TreE_PlaNat: Stakeholder perceptions and socio-ecological consequences of Treescape Expansion through Planting and Natural colonisation

几十年来，植树一直是英国最常见的林地扩张战略。尽管这种方法有许多好处，但由于对好处的高估、针对性不强以及在实现雄心勃勃的林地扩张目标所需的水平上扩大植树面临挑战，这种做法正受到越来越多的质疑。因此，将“自然殖民”(允许树木自然殖民新区域)纳入林地扩展战略的兴趣与日俱增，部分原因是人们认为，自然形成的林地将比种植地在结构上更加多样化，在生态上更加复杂，而且更具弹性。将自然殖民作为植树的一种补充方式，有可能从根本上改变英国的梯级，并释放大规模的林地扩张。植树和自然定居可以在整个景观中以互补和混合的方式使用，具体取决于当地的条件和预期的效益。然而，我们对通过结合自然殖民的方法创造林地的社会生态后果知之甚少。我们也不太了解土地管理者对植树以外的林地创造方法的态度，也不清楚哪些土地管理者正在或将通过包含自然殖民的替代方法参与林地创造，以及为什么。我们将使用跨学科的方法，探讨农业土地管理者对从种植到自然殖民的林地创造策略的态度。我们还将量化这些方法的不同生态和社会后果，并确定与林地复原力相关的因素。最后，我们将结合社会生态学证据，展示如何结合植树和自然定居来扩大林地规模，以实现一系列农业用地目标。我们将重点关注阔叶、阔叶和针叶混交林、在土地利用强度不同的农业景观中创建的林地(从集约可耕种的低地到高地边缘的边缘草地)和周围的林地覆盖，因为这些因素可能会影响利益相关者的看法和林地创造方法的社会生态结果。这些景观代表了英国土地面积的主要部分，具有林地扩张的潜力。我们将利用英国两个独特和互补的林地地点网络来创建一个新的平台，从这个平台上评估利益相关者对从种植到自然殖民的林地创造方法的感知和社会生态后果。这些网站提供了丰富的数据资源，并可接触到各种不同的土地管理者。TreE_PlaNAT将提供证据基础，以告知如何、在哪里以及为谁使用沿“种植”到“自然殖民”连续统的不同战略，以实现政府的林地扩展目标。利益相关者组织，包括非政府组织、法定机构和行业，作为共同申请者和项目合作伙伴参与了这项提案，展示了这一项目的共同发展，并促进了我们的研究结果的实施。

Tree planting has been the most common woodland expansion strategy in the UK for many decades. Despite its many benefits, this approach is increasingly being questioned following overestimates of benefits, poor targeting and challenges in scaling-up tree planting at the level required to meet ambitious woodland expansion targets. Consequently, there is growing interest in incorporating 'natural colonisation' (allowing trees to colonise new areas naturally) into woodland expansion strategies, partly because it is assumed that naturally created woodlands will be more structurally diverse, ecologically complex and resilient than planted sites. Embracing natural colonisation as a complementary approach to tree planting has the potential to radically transform UK treescapes and unlock woodland expansion at scale. Tree planting and natural colonisation may be used in complementary and blended combinations across a landscape, depending on the local conditions and the benefits expected. However, we know very little about the socio-ecological consequences of creating woodlands through approaches incorporating natural colonisation. We also have a poor understanding of land managers' attitudes towards woodland creation approaches other than tree planting, and it is not clear which kinds of land managers do, or would, engage with woodland creation through alternative approaches incorporating natural colonisation, and why. Using an inter-disciplinary approach, we will explore agricultural land managers' attitudes towards woodland creation strategies spanning the planting to natural colonisation continuum. We will also quantify the differing ecological and social consequences of these approaches, and identify factors associated with woodland resilience. Finally, we will integrate socio-ecological evidence to demonstrate how tree planting and natural colonisation can be used in combination to scale-up woodland expansion for a range of objectives on agricultural land.We will focus on broadleaf, and mixed broadleaf and conifer, woodlands created in agricultural landscapes with varying degrees of land-use intensity (from intensive arable lowland to marginal grassland on the upland fringe) and surrounding woodland cover, as these factors are likely to influence stakeholder perceptions and socio-ecological outcomes of woodland creation methods. These landscapes represent a major portion of UK land area with potential for woodland expansion. We will exploit two unique and complementary networks of woodland sites across the UK to create a novel platform from which to assess stakeholders' perceptions and socio-ecological consequences of woodland creation approaches spanning the planting to natural colonisation continuum. These sites provide a rich data resource and access to a diverse range of land-mangers.TreE_PlaNat will provide the evidence base to inform how, where, and for whom different strategies along the 'planting' to 'natural colonisation' continuum can be used to meet Government woodland expansion targets. Stakeholder organisations, including NGOs, statutory agencies and industry, are embedded in this proposal as co-applicants and project partners, demonstrating the co-development of this project and facilitating implementation of our findings.