Tree Establishment Monitoring: boosting evidence to improve practice

Trees bring a wealth of benefits for people and nature that can last long into the future. To deliver those benefits, they need to survive and thrive – and be healthy and resilient to possible future threats. A good start in life is essential!

It is common for young trees to be monitored in some form in the first few years after planting, but often the only information collected is a survival rate – simply the proportion of trees that are still alive. Little information is gathered about the health of the trees or about possible factors that could be having a positive or negative impact. Even less information is shared between organisations.

With tree planting taking place across the UK, there is a huge opportunity to fill this evidence gap by working together to collect and combine data, which together could reveal action we can take to improve the health of young trees.

We are working closely with leading scientists at Fera Science and Forest Research on this topic. Supported by funding from Defra, the project team is focused on creating practical solutions for monitoring trees in their establishment years and communicating important findings. Our research so far shows there is significant interest in this topic within the sector.