Experimental fungi translocation aims to restore nature beneath the soil in Yorkshire woodland

Tuesday 3 December 2024

Experimental fungi translocation aims to restore nature beneath the soil in Yorkshire woodland 

Forestry England is carrying out an experiment in nature restoration, moving soil rich in vital fungi from an ancient woodland to a newly planted site in North Yorkshire. This innovative approach aims to restore missing species crucial for healthy tree growth and soil sustainability and could pave the way for the method to be used across the nation’s forests.

The pilot project involves Forestry England ecologists carefully extracting soil 'cores' from Hagg Wood, east of York, and transplanting them to York Community Woodland nine miles away. Each core contains up to 300 different species of fungi that are invisible to the naked eye but essential for woodland health. 

Forestry England is working in partnership with City of York Council, creating and caring for York Community Woodland. It is on 78 hectares of land bought by the council for woodland creation to boost biodiversity and increase health and wellbeing opportunities for city residents and visitors.  

The translocation project targets mycorrhizal fungi, which form symbiotic relationships with trees, providing them with water and nutrients in exchange for carbon. Their presence indicates the woodland ecosystem they live in is healthy and resilient. Forestry England’s environmental DNA (eDNA) sampling has revealed that they are missing from many newly planted woodlands and those created in the last century.

Andrew Stringer, Head of Environment at Forestry England, said: 

"The hundreds of individual mycorrhizal fungal species form a vast community in the soil, helping our trees grow and be healthy. The soil in ancient woodlands is rich in these fungi because they have had hundreds of years undisturbed by artificial fertilisers or other land management activities that break up soil and deplete them.

“Fungi can provide an immune system helping trees cope with diseases. They can also support them to stay resilient to extreme weather including drought and flooding which in our changing climate are now more likely threats facing woodlands and forests.

“Soil translocation experiments for nature restoration have been tried in different forest settings across several countries but this is a first for Forestry England. We simply don’t know if it will work. The fungi may not successfully colonise in their new home, and we will closely track changes beneath the soil through eDNA sampling for the next ten years to get a true picture. But the potential for us is enormous. We estimate that more than half the nation’s forests, an area of 140,000 hectares, are potentially missing these species. Our hope is that this technique becomes another important tool in the nature restoration toolkit we can use to restore more fully functioning ecosystems in all the woodlands and forests in our care.”

Councillor Jenny Kent, Executive Member for the Environment and Climate at City of York Council said:

“Our Community Woodland is already a wonderful place to visit and spend time in nature. The fact that it is also the first place Forestry England are trialling this method of soil and nature regeneration is really exciting, and another testament to the value of partnership. Could planting healthy, fungi-rich soil in previously depleted spaces ‘re-seed’ good health in nature, and reverse damage done by agriculture and fertilisers over time? We have our fingers crossed.”

Forestry England has planted more than 190,000 trees at York Community Woodland, the test bed for the fungi translocation experiment. The woodland opened to visitors in August and as well as offering a beautiful, wildlife-rich green space for people to explore and enjoy, will help nature recover across the wider landscape, providing valuable habitat, storing carbon, alleviating soil erosion and preventing flooding.

Forestry England’s ecologists have followed strict biosecurity measures for the translocation, with a short transfer distance between the two sites, and no signs of tree disease present at Hagg Wood, where the soil cores have been taken from.

Forestry England is working with biotechnology company NatureMetrics to monitor the project's success by regularly taking soil samples and analysing eDNA. The organisation will share the data gathered from the experiment, contributing to the existing body of knowledge on woodland ecosystem restoration and management.

The translocation took place in the run up to UN World Soil Day, held annually on 5th December to focus attention on the importance of healthy soils.