Forest Research news highlights - 2012

Autumn 2012

• Advances in understanding forests and CO₂
  A new paper by our scientists helps to reduce some of the uncertainty in the estimates of the size of this carbon sink
• Award-winning article
  Confederation of Forest Industries (Confor) awards the Alan Mitchell Memorial Award to Dr Suzanne Martin
• NovelTree – novel technology!
  Using high-throughput genotyping to enable many thousands of DNA-markers to be developed and mapped to the Sitka spruce genome for the first time
• Supporting peatland policy for Welsh forests
  Helping Forestry Commission Wales to develop a toolkit to support decisions on the future use of afforested peatland
• Testing our framework for describing community woodland governance through case studies
  Two experienced organisations commissioned to test out our framework through applying it to a set of case studies
• Using green infrastructure to relieve urban heat-related stress
  Our Land Regeneration and Urban Greenspace team is currently examining how effective different types and sizes of greenspace are at helping to cool the local environment

Summer 2012

• Advances in estimating forest production
  Standing Timber Volume for Coniferous Trees in Britain report, published recently by the Forestry Commission
• Forest Research’s chemical analysis laboratory shows its quality
  Recent results from inter-laboratory comparison exercises run across Europe show the excellence of analyses generated by the chemical analysis laboratory at Forest Research
• Public preferences for forests as sites for recreation: a pan-European study
  Recently published research has provided one of the first pan-European assessments of preferences for a range of forest types as sites for recreation
• Research students investigate timber quality
  Forest Research support further work in this area while at the same time encouraging new scientists of the future
• Underpinning a move to precision forestry
  A new tool has been designed that will allow forest practitioners to create very detailed maps of current woodland on the public forest estate

Spring 2012

• Independent Forestry Panel publishes reviews commissioned from Forest Research
  As England's Independent Forestry Panel draws towards its conclusions, three reports commissioned from us are published as part of the process to advise on the future direction of forestry and woodland policy.

Winter 2011/2012

• Forest Research reviewed by an independent panel
  During November and December 2011 a group of seven senior external scientists, chaired by Professor Sir David Read FRS, reviewed ourscience quality.
• Hands-on science at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh
  The Real Life Science Lab at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh was the scene of a number of public events last year where adults and children could get hands-on experience of woodland-related science.
• Harnessing new developments in molecular technology
  Our molecular team has harnessed these developments to tackle practical forestry questions.
• How much carbon and woodfuel do farm woodlands contain?
  A survey of farm woodlands as a first step towards a better understanding of this growing land-use type and to increase its contribution to the green economy.
• Linking forest risk to finance
  Work on a new NERC Knowledge Translation project which aims to develop a Forest Finance Risk Network that will provide a link between researchers and the finance sector.
• More Tree and Forest Health Days planned for 2012
  We are planning another programme of Forest Health Days around Britain in 2012 following the success of seven such events in the Autumn of 2011.
• Oak processionary moth
  A recent research project has focused on finding the best methods of capturing the moths in order to determine their population and rates of spread.
• Praise for Scots pine project
  The recently completed ‘Developing the Scots Pine Resource’ project has been singled out for praise by the Programme Monitoring Committee of the Northern Periphery Programme.
• Successful germination of threatened species
  Seedlings of the rare Vietnamese Golden Cypress (Xanthocyparis vietnamensis) have germinated for the first time outside of Vietnam with assistance from our seed laboratory.
• Woodland-related social enterprises
  We identify both barriers and aids to establishing different types of woodland-related social enterprises.

Contact

For further information about any of the above news stories either contact the person named on the respective news item or:

Hugh Williams
Forest Research
Alice Holt Lodge
Farnham
Surrey GU10 4LH

Tel: +44 (0)1420 22255
Tel direct: +44 (0)1420 526188
Mobile: +44 (0)7909 906976
Email: hugh.williams@forestry.gsi.gov.uk