Overview
Current and historical research trials include:
- Tree species, provenance and improvement trials
- Climate change mitigation / forest carbon dynamics
- Tree health monitoring
- Intensive forest condition monitoring
Tree species, provenance and improvement trials
Ash: resistance to Chalara ash-dieback
These plantings are part of a network of ash-dieback mass screening trials and the more recent Living Ash Project, with many sites established since 2013. Fraxinus excelsior trees from 15 different seed sources covering 10 of the UK’s native tree seed zones were planted, with Irish, French and German trees for comparison, in areas of south and east England where dieback was known to be present.
The trials were assessed to see if there were differences in survival / tolerances between seed sources and individuals, so that potentially tolerant trees could be selected for future breeding work. So far, we have selected nearly 700 trees with good tolerance to ash dieback.
The site at Weston Common also includes grafts from at least four individuals of from each of 29 other species of ash identified grown in British arboreta / botanic gardens.
Related content
Breeding ash trees for tolerance to ash dieback. FR project page
Ash dieback mass screening trials. FR project page
Cherry: trials of ‘Wildstar’ clones
The ‘Wildstar’ clones of native British Prunus avium were developed in the late 20th Century offering improved canker-resistance, rapid establishment and good habit and vigour. This trial was planted in 1998 to test performance on surface-water gley soil. Early results were published in 2006.
Related content
The Silviculture and Yield of Wild Cherry (1988) FC Bulletin 75
Genetic conservation and use for wild cherry (Prunus avium) (2003) EUFORGEN technical guidelinesWild cherry (FR species page)
Coast redwood: provenance trials
Established in 1968, this trial tested nine provenances from north to south of the native range. Findings, published in 2016, indicated that the species is resilient under British conditions, able to re-shoot following mammal or frost damage, that origins from south of San Franciso should be avoided, and that more northerly origins showed no consistent variation.
Related content
Coast redwood, FR species page
The Redwoods and Red Cedar (2016) RFS/QJF species profile
Grand fir: provenance trials
Previously regarded as a minor timber species in Britain, comparing unfavourably with Sitka spruce in terms of wood properties, the challenges of climate change and tree health indicate that grand fir may represent a useful option for species diversification. A trial at Weston Common trial planted in 1974 has contributed to recently-updated recommendations that ‘provenances from coastal Washington are preferred, but if unavailable then material from coastal British Columbia or coastal Oregon has been shown to perform well in Britain’.
Related content
Species for short-rotation forestry. FR resources page
Oak: provenance trials
Part of a series of British trials established in the 1990s, containing both mainland European and British provenances. Trees from British selected seed stands showed consistently better growth and survival at Alice Holt Forest, although the Dutch sources planted here also performed reasonably well. Registered seed stands from GB in the ‘selected’ category are still considered to be the best sources of oak for planting in Britain.
Related content
Selecting the Right Provenance of Oak for Planting in Britain (2005) FC Research Note
Pacific silver fir: provenance trials
Pacific silver fir is currently considered to have great potential for British forestry. This trial, planted in 1985, has investigated the performance of material from 14 seed zones located in the Pacific north-west of America. Findings were published in 2016 and the site retained for demonstration purposes.
Wood properties in respect of timber potential have also been studied recently.
Related content
Pacific silver (FR species page)
Silver Firs (Abies spp.) of Europe and the Near East (2016) RFS Species Profile
Poplars: The National Populetum at Alice Holt
A collection of 26 species and 413 cultivars of poplar. The Populetum was established in 1946 and serves as a study site for various Populus species. The collection includes various, often rare, species and hybrids.
Related content
Plant Heritage, National Plant Collections (web page with details of the Populetum)
Jobling (1990). Poplars for Wood Production & Amenity. Forestry Commission Bulletin 92
Forestry Commission (1950). Report on forest research for the year ending March 1949.
Rowan: provenance trials
This trial was planted in 2006 to determine whether our native Rowan populations differ in terms of adaptive variation, and the scale over which these differences operate. Seed was collected from two stands in each of the 24 British native seed zones. Indications are that there are differences in adaptive traits between native provenances in terms of flushing times and age at onset of flowering.
