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What is an ancient tree (open/close)
An ancient tree is difficult to define precisely. However, it is one
that is old, fat and often hollow compared with other trees of the
same type. Some trees are instantly recognisable as ancient but others
can be less obvious. ‘An oak grows for 300 years, rests for 300
years and then spends the next 300 years gracefully declining’
Anon
This saying emphasises that a tree in natural conditions may pass
through three main stages in its life:
- growing from seedling to a mature tree
- fully mature to late maturity
- ancient.
In the final stages of a tree's life as it becomes ancient, it
cannot sustain the full canopy it developed at maturity. The canopy
gradually gets lower or "grows downwards" and in the process the tree
can become much more stable against high winds. Many ancient trees can
live for hundreds of years with a small canopy - we know this from
comparing the present day structure of the tree with old
paintings and drawings of the same tree.
Girth of trees (open/close)
Although girth is not always a true indicator of age, a tree with a
very large girth for that species is very likely to be old. Different
species vary enormously in the maximum girth they can attain - compare
a very ancient oak at twelve metres and a birch of about one metre.
The important thing is the girth of that tree relative to other trees
of the same species. For details of champion trees of native species -
those with the largest girth or the tallest trees see the Tree
Register’s website - click
here and search their champion trees database.
The girth of an old tree may be affected by its growing conditions.
Trees growing in very exposed conditions, poor soil or over rocks
may be much smaller. Trees that have been cut regularly as pollards
(cut at about two metres to re-grow, providing a regular supply of
timber) will also have a smaller girth. A standard or maiden oak with
a girth of five metres would probably only have a girth of four metres if it
had been pollarded regularly.
Where are ancient trees found? (open/close)
Ancient trees can be found either as single trees or in groups (or
concentrations). Groups of ancient trees indicate the historic
continuity of the site, perhaps as parkland, common land or royal
hunting forest. Many historic sites with ancient trees are not on the
ancient woodland inventories for England, Scotland and Wales because
of the difficulties of identifying the sites properly when the
inventories were first produced. The Woodland Trust and Ancient Tree
Forum are lobbying for this situation to change. In Northern Ireland,
the Woodland Trust hopes to include all ancient wood pasture or
parkland sites on the inventory currently in production.
What you can do (open/close)
If the site that is threatened contains an ancient tree or
concentration of ancient trees, please contact us as soon as possible
through this website, or telephone 01476 581111. The older and
fatter the trees and the more of them there are, the greater their
combined value for biodiversity. Sites which are not on the ancient
woodland inventory will need a special case to be made for them as
part of an objection to a planning application.
We will always be interested to hear about sites with a group of
ancient trees regardless of whether they are under threat or not.
Please fill in a form on the Ancient Tree Hunt website -
click here to report the
location of an ancient tree, as we hope to map the most important
ancient trees across the UK.
Find out more (open/close)
Related sections (open/close)
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