As regards the woodland cover in the UK. I have studied this formally, and have been reading and studying it for over 40 years. The best work to read is the History of the Countryside, by Oliver Rackham, who single-handedly created the field of Historical Archaeology, was a leading academic, and who overturned all the falsehoods written by historians, about woodlands in England, and Britain. One of his primary sources was the Domesday Book, which was essentially an inventory of all the land in England, for tax purposes. Most woodland in England, was felled during the Neolithic period from just over 6,000 years ago, to about 4,500 years ago. The Neolithic, as the start of farming in Britain. When Stonehenge, started being built around 5,000 years ago, much of the original wildwood, had already been felled. So Google is wrong. Take the peat, laid down by blanket bog (most peat is formed from Sphagnum moss). Peat is laid down at a rate of approximately 1mm per year, so it takes around a 1,000 years to lay down 1m of peat. Bearing in mind that most peat on British moorland has been eroded and oxidized, by burning heather for grouse shooting from the mid-19th Century, so much of it has gone. There are only 3 native conifers to the UK, Scots Pine, Yew and Juniper. Scots Pine had largely become extinct in England, by about 5,000 years ago. There are myths about our woodland being cut down, to build our navy, houses. Old forestry practice, did not involve clear felling. All broad-leaved trees, will regrow from the stump, if cut down, being replaced my multiple stems. Plantation was unknown before 1600, most of it started later. Woodland prior to that was managed by coppicing on rotation, where the trees grew back, and standards, full trees within it. All of it naturally regenerated. Therefore, in England and Wales, all woodland which has existed continuous, since 1600, is classed as Ancient Woodland, as it would have been originally derived from the old wildwood.
@@messnersminutes - Just be aware that, it comes in 2 versions. A coffee table version with photos and simplified text, and the original version. The text dense version is very readable.
Need to be wary of what is quoted as fact online, ( wikipedia etc). Need to go back to original sources. Thank you for your comprehensive comments and recommendations.
The far far more important dynamic to mention is that humans also removed large predator species like Wolves, Lynx and Bears. These animals kept grazing populations like deer down, but also moved them along, meaning that saplings could survive and woodland could be replenished. Without them deer and other smaller animal species could just sit in one area breeding and hoovering up the tasty saplings. Without chopping down a single tree, you could remove all the woodland in Great Britain, simply by allowing all saplings to be eaten. This could happen in just a few hundred years, as most trees would die within that time and there would be nothing to replace them. It's why all trees planted now need to be either fenced off, or have those silly protectors on them. The landscape you are in in the video would have been cleared by grazing animals, deer and sheep, without much of it being cut down and used by people.
I have wondered for years why there is no effort to reforest parts of the UK. It is true that an oak planted today will not mature in our lifetime, but it would for our subsequent generations. As they say, the best time to plant a tree is last year. I live in eastern Tennessee in the USA. If I turn my back for two seconds, a tree sprouts in my yard! I have over 5 acres. Just under 2 is cleared for house and lawn with about 10 trees. The remainder is wild forest and completely covered with trees.
Speaking of trees. Here’s a tale, may be true, could be true. In the early/mid 20th century some of the roof timbers of an old school or college built in medieval times were in need of replacement. “Where”, the architect or some such person, pondered, “are we going to find the oak needed to do the job”. The college groundsman heard the discussion regarding trees and asked to be taken to a nearby woodland. On arrival, he showed the architect fellow a group of large oaks that were just right for the job. “How did you know about these?” Asked the architect. “Well” said the groundsman, “it’s in the building records book, when the college was built these oaks were planted because they knew one day in the future, the timbers in the roof might need replacing”. True or not, it does sound like things were done in the past..
We should start a re-treeing project. Just plant hardwood trees all over, especially oak. We need to get some tree specialists involved, so they can figure out the best delivery method. I don't know, maybe like a little cotton pouch with an oak sapling in it. You dig a small hole, put the pouch in, and hope it grows. You have 15k subscribers. If just 10% of us decide to plant 2 or 3 saplings on each of our days out, that would be thousands of trees every single year.
My sister has a small oak growing from an acorn from the major oak in Sherwood Forest. I’ll get her on the case. I agree we need more hardwood big trees like oak and ash.
The rapid construction and expansion of railways in the late 19th and early 20th Century (and the massive need for wooden sleepers to fit the rails onto) would also have cut heavily into woodlands throughout the country. Nowadays railways use concrete sleepers, but the devastation cut across England by HS2 has to be seen from the air to be believed. And we call that progress! Another major user of timber was the mining industry. In earlier times (pre-hydraulics) pit props were (IIRC) normally softwood, but even in more modern times they used hardwood blocks as a base and cap to the (hydraulic) props. We used to make them in 4x4”, 5x5”, and 6x6” and about 18” long (100, 125 and 150mm x ~ 500mm) in the saw mill on a local ‘estate’ out of salvaged or ‘thinned out’ hardwood trees when I had a Saturday job as a ‘Woodman’ there way back in 1970.
