Ancient woodland restoration will protect habitats

Ashridge Estate is the largest woodland in the care of the National Trust

A "major" restoration project has begun at an ancient woodland to protect its habitats and improve wildlife prospects, the National Trust said.

The Ashridge Estate in Hertfordshire has been used as a filming location for Harry Potter and Les Miserables and is home to a variety of wildlife.

A three-year project is under way at the 2,000 hectare (4942 acre) estate.

Work includes removing non-native conifers and replanting native broadleaf species.

Six hectares of woodland were cleared and thinned in the first year

The project will also restore 42 hectares (104 acres) of ancient woodland.

The National Trust said the project was previously thought to be impossible due to its scale and the fact much of the woodland was located on "particularly inaccessible and ecologically vulnerable parts of the landscape".

The project would be using specialist track matting to protect the ground and nearby archaeological features, the charity said.

If successful, the track matting could be used more widely at the estate and "set a new bar in terms of what fully sustainable forestry could look like in the UK", the trust said.

Track matting has been laid to protect the ground from machinery

This year, six hectares (14.8 acres) of ancient woodland have already been cleared and thinned in preparation.

In early 2023, parts of the project area will be replanted with a mixture of native broadleaf species like oak, hornbeam, beech and wild cherry while other parts will be left to naturally regenerate.

Tom Hill, trees and woodland adviser for the National Trust said: "Restoring plantation woods back to native broadleaf habitats is essential work that the National Trust is undertaking to prevent the decline in the UK's wildlife.

"Our ancient woodland soils hold incredibly rich seedbanks and are teeming with microscopic life below ground, essentially forming the base of the ecological pyramid.

"They provide essential habitats for a huge variety of species of wildlife which are important for a healthy ecosystem."