What’s so important about an ancient tree?

The felling of an old 500 -year -old oak in northern London has led to an effusion of anger, echoing the reaction when it is alleged that the sicomore gapas tree cut the bone in September 2023.

What causes this response when these trees are destroyed and have any protection?

It is not surprising that the time that a tree has existed is the main reason why a specimen is classified as old.

“Ancient trees are those that have passed beyond maturity and are in the phase of ancient life, which for some trees can be the longest stage of their life,” explains Dr. Ed Pyne, senior conservation advisor of trees at Conservation Charity Trust.

The amount of time for this to happen varies for different types of trees, and some take more time to pass the maturity.

A birch tree can be classified as old when it reaches 150 years because or its fast -growing nature, while a slow growth would not receive the same award until it was around 800 years.

Such age means that they tend to be low and squatting trees that have a small canopy and a very wide trunk that is decomposition and hollow.

There are also trees known as veterans, which may not necessarily be so old, but have similar characteristics to the old trees with high amounts of decomposition such as the rot of the heart.

Such decomposition “was not a disease and it is not a cause of the group”, but “a normal and healthy child from the physiological development of trees,” said Dr. Pyne.

The Woodland Trust directs an ancient tree inventory, which lists more than 190000 of the oldest and most important trees in the United Kingdom, although Dr. Pyne points out that it is still “a snapshot and quite an unknown.”

The old trees can be found throughout the country in public and private lands, with the most surviving examples that will be found in what were once extensive real hunting such as the New Forest and Windsor Great Park.

Others can be found in places as diverse as housing properties, urban parks, town vegetables and cemeteries.

Great Britain is known as rich in ancient trees, and the country has older and older oaks than anywhere else in Europe.

Dr. Pyne said that this was generally due to historical factors such as the existence of large hunting lands that have protected development trees over the years.

The decomposing nature of ancient and veteran trees is one of its key characteristics due to microhabitats that sacrifice wildlife, providing homes and foods to anything, from fungi and lichens to bats and birds.

The large amount of time that the decomposition takes to develop also makes these sites much more rare and rich compared to younger trees.

A study found that it takes approximately 200 years in which heart rot begins to develop in Robles, with substantial amounts that only occur after about 400 years.

“Part of biodiversity associated with this decomposition can be very, very specialized and some species that use thesis habitats can be very strange.

“Many of them are threatened simply because there is not much of this,” says Dr. Pyne.

There is also the historical element of ancient trees, which links them with past periods of time.

For example, the Tolpuddle martyrs tree, an ancient sicomor in Dorset, is considered the birthplace of the trade union movement, since agricultural workers protest wages in 1834.

As for Oak Enfield, “I would have a young tree when Guy Fawkes was devising the gunpowder plot in the nearby Whitewebbs house,” said Dr. Pyne.

And finally, there is the cultural value provided by the old trees, with people who create their own connections with them.

“We all have trees that we remember from our childhood. That was the tree with everyone in the park, or where they were on their first date,” he said.

This was particularly the case of the GAP GAP tree, which was not classified as old, since bone was planted at the end of the 19th century, but became iconic due to its position next to Hadian’s wall and its use in the 1991 film Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves.

There are several policies and legislation that provide some protection for ancient and veteran trees in Great Britain, which include:

• Tree protection orders, known as TPO, which can issue local authorities for specific trees or forests and a medium written permit should be sought before any work can be done on the subject
• Legal protection is tested when Ancient Tree is based in a conservation area or somewhere as a special scientific interest site (SSSI)
• Forest Commission Talas should be sought when the amount of wood that is talked is about five cubic meters
• The framework of the National Planning Policy defines the old and veterans trees as irreplaceable, which means that a local authority should not approve the planning that could lead to a loss of these habitats unless in exceptional cases, such as national infrastructure work

Dr. Pyne believes that this legislation is “quite good” when it comes to protecting trees, improvements can be made.

In fact, a joint report issued this week by the Tree and Forest Research Council warned that trees were only indirectly protected by law and requested a more “robust and effective” system.

The oak, which was cut on April 3, was located on the edge of the Whitewebs park contrary to the properties and overlooked a Toby Astervy.

Mitchells & Butlers, who has Toby Carvery, said Tuesday that it was an answer to cut the pedunulate oak, which had made the leg “to protect our soaked and invited, as well as the broader general public.”

However, Enfield Council told the BBC that a recent inspection made in the tree discovered that they could have lived for several more centuries.

Dr. Pyne said the tree had “fallen into the gap” in terms of legislation.

“It did not have a tree preservation order, it is not in a conservation area, and Altheghe’s bone many planning applications in the area surrounding this tree, there has been no planning application in the direct area of ​​the tree kick and soe in it.

“Loss is a tragedy, really,” he added.