Nice video again Paul, thanks for all your hard work, I think you should do a video about PFAS, because I think a lot of us outdoor lot don’t know and people listen to you and respect your opinion, Thanks again
Much of the wood in the Peak District was consumed by mining operations, in particular the mining and smelting of lead and zinc. Wood was used extensively in those operations, in particular the smelting of the lead. Look at all of the bole hills in the peak, particularly the eastern side, where lead was processed and smelted , leaving vast tracks of pollution in the downwind direction, iron was also proceeds locally. A trip into one of the old underground workings, will often show where the wood has been used several hundred years ago to support mined material. The baulks of timber used are enormous.
Cracking little video Paul, with a history lesson thrown in too. Good to see you making a fresh brew while you were out. Yes, a Thermos is great, but you can't beat a cuppa made from scratch.
There were no forests in England before 1066. "Forest" was a legal concept introduced by the Normans and meant land where hunting was reserved for the king - it had nothing to do with trees. Some forests were heavily wooded, some had a few areas of woodland but most of those in the north and west were moorland.
Fortunate to live in East Kentucky USA. We have three areas of old growth forest that have never been cut. Trees hundreds of years old several meters thick and very tall. The canopy is so thick o ly small vegetation grows under them. Lilly Cornett Woods is one only 15 miles from home. Vids on youtube and Google. Eastern KY University oversees the area. Interesting what was. Paul when did they start mining coal in your area. They had to have it to make the steel and for heat in the cities. The smaller towns and villages have blackened buildings from all the coal burn soot located along the TET thru your area.
Nice to see you again Paul nice bit of history of trees 🌳 looked abit foggy and wet can't beat a good cuppa when you are out better still nice cup of oxo remember that don't see that these days stay safe and stay healthy one life enjoy blessed be
It's very interesting. As part of a study in conservation, I did a lot of reviews into forest, woodland cover. Deforestation took place many years ago. Also as you point out Norfolk broads were man made.
Interesting! Thanks Paul. We've lost so much oxygen. I couldn't help but notice how it (the all knowing AI) seemed to be sure of itself about 5000 years ago but 2000 years ago it's a best guess 😅 I'd love to see the rock bingo card, how many? It'd be great to nip back in time and see what it looked like there. I bet there are loads more interesting rocks under a bit of nature 👍🙃
Hard woods are slow growing, resilient. Not just for ships . There's no investment in replanting the native species ( sure people are ) thinking far beyond and seeing the bigger picture. Pine is a tax dodge, with a quick return. Money talks. Wood is so varied in it's usage.
Conifers are actually very good at storing water and are a real asset in managing flood risk, pine needles don't drop off in winter ... when it rains and floods, decidous trees drop their leaves in autumn and are very bad at holding water. Sometimes you need to understand cause and effect, not just hot air on'tinternet.
I'm in the south and we have millions of trees within a few miles. If you're on moorland you won't many find trees. Kielder forest has about 150 million trees alone. It all depends where you go.
There is an event some 7000 years ago mentioned in which the Sahara desert formed in 200 years from green and pleasant lands and the north of Europe became very wet. A number of forests disappeared due to falling over in the wet ground. One example is Rannock Forest in Scotland now under a peat layer, found when the railway and the new 'A82' were built. A further event which submerged Doggerland 6000 years ago was the Norway trench tsunami which cleared all trees across the coasts of East England, North and East Scotland, all Scottish islands, and north Europe. These where not man made events. Then came man. And there is the always changing weather/climate and Iceland volcanoes.
Ireland is similar. The majority of Ireland was old stand forest 600 +-years ago.Then the British Empire razed them to the ground for shipbuilding, fine furniture and construction. Today the amount the Island under forestation is in the low single figures. Only crap foreign softwood remains which is of no environmental value ,but is of significant harvest value for building.
The British empire did not help things in that regard but most of Irelands woodland was lost before the British invasions. Woodland cover was down to below 20%. A big part of that was they replaced the primary grazing animals (cows) with sheep which are much more destructive. Most of Irelands regeneration efforts have failed due to invasive Sika deer. Does not help that most people hold trees and nature in contempt and will cut down mature native trees at any opportunity to gain a little more land for grazing or an extra 20 minutes of sunlight during the day.
Ireland has made zero effort to improve wildlife and reforestation which is my understanding. As in the uk the farming industry lobbies are quite strong when it comes to govt
Why not replant reforest? All this baren landscape looks sad. In my country lot of forest were damaged by insects but now all those forests has been replanted and growing nicely.
The reason there’s no trees where you are is because the rich people like to shoot those birds that you can hear in the background. And those birds live almost exclusively on the heather you are walking around.
The comet of 562 destroyed all the trees and made the land uninhabitable for between 7 and 11 years as recorded. What is not so much recorded is that after the comet 1000 years was added to the historical timeline (dark ages) supported by archaeological and dendrochronological evidence. That's why we don't have any ancient forests in Britain.
Paul, I think you missed a chance here. A good explanation on this interesting question would well fit to you and this channel. I'd be happy to listen to you on other, better prepared outdoor/nature topics. - That said, I know how much effort goes into maintaining a channel and obeying to the algorithms. Keep it up!
