The trust made the appeal after publishing the results of a four-year project called “Back on the Map”, which researched and recorded ancient and long-establishd woodland in Northern Ireland for the first time.
Results show that long-established woodland (dating back to 1830) now covers only 0.73% of the country, while ancient (land continuously wooded since at least 1600) covers just 0.08%. By comparison, ancient woodland is believed to cover 2% of the whole of Britain.
“Our research has shown that Northern Ireland’s oldest woods are small, fragmented, and sadly disappearing fast,” said Patrick Cregg, Woodland Trust operations director.
The trust is calling for re-introduction of felling licences, extra protection for ancient woodland and restoration of areas which have been felled and planted with coniferous or mixed woodland.
