Reason why trees all over Milton Keynes are being cut down is revealed

Tree thinning and coppicing work has started this month in all local parks
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Experts at the Parks Trust have explained why trees are being cut down in parks all over MK at the moment.

The Trust has launched its annual tree thinning and coppicing programme, which is "essential" for the health of the parks, they say.

All trees that are poorly formed, diseased or pose a safety concern are removed, allowing healthy trees to flourish.

Trees are being cut down for a good reason in MKTrees are being cut down for a good reason in MK
Trees are being cut down for a good reason in MK

The work improves the long-term development of plantation and woodlands, diversifies habitats for wildlife and gives more more for surrounding trees to grow properly,

A Parks Trust spokesman said: "Of the 6,000 acres of land that The Parks Trust manage, over 800 acres are plantations that are relatively new and still developing, with many of these being under 40 years old.

"When Milton Keynes was first built it was planted with a lot of trees and shrubs with the short-term objective of obtaining an instant ‘greening’ effect, this sometimes involved planting five trees and shrubs to a square metre! The planners of the city did this to encourage people and businesses to move into the new city that, at the time, was one of the biggest building sites in Europe."

While successful in achieving the short-term objectives, this strategy for planting was not sustainable in the mid to long-term.

Some of the felled trees in MKSome of the felled trees in MK
Some of the felled trees in MK

The high-density planting meant that trees quickly compete with one another to grow towards the light and, if not managed properly by thinning, they will put all their energy and resource into growing upwards.

"In time, this makes the stems weak, and eventually the trees start to bend and blow over - not something we want to happen in an urban setting," said the spokesman.

"By thinning the trees out, we can ensure the best trees are retained and that they have the room to develop into well-balanced healthy trees. This is a similar concept to seeds in a seed tray, but on a bigger scale. If a proportion of those seedlings are not removed, they will all over-reach themselves and start to collapse."

Thinning allows much more diversity in the landscape. If all the specimens were left untouched, they would form a dense upper layer of vegetation, blocking out light to the lower shrub and herbaceous layers. Over time, this would cause them to weaken and die.

"We’re finding that as the trees mature, and the understorey develops a lot of the plantations are now making the transition to young woodlands. Within these woodlands we want to encourage a shrub understory to allow for more biomass to be present in the area and for species such as Hawthorn and Hazel to flourish as they are exposed to higher light levels," said the spokesman.

Wildlife will also benefit from the vibrant understorey. As it develops, scrub and thicket becomes a source of food and shelter for all sorts of wildlife, including small mammals and birds. The herbaceous layers offer further habitat for invertebrates, including pollinators such as bees.

"During our thinning work, we work hard to ensure there is a real diversity of species which is important during this time of climate change. This will help us combat the various pest and diseases that are often associated with warmer climates, that can target individual tree species, for example Ash Dieback.

"Overall the aim is to create well-spaced and structured woodlands that have many foliage layers, encouraging a diversity of healthy, well-formed trees and understoreys. As the plantations establish, they will have received three or so thinning treatments over a 30-year period."

The tree management techniques used by The Parks Trust are recognised forestry practices that are implemented countrywide.

"We have highly qualified and experienced tree and forestry managers within our team to undertake the work. We also work closely with the Forestry Commission and have a 10-year tree management plan (with required felling licenses) that is vetted and approved by the Forestry Commission," said the spokesman.

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