If its anything like Australia, I would say the Government probably had a lot to do with the trees disappearing, seeing England is/was in charge down here. To get a plot of land in Australia, back when it was first stolen, you had to "improve" your property, or risk losing your land. I don't know the details, whether you had to clear land or other improvements were valid. Seeing as a saw, axe, shovel, fire and a strong back was the cheapest way of "improving" the land, that's what they did.
Don’t believe the numbers reason. They are really peg numbers for fishing competitions from the time when Stanage Edge was on the edge of a great lake covering the White Peak.😂
I grew up literally in Sherwood Forest, I played endlessly there as a kid, building dens, putting up rope swings running around, riding my bmx, it was a brilliant and joyous place to grow up, despite living in a pit village which many wrongly assume was pretty harsh. I have an affinity with trees, I love the smell of forests, the smell of the earth there and the bracken, the noises just sound like home to me. I’ve been saying for years we need a national tree planting day, I’d more than happily bin the easter egg nonsense and have a day where we all give/plant trees. I love that saying - a wise man is a man that plants a tree knowing he’ll never sit under the shade of its branches - but whilst governments continue to let immigration spiral out of control and farmers are shafted being forced to sell off land to developers for house building or solar farms, all whilst our food security is at a worryingly low percentage, then the future for our natural environment looks very grim. I really feel sorry for future generations of Brits, our green and pleasant land will have been concreted over so someone can move from one place where there are enough houses, to a place were there aren’t enough - it’s very sad 😢
I grew up in Ollerton a couple of miles down the road. Were you in Edwinstowe? Spent many a happy time in Sherwood Forest, exploring, making dens and swings. I need to do more of that 😍
@@messnersminutes yes mate, lived on Ollerton Rd, went to Rufford Comp, joined the Army in 89 (16 yrs old) and only go back that way occasionally now to see family that still live in the village. I now live in Suffolk and I so miss a proper deciduous forest, lots of pine forests the other side of Bury St Edmunds but they aren't the same, they are pretty grim, underneath the canopy it's pretty dead - but they must be doing more good for the environment than even more houses or a field full of solar panels! Do ya know what nothing puts a bigger smile on my face than seeing kids playing in the woods, making dens running round and having fun. As far as I'm concerned everyone wins if we have more forest and trees, hell you can even grow them and build homes, but alas there just isn't the appetite generally to do something, seems we are doomed to get fatter, unhealthier and live on a baron soulless island with no nature and no trees
We're lucky in England (at least the north west where I live) that all the forest clearance didn't leave us with the same midge problem that it resulted in in parts of Scotland.
I'd disagree. When you cut a tree down the roots regrow so why have many not regrown? There was a massive mud flood and the trees are 20ft or more below your feet that's why they never grew back.
And if they don't stop cutting trees down in the peak district there will be none left very soon, I have seen recently they have been at it again up near howden, AND near the path that takes you to oyster Clough, sustainable forests is the bolox they give you, I counted the rings on some felled trees they went from about 70 ish years old to 120 ish, well before sustainable was even thought of, and heard a tree disease was another reason for the felling, more crap imo, just think of this, the price of any wood is very expensive now days !!!
The reason native trees don't regenerate is mostly sheep (and deer). One sheep can demolish an entire grove of saplings for lunch. The only trees that survive are those on inaccessible cliffs. In other parts of europe with similar climate (northern spain) they mainly graze cattle which are much better for the upland environment. You simply can't have native trees and sheep, you can only have one.
Not quite as straight forward as that although partly true yes. There are parts of the UK that haven't had sheep at any numbers for a long time now and have little regeneration. Other parts have naturally regenerated in clusters. Deer are an issue where there is no sheep but up to a point. This is a very nuanced issue with lots of variability. Cattle can be better at low density but in reality the cattle that would be used would be from adjacent farms where they are already draining land, ploughing it up and planting single species grass and then the cattle need a lot of further feed which is part of the intensification problem and destruction of habitat ( large areas of northumberland, yorkshire and other places have seen marginal land around moorlands thoughtlessly dug up. No trees are even hedges. At least sheep at low density are usually hardy and while damaging to trees have overall less impact. Lot of nuanced issues.
@@CristiNeagu Romans helped make the hamburger- A first-century A.D. Roman cookbook by Apicius has a recipe that is close to the modern burger; a minced meat patty blended with crushed nuts and heavily spiced and cooked. This ground meat patty was easy to eat 'on the go
Trees are cleared for farming all across the world with animal agriculture being the largest reason by far. Its either meat or feed for the meat with food consumed directly by humans taking a very small part of the land. If all humans, just ate plants, which is perfectly health , then over 60% of farmland could be rewilded and used for recreation. No climate change, and let's remember trees can produce food too. Cowspiracy the documentary explains this and its supported by science Including WHO and UN.
That phone is not correct. Those numbers are very vague. By WWI only about 4% of England was forested. After the war, with the planting of the Forestry Commission, that rose to about 14%. It is not true most of England was covered by a "wildwood". Mountain top moorland, lowland heath, coast, estuary, fen, bog, marsh, and more, are all important habitats, easily forgotten in the drive to "re-wild".
