Campaign launched to protect trees located where historical events took place

As it seems unlikely that the country’s constitution will ever be rewritten under the shade of a yew, it’s vital that we revere the trees that provided the living backdrop to history – and keep them standing for future generations

CHRIS EVANS

Wednesday 08 October 2014

From the signing of the Magna Carta in 1215 to Isaac Newton’s apple-dropping eureka moment, some of Britain’s most important historical events have taken place not within the confines of bricks and mortar, but surrounded by the boughs and bark of trees.

But these living, breathing monuments have, unlike historical buildings, no formal plaques or listing status to protect them. Now the Woodland Trust is looking to change this with a campaign for a legally binding National Tree Register to protect ancient trees against destruction and development.

The Woodland Trust, in partnership with Country Living magazine, insists that a national tree register will help recognise, celebrate and protect the UK’s Very Important Trees, and help their owners, such as local authorities and private landowners, to access support such as specialist advice and grants. The National Trust has also been dedicating manpower to a branch-and-root survey of the nation’s oldest trees. It has conducted a five-year study recording 40,000 ancient and notable trees across 190 of its properties. What makes a tree notable? Unusual age and interesting tales.

Continued ...

World's Big Trees Are Dying: Alarming Increase in Death Rates Among Trees 100-300 Years Old

Dec. 6, 2012 — The largest living organisms on the planet, the big, old trees that harbour and sustain countless birds and other wildlife, are dying.

A report by three of the world's leading ecologists in today's issue of the journal Science warns of an alarming increase in deathrates among trees 100-300 years old in many of the world's forests, woodlands, savannahs, farming areas and even in cities.

"It's a worldwide problem and appears to be happening in most types of forest," says lead author Professor David Lindenmayer of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Environmental Decisions (CEED) and Australian National University.

"Large old trees are critical in many natural and human-dominated environments. Studies of ecosystems around the world suggest populations of these trees are declining rapidly," he and colleagues Professor Bill Laurance of James Cook University, Australia, and Professor Jerry Franklin of Washington University, USA, say in their Science report.

"Research is urgently needed to identify the causes of rapid losses of large old trees and strategies for improved management. Without… policy changes, large old trees will diminish or disappear in many ecosystems, leading to losses of their associated biota and ecosystem functions."

Continued:  http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/12/121206162519.htm