland resilience: the long-term functional ecology of tree diversity The benefits of biodiversity for forest resilience and delivery of many ecosystem services underpin “nature-based solutions”. However, there are major gaps in knowledge of the ecological mechanisms, l...

💥 🌳 New PhD project @bangoruniversity.bsky.social "Biodiversity for woodland resilience: the long-term functional ecology of tree diversity" 🌳
www.envision-dtp.org/2025/biodive...

Ecologically-based temperate rainforest restoration: effectiveness for biodiversity recovery, carbon sequestration and resilience at Bangor University on FindAPhD.com PhD Project - Ecologically-based temperate rainforest restoration: effectiveness for biodiversity recovery, carbon sequestration and resilience at Bangor University, listed on FindAPhD.com

Great PhD opportunity to work on Temperate Rainforests 🌧️🌳@bangoruniversity.bsky.social
www.findaphd.com/phds/project...

Soil microbiome inoculation and microbial community coalescence Interactions of entire microbial communities

Soil microbiome inoculation: don't forget about microbial communnity coalescence!

My newsletter for this week.

open.substack.com/pub/matthias...

Plenty of scope to 'learn by doing' given the unprecedented level of #NatureRecovery & #NatureBasedSoloution underway across the country & the opportunity to build in replicated/controlled experiments. We should talk more @petebrotherton.bsky.social @mikemorecroft.bsky.social

TreE PlaNat blog Three-monthly blog posts by the TreE PlaNat project, investigating stakeholder perceptions and socio-ecological consequences of Treescape Expansion through Planting & Natural colonisation.

Insightful blog from the @uktreescapes.bsky.social #Tree_PlaNat project showing that 'A union of research and practice has deepened understanding of woodland creation methods'

www.wren-project.com/tree-planat-...