Google is a great tool but does have its limitations I guess. Still and interesting topic and the countryside has certainly evolved over many years that’s for sure.
Unfortunately this whole issue has become oversimplified and full of urban myths. Yes there were more trees in the past but sometimes we have to go back many thousands of years for this to be true. Tree cover was effected by many things, not only human interference. The cover was also very mixed in the UK. It was mainly the low lying areas that were thickly wooded and these are now mostly intensive farms with huge resistance to changing back despite these areas being more suutable. Upland areas varied, often with clusters of trees and people moved across higher areas because it was easier and safer. Some upland areas were really patchy eg in nw scotland because they were far less suitable. This varied over very long periods of pre history. There is a lot of solid science that's been done and there is a real danger that the idea that we just go and plant loads of trees could create other sets of problems. It's also become quite politically charged rather than scientifically driven. Given the resistance nowadays to planting on farmland, there is a tendency to assume/opt to plant in uplands rather than have a more thoughtful diverse regime.
I think we forget just how much of our history is actually recorded, its only about 1,000 years of 500,000 years of settlers in the UK. Shelter, food and warmth all sustain life. Shelter and keeping warm without quarrying and mining needs timber. Its only when you only have wood to keep you warm and cook meals you realise just how much you get through in just one day to keep a fire going. Multiply that by thousands of people over hundreds of thousands of years before we began building ships and its easy to see where trees went.
Hi Paul, food for thought video,,.... BUT some people have put great comments in, n I'd like to respond to great comments but pressing the link? button to respond i can only report so i can't communicate with people that think alike,. I find this on alot on my subscription channel's just of late!!?? Would have liked to have jioned a comment with some comments,. Is it me n not good at TH-cam?.!!! Ive kinda asked on other subscription channels but no response, maybe me dunno?, take care sorry for any inconvenience 👍
The British government should buy this land back and plant trees on it. It would look much better than what it does now and would benefit the environment in an immense way
The soil is too acidic for anything besides very hardy grass, moss and cottongrass. Not much can grow on peat. (the landscape he is in in England and Scotland is called "Moorland"
Rant on ... This is a irritating video, oak trees were indeed cut down for ships timbers (all carbon neutral by the way), however once a forest had been felled it could have been replanted and replaced in 50 years, however it became valuable as agricultural land, and replanting was economically a bad choice because we had a growing urban population that needed feeding and a wool trade that was lucrative (to say the least). The upland areas and landscapes we now enjoy are a direct result of felling and sheep grazing, and being blunt, I like how the Lake District, Snowdonia, the Peak District and the Pennines looks, I know the radical ecotheorists want to rewild everywhere, but the truth is its not happening, we can do selective replanting (for example the Skiddaw Forest) which will enhance the scenery, but it's not a rule that works everywhere, we have a managed environment, there is a tiny percentage of this country that hasn't been managed... Rant off
BS. The land is vast and room for houses . No excuse to chop trees. We don't need trees. Everything can be made from hemp including whole houses and paper
![fellow fellow - พรุ่งนี้ไม่มีใครรู้ feat. INK WARUNTORN [OFFICIAL MV]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/QP6JyjYx_W0/mqdefault.jpg)
I have a tent up for grabs if anyone is interested? raffall.com/369695/enter-raffle-to-win-wild-country-panacea-1-tent-hosted-by-paul-messner
As regards the woodland cover in the UK. I have studied this formally, and have been reading and studying it for over 40 years. The best work to read is the History of the Countryside, by Oliver Rackham, who single-handedly created the field of Historical Archaeology, was a leading academic, and who overturned all the falsehoods written by historians, about woodlands in England, and Britain. One of his primary sources was the Domesday Book, which was essentially an inventory of all the land in England, for tax purposes. Most woodland in England, was felled during the Neolithic period from just over 6,000 years ago, to about 4,500 years ago. The Neolithic, as the start of farming in Britain. When Stonehenge, started being built around 5,000 years ago, much of the original wildwood, had already been felled. So Google is wrong. Take the peat, laid down by blanket bog (most peat is formed from Sphagnum moss). Peat is laid down at a rate of approximately 1mm per year, so it takes around a 1,000 years to lay down 1m of peat. Bearing in mind that most peat on British moorland has been eroded and oxidized, by burning heather for grouse shooting from the mid-19th Century, so much of it has gone. There are only 3 native conifers to the UK, Scots Pine, Yew and Juniper. Scots Pine had largely become extinct in England, by about 5,000 years ago.
There are myths about our woodland being cut down, to build our navy, houses. Old forestry practice, did not involve clear felling. All broad-leaved trees, will regrow from the stump, if cut down, being replaced my multiple stems. Plantation was unknown before 1600, most of it started later. Woodland prior to that was managed by coppicing on rotation, where the trees grew back, and standards, full trees within it. All of it naturally regenerated. Therefore, in England and Wales, all woodland which has existed continuous, since 1600, is classed as Ancient Woodland, as it would have been originally derived from the old wildwood.
This is great info thank you. I will try and track the book down and give it a read.
Thanks @stephenbarlow2493
Wow thank you for your educational post
@@messnersminutes - Just be aware that, it comes in 2 versions. A coffee table version with photos and simplified text, and the original version. The text dense version is very readable.
