Paradise Wood is a research woodland established by the Earth Trust (formerly Northmoor Trust) between the villages of Little Wittenham and Long Wittenham in Oxfordshire England. It has evolved to become the largest collection of hardwood forestry trials in Britain.
Planning for the wood started in 1992 and tree planting began in 1993.[Clark, J. and Hemery, G. (2009) Outcomes from 15 years of hardwoods research at the Northmoor Trust. Quarterly Journal of Forestry. 103, 212-219.] The Research Woodland was originally conceived and developed by Gabriel Hemery and was established as a centre for research into the improvement of the quality and productivity hardwood trees.
On the northern edge of Paradise Wood a small community woodland was planted in 2005 to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar. It was named after as part of a project with the Woodland Trust.
Research trials
fraxinus
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Seed orchard of fraxinus established in 1993 with BIHIP.
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This research trial has become increasingly important over the last few years since ash dieback arrived in Britain in 2012. The disease was first recorded in the woodland in 2015.
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This trial is part of the Living Ash Project.
Beech
Cherry
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A clonal trial of Prunus avium established in 2005 on behalf of East Malling Research (then Horticulture Research International) as part of a research programme to develop the WildStar TM clones.
Oak
Walnut
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A provenance trial of walnut collected from Kyrgyzstan and 12 other countries across Asia and Europe.
[Hemery, G.E. (2000) Juglans regia L: genetic variation and provenance performance. In: Department of Plant Sciences. University of Oxford.]
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A silviculture trial of walnut testing walnut in mixture with various species including nitrogen fixing trees and shrubs.
[Clark, J., Hemery, G. and Savill, P. (2008) Early growth and form of common walnut (Juglans regia L.) in mixture with tree and shrub nurse species in southern England. Forestry. 81, 631-644.]
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A trial of hybrid walnut.
Agroforestry or 'silvo-poultry'
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The Poultry In Natural Environments (PINE) experiment ran for a number years in the 2000s, where free-range broilers were reared under newly planted trees.
[Jones, T., Feber, R., Hemery, G., Cook, P., James, K., Lamberth, C. and Dawkins, M. (2007) Welfare and environmental benefits of integrating commercially viable free-range broiler chickens into newly planted woodland: a UK case study. Agricultural Systems. 94, 177-188.] The system was reportedly very robust economically.[Yates, C., Dorwood, P., Hemery, G. and Cook, P. (2007) The economic viability and potential of a novel poultry agroforestry system. Agroforestry Systems. 69, 13-28.]
Volunteering
In 2012, Earthwatch Institute, a global non-profit that teams volunteers with scientists to conduct important environmental research, launched a program called "Paradise Wood - Experimental Plantation in England." This unique project, run jointly by Earthwatch and the Earth Trust, allows volunteers to join studies to help forest managers grow trees successfully in light of predicted climate change.
External links
