Rediscovering the forgotten forests: evaluating the potential of wet woodlands as nature-based solutions at a landscape scale

To help tackle climate change we have a national woodland creation policy. Establishing the right trees in the right places can maximise ecosystem benefits. However, tree planting policies have largely ignored wet woodlands, which are found in wet and flood-prone landscapes, including peatlands. Peatlands are significant global carbon sinks, yet very little research has been done on peat-forming wet woodlands (Milner et al. 2024). Consequently, we don’t know how wet woodland re-establishment can help as part of national climate change mitigation targets, and peatland restoration goals. 

To address this important knowledge gap, this project will produce new policy-relevant data on the form and function of peat-forming wet woodlands and their contribution to nature-based solutions at a landscape scale. Comparisons to neighbouring ecosystems will provide an ecosystem-wide perspective and benchmark the potential of wet woodland re-establishment. The research involves a range of novel and established field, laboratory and modelling techniques.

The project is part of a larger programme of work by the Wet Woodland Research Network involving a national team of scientists and stakeholders. This project provides an opportunity to join this group and be involved in wider discussions with scientists and policymakers with the aim of shaping how temperate wet woodlands can be established as nature-based solutions on national and international scales.