Need to be wary of what is quoted as fact online, ( wikipedia etc). Need to go back to original sources. Thank you for your comprehensive comments and recommendations.
The far far more important dynamic to mention is that humans also removed large predator species like Wolves, Lynx and Bears. These animals kept grazing populations like deer down, but also moved them along, meaning that saplings could survive and woodland could be replenished. Without them deer and other smaller animal species could just sit in one area breeding and hoovering up the tasty saplings. Without chopping down a single tree, you could remove all the woodland in Great Britain, simply by allowing all saplings to be eaten. This could happen in just a few hundred years, as most trees would die within that time and there would be nothing to replace them. It's why all trees planted now need to be either fenced off, or have those silly protectors on them. The landscape you are in in the video would have been cleared by grazing animals, deer and sheep, without much of it being cut down and used by people.
you are spot on.
I'm in love with England, but have been there only once. That's why I enjoy watching your videos so much! Feels like a tiny vacation.
I have wondered for years why there is no effort to reforest parts of the UK. It is true that an oak planted today will not mature in our lifetime, but it would for our subsequent generations. As they say, the best time to plant a tree is last year. I live in eastern Tennessee in the USA. If I turn my back for two seconds, a tree sprouts in my yard! I have over 5 acres. Just under 2 is cleared for house and lawn with about 10 trees. The remainder is wild forest and completely covered with trees.
Speaking of trees. Here’s a tale, may be true, could be true.
In the early/mid 20th century some of the roof timbers of an old school or college built in medieval times were in need of replacement. “Where”, the architect or some such person, pondered, “are we going to find the oak needed to do the job”. The college groundsman heard the discussion regarding trees and asked to be taken to a nearby woodland. On arrival, he showed the architect fellow a group of large oaks that were just right for the job. “How did you know about these?” Asked the architect. “Well” said the groundsman, “it’s in the building records book, when the college was built these oaks were planted because they knew one day in the future, the timbers in the roof might need replacing”. True or not, it does sound like things were done in the past..
Keep the videos coming. You're my connection to the British countryside now I live in the States.
We should start a re-treeing project. Just plant hardwood trees all over, especially oak. We need to get some tree specialists involved, so they can figure out the best delivery method. I don't know, maybe like a little cotton pouch with an oak sapling in it. You dig a small hole, put the pouch in, and hope it grows. You have 15k subscribers. If just 10% of us decide to plant 2 or 3 saplings on each of our days out, that would be thousands of trees every single year.
My sister has a small oak growing from an acorn from the major oak in Sherwood Forest. I’ll get her on the case. I agree we need more hardwood big trees like oak and ash.
I was amazed to find that the entire Norfolk Broads are man made due to digging for peat in the medieval period and later. Quite astonishing really.
The rapid construction and expansion of railways in the late 19th and early 20th Century (and the massive need for wooden sleepers to fit the rails onto) would also have cut heavily into woodlands throughout the country. Nowadays railways use concrete sleepers, but the devastation cut across England by HS2 has to be seen from the air to be believed. And we call that progress!
Another major user of timber was the mining industry. In earlier times (pre-hydraulics) pit props were (IIRC) normally softwood, but even in more modern times they used hardwood blocks as a base and cap to the (hydraulic) props. We used to make them in 4x4”, 5x5”, and 6x6” and about 18” long (100, 125 and 150mm x ~ 500mm) in the saw mill on a local ‘estate’ out of salvaged or ‘thinned out’ hardwood trees when I had a Saturday job as a ‘Woodman’ there way back in 1970.
Nice video again Paul, thanks for all your hard work, I think you should do a video about PFAS, because I think a lot of us outdoor lot don’t know and people listen to you and respect your opinion, Thanks again
Wonderful, interesting and relaxing video in 4K. Thank you for sharing. Cheers!
Much of the wood in the Peak District was consumed by mining operations, in particular the mining and smelting of lead and zinc. Wood was used extensively in those operations, in particular the smelting of the lead. Look at all of the bole hills in the peak, particularly the eastern side, where lead was processed and smelted , leaving vast tracks of pollution in the downwind direction, iron was also proceeds locally. A trip into one of the old underground workings, will often show where the wood has been used several hundred years ago to support mined material. The baulks of timber used are enormous.
one of the best videos you've done in ages Paul. We need trees!
Cracking little video Paul, with a history lesson thrown in too.
Good to see you making a fresh brew while you were out. Yes, a Thermos is great, but you can't beat a cuppa made from scratch.
Sweden is today covered to 68% of forest.
There were no forests in England before 1066. "Forest" was a legal concept introduced by the Normans and meant land where hunting was reserved for the king - it had nothing to do with trees. Some forests were heavily wooded, some had a few areas of woodland but most of those in the north and west were moorland.
Fortunate to live in East Kentucky USA. We have three areas of old growth forest that have never been cut. Trees hundreds of years old several meters thick and very tall. The canopy is so thick o ly small vegetation grows under them. Lilly Cornett Woods is one only 15 miles from home. Vids on youtube and Google. Eastern KY University oversees the area. Interesting what was. Paul when did they start mining coal in your area. They had to have it to make the steel and for heat in the cities. The smaller towns and villages have blackened buildings from all the coal burn soot located along the TET thru your area.
