This World Water Day we explore the role of water within our forests with Melissa Hoskings, Head of Land Management, Severn Rivers Trust. We look at why water is important for new forests, flood prevention and the local environment. In our natural spaces, water can provide peace, growth and preservation. Today, water is under extreme threat from a growing population, increasing demands of agriculture and industry, and the worsening impacts of climate change.
Water is vital for all life on our planet, let’s take a look at the role water plays in our woodlands…
World Water Day…
Q. What role does water play in the forest?
Within some forests there are extremely complex microhabitats and in some ancient woodlands you may be lucky to find an old dell or pond, that as a habitat in itself is vitally important to an array of species that thrive in watery surroundings such as newts, frogs, toads and the macro-invertebrates upon which they feed. Taking this idea to the other side of the world where rivers and streams naturally flow through rainforests or arid forests- they provide a lifeline of water needed for the trees to survive.
Q. Why is water important to forests?
The connection of water with forests varies, water is vital to enable trees to survive, the amount of water required depends upon the species and the area that the trees are in. Some forest habitats such as rainforests and wet woodland require substantial volumes of water in order for the ecosystem to function correctly.
Q. How does water affect trees differently?
Some tree species such as Willows and Alder love to have their feet wet and are quite happy alongside rivers and streams creating essential shade for the river. The intrinsic relationship between water and trees is such that rivers and the ecology of the river also relies heavily on trees for shading in order to maintain optimal water temperatures that support good dissolved oxygen levels required for fish, particularly in salmonid rivers for example where salmon and trout can only survive in rivers within a critical temperature range. We therefore need trees adjacent to rivers to maintain this optimal level, especially with increasing temperatures due to climate change.
There are other tree species, however, which don’t like having wet feet such as Beech and Cherry, they thrive in free-draining limestone soil as their roots prefer to be drier. Trees adapt to their habitat in such a way that they develop characteristics representative of the surrounding habitat and the volume of water available. For example, tree species within very arid areas such as deserts will adapt to have needles rather than leaves in order to lose less water through transpiration; whilst species within the rainforest are able to support large glossy leaves due to the abundance of water.
Does planting new forests change the water in the area?
It is important to recognise that in certain areas, planting a large number of trees will have an impact on both the above ground and below ground hydrology. If forest planting is not managed correctly, say for example a large forest is planted adjacent to a river that is susceptible to low flows, it could have a negative impact by reducing the available water for the river even further. However, careful planning of the number and mix of tree species can avoid this situation occurring.
Trees have shown to have a very positive impact during the winter months in particular when there are frequent rain storms. Work is being undertaken by Seven Rivers Trust and Wildlife Trusts with landowners to “slow the flow”. This ongoing work uses tree planting, hedgerow planting and leaky dams (carefully designed logs placed within the river/ stream and anchored to the bank) at strategic locations to slow down the amount of water reaching downstream communities and reduce the flood peak sufficiently to reduce the risk of those houses flooding. This use of natural resources to restore natural processes is a key area that we need to move towards for the future.
Our Forests…
Water is a vital element for life here on Earth, here at The Future Forest Company we value the crucial role that water plays in keeping us all alive. It’s the foundation for our health and livelihood. Without it, there would be no life on Earth. Our forests could not survive and so we strive to protect this vital resource. All of our forest sites have planting plans approved by official governing bodies, such as Nature Scot, which means that every care is taken to plant the right tree in the right place at all times, in harmony with the water that surrounds our trees. Happy World Water Day!
Article Image by Dave Ruck. Water at Glenaros Estate Images by George Riddell.
