THERE has been a "concerning significant decline in biodiversity research" in the UK's commercial forests during the last decade. 

That's one of a number of conclusions reached in a new paper from Forest Research, which reviewed the evidence on biodiversity in many of the country's most commonly encountered productive woodlands. 

Published earlier this month, the 'Rapid Review of Evidence on Biodiversity in Great Britain’s Commercial Forests' also found that there may only be enough research to answer specific questions about biodiversity in commercial high forests, and that they can potentially accommodate many specialist woodland mammals, birds, amphibians and reptiles, some woodland specialist fungi and vascular plants, but few specialist invertebrates, lichens and bryophytes. 

In addition, the publication highlights gaps in evidence and provides some recommendations for future research areas to focus on and methodological approaches that might be used to fill those gaps.

Nadia Barsoum, senior biodiversity scientist at Forest Research and one of the authors behind the report, said: “Forests where trees can attain their full-canopy heights and reach mature stages of development are known as high forests.

"In Great Britain, a significant proportion of these forests are managed in a commercial capacity for timber and wood-based products and comprise conifer, broadleaf or conifer-broadleaf mixtures.

"The review is needed to understand the contribution of these forest types to biodiversity and to identify gaps in understanding.”

The first part of the publication uses expert knowledge of the habitat requirements of over 400 woodland specialist species to predict whether commercial high forest has the potential to offer suitable habitat for at least one stage of the species’ lifecycle.

The second part of the publication is a summary of published research (from 1970-2020) reporting on biodiversity in commercial forests in Great Britain.

The Rapid Review of Evidence on Biodiversity in Great Britain’s Commercial Forests review was conducted by Forest Research and funded by the Forestry Commission.

It can be read in full here.