Nice to see you again Paul nice bit of history of trees 🌳 looked abit foggy and wet can't beat a good cuppa when you are out better still nice cup of oxo remember that don't see that these days stay safe and stay healthy one life enjoy blessed be
It's very interesting. As part of a study in conservation, I did a lot of reviews into forest, woodland cover. Deforestation took place many years ago. Also as you point out Norfolk broads were man made.
Paul, I love the time you spend on your closing credits, it must take ages.
Interesting! Thanks Paul. We've lost so much oxygen. I couldn't help but notice how it (the all knowing AI) seemed to be sure of itself about 5000 years ago but 2000 years ago it's a best guess 😅 I'd love to see the rock bingo card, how many? It'd be great to nip back in time and see what it looked like there. I bet there are loads more interesting rocks under a bit of nature 👍🙃
Very informative video Paul. Thanks for telling it. Like it is bro. Cheers 🍻
😂 Paul: you made me laugh! Loved the beard comments 👍🏼 more please! 😂 Superthanks sent with best wishes 😊
Hard woods are slow growing, resilient. Not just for ships . There's no investment in replanting the native species ( sure people are ) thinking far beyond and seeing the bigger picture. Pine is a tax dodge, with a quick return. Money talks. Wood is so varied in it's usage.
Conifers are actually very good at storing water and are a real asset in managing flood risk, pine needles don't drop off in winter ... when it rains and floods, decidous trees drop their leaves in autumn and are very bad at holding water. Sometimes you need to understand cause and effect, not just hot air on'tinternet.
I'm in the south and we have millions of trees within a few miles. If you're on moorland you won't many find trees. Kielder forest has about 150 million trees alone. It all depends where you go.
Not native trees tho
@@lewiswines3107 Mainly native actually near to me. Kielder isn't though as it's a man made commercial forest.
There is an event some 7000 years ago mentioned in which the Sahara desert formed in 200 years from green and pleasant lands and the north of Europe became very wet. A number of forests disappeared due to falling over in the wet ground. One example is Rannock Forest in Scotland now under a peat layer, found when the railway and the new 'A82' were built. A further event which submerged Doggerland 6000 years ago was the Norway trench tsunami which cleared all trees across the coasts of East England, North and East Scotland, all Scottish islands, and north Europe. These where not man made events. Then came man. And there is the always changing weather/climate and Iceland volcanoes.
Ireland is similar. The majority of Ireland was old stand forest 600 +-years ago.Then the British Empire razed them to the ground for shipbuilding, fine furniture and construction. Today the amount the Island under forestation is in the low single figures. Only crap foreign softwood remains which is of no environmental value ,but is of significant harvest value for building.
The British empire did not help things in that regard but most of Irelands woodland was lost before the British invasions. Woodland cover was down to below 20%. A big part of that was they replaced the primary grazing animals (cows) with sheep which are much more destructive. Most of Irelands regeneration efforts have failed due to invasive Sika deer. Does not help that most people hold trees and nature in contempt and will cut down mature native trees at any opportunity to gain a little more land for grazing or an extra 20 minutes of sunlight during the day.
Ireland has made zero effort to improve wildlife and reforestation which is my understanding. As in the uk the farming industry lobbies are quite strong when it comes to govt
loved this one Paul one of your best, great little bits of historic information as well, keep them coming
Why not replant reforest? All this baren landscape looks sad. In my country lot of forest were damaged by insects but now all those forests has been replanted and growing nicely.
It is not barren! Huge misconception.
Beautiful countryside.❤
The reason there’s no trees where you are is because the rich people like to shoot those birds that you can hear in the background. And those birds live almost exclusively on the heather you are walking around.
And then it floods in the valleys below.
The comet of 562 destroyed all the trees and made the land uninhabitable for between 7 and 11 years as recorded. What is not so much recorded is that after the comet 1000 years was added to the historical timeline (dark ages) supported by archaeological and dendrochronological evidence. That's why we don't have any ancient forests in Britain.
Paul, I think you missed a chance here. A good explanation on this interesting question would well fit to you and this channel. I'd be happy to listen to you on other, better prepared outdoor/nature topics. - That said, I know how much effort goes into maintaining a channel and obeying to the algorithms. Keep it up!
If its anything like Australia, I would say the Government probably had a lot to do with the trees disappearing, seeing England is/was in charge down here.
To get a plot of land in Australia, back when it was first stolen, you had to "improve" your property, or risk losing your land.
I don't know the details, whether you had to clear land or other improvements were valid. Seeing as a saw, axe, shovel, fire and a strong back was the cheapest way of "improving" the land, that's what they did.