Related content
Rowan & ash provenance trials, including seed-zone maps. FR forestry resources page
Species trials (broadleaved trees)
Climate-change and the increasing number of tree pests and diseases has created a need to diversify forests to increase resilience. This trial was planted in 2018 to test and compare the survival, growth and development of 16, mainly uncommon broadleaved tree species: Acer platanoides; Alnus cordata; Alnus incana; Alnus rubra; Betula lenta; Eucalyptus dalrympleana; Eucalyptus glaucescens; Juglans nigra; Juglans regia; Liquidambar styriciflua; Liriodendron tulipifera; Quercus robur; Quercus rubra; Sorbus torminalis; Tilia cordata and Toona sinensis.
Related content
Priorities for research on Emerging Species. FR project page
Providing the evidence base to diversify Britain’s forests. FR project page
Tree species and provenance. FR Forestry and Tree Health Tools & Resources page
Spruces (‘Interior’): Provenance Trials
A trial testing 12 provenances each of Picea glauca (White spruce), Picea abies (Norway spruce), Picea engelmannii (Englemann spruce).
Related content
Kerr, G., Forster, J. and Coventry, R. (2018) Survival and growth of Interior spruce in Britain. Scottish Forestry, 72(3):22-29
Englemann spruce (US FS species page)
Norway spruce (FR species page)White spruce (BSBI species page)
Climate change mitigation
Forest carbon dynamics
Understanding and quantifying the carbon and greenhouse gas (GHG) balance of the UK’s woodlands and forests is a key part of our programme on forestry and climate change mitigation. A major part of the experimental work is focussed on quantifying the carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas uptake and losses from a planted oak woodland within the Alice Holt Research Forest. Measurements of carbon dioxide, water vapour and energy exchange (or fluxes) commenced in March 1998 at the Straits Inclosure Flux Site.
This is currently the only active long-term carbon dioxide flux monitoring site in woodland in the UK. This facility, combined with conventional tree-measurement plots, remote sensing data and model development are improving our understanding of the carbon balance of forests and helping to predict how carbon exchange will alter in the future.
Related content
Further information about climate change mitigation
The Climate-Change Adaptation Trail
An eight-stop adaptation trail was opened in 2019 to highlight a range of climate change adaptation measures that can be used to better prepare our woodlands for change and future challenges.
The measures being demonstrated are representative of tree types in the Alice Holt Forest and consider probable future conditions. The climate here is likely to be considerably warmer, with hotter, drier summers and more frequent and perhaps more severe periods of drought.
The Trail is designed for forest managers, owners, students and decision-makers to come and see the areas and engage in a discussion about the adaptation actions being undertaken and insights gained from historical trials.
Related content
Climate-Change Adaptation Trail Guide (downloadable map and brief descriptions of stops)
Climate-Change Adaptation Trail Worksheet (downloadable detailed guide to Trial and stops)
Follow the Climate Change Adaptation Trail (FR news release 2023)
Climate Change Adaptation Demonstration (FR project page)
Intensive forest condition monitoring
Observations from the national and international monitoring networks represented in Alice Holt Forest are improving our understanding of how woodland ecosystems respond to environmental drivers such as air pollution and climate change.
Related content
Further information about the Environmental Change Network
Alice Holt Level II Plot: summary of historical measurements
Alice Holt Level II Plot: long-term forest monitoring plot – Crown condition
Level II plots: intensive long-term monitoring of forest ecosystems (FR project page)
FutMon: Further development & implementation of an EU-level forest monitoring system
Tree health monitoring and protection services
At Alice Holt Forest we are currently undertaking research into environmentally-acceptable measures of preventing and controlling damage to Britain’s trees from pests and diseases.
Dothistroma (red band) needle blight
We are monitoring for the presence and spread of this fungal disease which is having a serious impact on pine trees in Great Britain, and our researchers are at the forefront of research into its pathology and methods of control. Other current research areas include the impacts of pests and pathogens under changing management, and the impacts of Phytophthora diseases on trees including sudden oak death.
Related content
Dothistroma needle blight (Dothistroma septosporum). FR Pest and disease resources page
Pathogens and hosts of Dothistroma needle blight. FR pest and disease resources page
Dothistroma needle blight, DIAROD evidence base. FR research programme page
Dothistroma aerial spraying trials. FR project page
Local dispersal of Dothistroma septosporum. FR project page
Social and Economic Analyses of Dothistroma Needle Blight Management (2014). FR Research Summary
Dothistroma needle blight (2012). FR Field Guide
Brown & Webber (2008). Red band needle blight of conifers in Britain. FR Research Note 2
Brown et al. (2003). Red Band Needle Blight of Pine . FC Information Note 49
Further information about our tree pest and disease resources