British Forest Landscapes the Legacy of Woodland Fragmentation

T woodlands of Britain, in common with many natural habitats throughout the World, have experienced considerable loss and fragmentation through a long history of human activity. Current woodland cover has fallen to less than 12% from an estimated high of around 75% around 6,000 years ago. The majority of woodlands are now very small and isolated within a primarily agricultural landscape. This is especially true for ancient semi-natural woods that often have the highest biodiversity value. The process of fragmentation basically involves habitat change that results in large woodlands being broken into smaller pieces. This threatens woodland biodiversity by reducing woodland area, which may increase the risk of local extinction, and by extending the isolation between woodlands thereby hindering the movement of individuals between the remaining fragments. However, these woodland fragments may actually be functioning at a larger scale as a network of habitats, dependent upon the distribution of semi-natural habitat and the intensity of the surrounding land use; management may be more effective at this scale. As a result, forest and conservation plans and strategies are increasingly incorporating the concept of habitat networks in an attempt to target and prioritise action to combat habitat fragmentation and conserve woodland biodiversity. These larger-scale approaches may also assist the further integration of environmental, economic and social objectives in order to create ‘joined-up’ sustainable forest landscapes.