Don’t believe the numbers reason. They are really peg numbers for fishing competitions from the time when Stanage Edge was on the edge of a great lake covering the White Peak.😂
Thanks
Tree , houses , furniture , log burners , bird tables and garden furniture, scaffolding planks , decking , ….US that’s the reason
I grew up literally in Sherwood Forest, I played endlessly there as a kid, building dens, putting up rope swings running around, riding my bmx, it was a brilliant and joyous place to grow up, despite living in a pit village which many wrongly assume was pretty harsh. I have an affinity with trees, I love the smell of forests, the smell of the earth there and the bracken, the noises just sound like home to me. I’ve been saying for years we need a national tree planting day, I’d more than happily bin the easter egg nonsense and have a day where we all give/plant trees. I love that saying - a wise man is a man that plants a tree knowing he’ll never sit under the shade of its branches - but whilst governments continue to let immigration spiral out of control and farmers are shafted being forced to sell off land to developers for house building or solar farms, all whilst our food security is at a worryingly low percentage, then the future for our natural environment looks very grim. I really feel sorry for future generations of Brits, our green and pleasant land will have been concreted over so someone can move from one place where there are enough houses, to a place were there aren’t enough - it’s very sad 😢
I grew up in Ollerton a couple of miles down the road. Were you in Edwinstowe? Spent many a happy time in Sherwood Forest, exploring, making dens and swings. I need to do more of that 😍
@@messnersminutes yes mate, lived on Ollerton Rd, went to Rufford Comp, joined the Army in 89 (16 yrs old) and only go back that way occasionally now to see family that still live in the village. I now live in Suffolk and I so miss a proper deciduous forest, lots of pine forests the other side of Bury St Edmunds but they aren't the same, they are pretty grim, underneath the canopy it's pretty dead - but they must be doing more good for the environment than even more houses or a field full of solar panels! Do ya know what nothing puts a bigger smile on my face than seeing kids playing in the woods, making dens running round and having fun. As far as I'm concerned everyone wins if we have more forest and trees, hell you can even grow them and build homes, but alas there just isn't the appetite generally to do something, seems we are doomed to get fatter, unhealthier and live on a baron soulless island with no nature and no trees
Development is the real reason for no trees. But people in England don’t do anything about it.
We're lucky in England (at least the north west where I live) that all the forest clearance didn't leave us with the same midge problem that it resulted in in parts of Scotland.
They are moving south. Parts of the Lake District had swarms of them this year terrorising campsites
@StephenJReid bugger. They are a nightmare. The monster flies we already have are bad enough!
Great stuff, loved this 👏😂
I'd disagree. When you cut a tree down the roots regrow so why have many not regrown?
There was a massive mud flood and the trees are 20ft or more below your feet that's why they never grew back.
And if they don't stop cutting trees down in the peak district there will be none left very soon, I have seen recently they have been at it again up near howden, AND near the path that takes you to oyster Clough, sustainable forests is the bolox they give you, I counted the rings on some felled trees they went from about 70 ish years old to 120 ish, well before sustainable was even thought of, and heard a tree disease was another reason for the felling, more crap imo, just think of this, the price of any wood is very expensive now days !!!
The reason native trees don't regenerate is mostly sheep (and deer). One sheep can demolish an entire grove of saplings for lunch. The only trees that survive are those on inaccessible cliffs. In other parts of europe with similar climate (northern spain) they mainly graze cattle which are much better for the upland environment. You simply can't have native trees and sheep, you can only have one.
Not quite as straight forward as that although partly true yes. There are parts of the UK that haven't had sheep at any numbers for a long time now and have little regeneration. Other parts have naturally regenerated in clusters. Deer are an issue where there is no sheep but up to a point. This is a very nuanced issue with lots of variability. Cattle can be better at low density but in reality the cattle that would be used would be from adjacent farms where they are already draining land, ploughing it up and planting single species grass and then the cattle need a lot of further feed which is part of the intensification problem and destruction of habitat ( large areas of northumberland, yorkshire and other places have seen marginal land around moorlands thoughtlessly dug up. No trees are even hedges. At least sheep at low density are usually hardy and while damaging to trees have overall less impact. Lot of nuanced issues.
Paul, it was the Romans that cleared the woodland !
Yeah, and what did the Romans ever do for us? Nothing, I tell you!
@@CristiNeagu Romans helped make the hamburger- A first-century A.D. Roman cookbook by Apicius has a recipe that is close to the modern burger; a minced meat patty blended with crushed nuts and heavily spiced and cooked. This ground meat patty was easy to eat 'on the go
@@georgeton4991 Well, of course they made the hamburger. That goes without saying. But apart from the hamburger, what did the Romans ever do for us?
17 - WWG1WGA
We hear you
Good video
Love from England
Always thought it was when they all got chopped down to stay warm during the strike
Is that a Talon 22 I spy? I too wear mine with the hip belt stowed...for the more generously proportioned gentleman 😉
What you wearing under your Buffalo ? Is the Buffalo the most insulated, the lite version or the wind shirt ?
I was always lead to believe it was for shipbuilding. Brittania rules the waves and all that.
And it was all carbon neutral ...
Do you think those numbers and lines on those rocks are some kind of trig point? Not sure what the lines would mean. Maybe pointing to another number?
Also some of them seem to also have a strange hole full of water connected to the lines which is strange.
Maybe it's a Rockstar Red Dead Redemption Easter egg yet to be solved! Lol
Lol I just got to the end of your video. All explained!
And here I thought it was all to build the Royal Navy.
Ironically in British turmoil we have an American accent telling us our history about trees,.! This speaks max volumes about where were not
As soon as the classic British accent is available for this software I’ll be sure to change it straight away. 🇬🇧
Mad in the campaite,in Edale 😢
Death Stranding 2 looks good 😉😉😉
Trees are cleared for farming all across the world with animal agriculture being the largest reason by far. Its either meat or feed for the meat with food consumed directly by humans taking a very small part of the land. If all humans, just ate plants, which is perfectly health , then over 60% of farmland could be rewilded and used for recreation. No climate change, and let's remember trees can produce food too. Cowspiracy the documentary explains this and its supported by science Including WHO and UN.
It was for all the shipbuilding, britannia rules the waves etc..
That phone is not correct. Those numbers are very vague. By WWI only about 4% of England was forested. After the war, with the planting of the Forestry Commission, that rose to about 14%. It is not true most of England was covered by a "wildwood". Mountain top moorland, lowland heath, coast, estuary, fen, bog, marsh, and more, are all important habitats, easily forgotten in the drive to "re-wild".
Google is a great tool but does have its limitations I guess. Still and interesting topic and the countryside has certainly evolved over many years that’s for sure.
Different trees and plants needs different sorts of soil
NT policy in 'The Peat District' (33!)
They are watee holes with channels chipped in. Water collection ✨
Water 💧
The joke about not being allowed near schools made me actually laugh out loud 😂
Unfortunately this whole issue has become oversimplified and full of urban myths. Yes there were more trees in the past but sometimes we have to go back many thousands of years for this to be true. Tree cover was effected by many things, not only human interference. The cover was also very mixed in the UK. It was mainly the low lying areas that were thickly wooded and these are now mostly intensive farms with huge resistance to changing back despite these areas being more suutable. Upland areas varied, often with clusters of trees and people moved across higher areas because it was easier and safer. Some upland areas were really patchy eg in nw scotland because they were far less suitable. This varied over very long periods of pre history. There is a lot of solid science that's been done and there is a real danger that the idea that we just go and plant loads of trees could create other sets of problems. It's also become quite politically charged rather than scientifically driven. Given the resistance nowadays to planting on farmland, there is a tendency to assume/opt to plant in uplands rather than have a more thoughtful diverse regime.
Treemendous
Cheers mate. Hope you’re oak-ay?
Now I know why I always write my questions. I hate AI voices.😂
Interesting topic though.
👍
Hi pal can you point me in the right direction for the GPX file. Many thanks
It’s over on my patreon page.
I think we forget just how much of our history is actually recorded, its only about 1,000 years of 500,000 years of settlers in the UK. Shelter, food and warmth all sustain life. Shelter and keeping warm without quarrying and mining needs timber.
Its only when you only have wood to keep you warm and cook meals you realise just how much you get through in just one day to keep a fire going. Multiply that by thousands of people over hundreds of thousands of years before we began building ships and its easy to see where trees went.
Are sure your talking about England?
Hi Paul, food for thought video,,.... BUT some people have put great comments in, n I'd like to respond to great comments but pressing the link? button to respond i can only report so i can't communicate with people that think alike,. I find this on alot on my subscription channel's just of late!!?? Would have liked to have jioned a comment with some comments,. Is it me n not good at TH-cam?.!!! Ive kinda asked on other subscription channels but no response, maybe me dunno?, take care sorry for any inconvenience 👍
You don’t click the 3 dots it’s the message icon next to the thumbs up and thumbs down.
You should be able to reply to all comments
The British government should buy this land back and plant trees on it. It would look much better than what it does now and would benefit the environment in an immense way
Not getting on with the new mug then?
Yeah I like it but I have a strong relationship with my orange one 😍
If it’s no rab it’s dab 😂
Eat the rich
Am I being dumb here? Why don't they just plant trees?
The soil is too acidic for anything besides very hardy grass, moss and cottongrass. Not much can grow on peat. (the landscape he is in in England and Scotland is called "Moorland"
Ice age and man
The pennines are desolate. It's the worst advert of the uk. Unfortunately utubers seem to want to camp there
Rant on ... This is a irritating video, oak trees were indeed cut down for ships timbers (all carbon neutral by the way), however once a forest had been felled it could have been replanted and replaced in 50 years, however it became valuable as agricultural land, and replanting was economically a bad choice because we had a growing urban population that needed feeding and a wool trade that was lucrative (to say the least). The upland areas and landscapes we now enjoy are a direct result of felling and sheep grazing, and being blunt, I like how the Lake District, Snowdonia, the Peak District and the Pennines looks, I know the radical ecotheorists want to rewild everywhere, but the truth is its not happening, we can do selective replanting (for example the Skiddaw Forest) which will enhance the scenery, but it's not a rule that works everywhere, we have a managed environment, there is a tiny percentage of this country that hasn't been managed... Rant off
BS. The land is vast and room for houses . No excuse to chop trees. We don't need trees.
Everything can be made from hemp including whole houses and paper
charcoal