A summer of discovery: How CFP researchers are strengthening forest resilience

by | Oct 28, 2026 | Blog, Project Blogs

It’s been a busy and exciting summer for the Centre for Forest Protection (CFP). From conducting vital fieldwork, which you can read about in today’s blog, to sharing new research at conferences to making appearances on television (find out more next week!), our researchers have been showcasing their expertise and advancing our understanding of forest health both in the field and beyond.

Dodging the double whammy project

Young tree saplings in protective guards are arranged across a recently cleared grassy field bordered by mature trees. In the mid-ground, a person bends down while planting or tending a sapling. Sunlight filters through the tree canopy, creating patches of light and shade across the restoration planting site.

Field experiment set up with potted F. excelsior trees at known A. convexicollis sites. © Crown Copyright. Centre for Forest Protection; Forest Research – Dr Anastasia Uglow.

During the past year, work on our Dodging the double whammy – ash dieback and emerald ash borer project has focused on developing and validating methods for rearing Agrilus convexicollis (a non-regulated invasive bark boring beetle believed to be a secondary colonist of diseased ash trees) under laboratory conditions, establishing experimental protocols, and investigating aspects of the species’ life history.

A laboratory colony has been successfully maintained, with adults reproducing and providing eggs for use in experimental studies. Field and controlled-environment trials have also been established to assess colonisation of European ash (Fraxinus excelsior) material under different host conditions, including girdled and ungirdled trees as well as potted saplings. These trials are supporting the development of methods for evaluating host use and behaviour, while complementary laboratory experiments are being used to refine understanding of the species’ development and biology.

Side-by-side comparison of two cut sections of woody plant stems placed on a green gridded cutting mat. Strips of bark have been removed to reveal internal tissue and dark brown discolouration patterns. A gloved hand holds the stem on the left. Small labelled measuring grids are positioned beside each stem, highlighting differences in the extent of internal damage between the two samples.

(Left) Tree showing potential resistance to EAB; (right) Tree showing potentially less resistance. © Crown Copyright. Centre for Forest Protection; Forest Research – Dr Anastasia Uglow.

Elsewhere in the project, during the summer season, large potted F. excelsior trees were assessed for ash dieback (ADB) response using attached leaf tests. The methodology was established with training and guidance from Dr Elizabeth Orton at the John Innes Centre. The same trees were subsequently inoculated with emerald ash borer (EAB) eggs and larvae were allowed to develop under controlled conditions. Throughout the study, a range of larval development metrics, ADB assessment data, and host response observations were collected.

This work has provided valuable experience in preparation for the main experiments planned for next year. In particular, it has helped refine the timing and application of attached leaf tests, improve identification and assessment of ADB lesions, and inform the selection of larval and host-response measurements for future investigations into the interaction between ADB and EAB.

Enhancing forest resilience through stand structural complexity project

Colour-coded LiDAR point cloud visualisation of a dense cluster of trees viewed from above and slightly to the side. The scan uses a gradient from purple and blue at lower elevations to green and yellow at higher elevations, highlighting variations in vegetation height and canopy structure. Individual tree crowns are visible as distinct shapes within the woodland cluster, set against a plain light-grey background.

Ground-based mobile LIDAR scan, colourised to show the forest height © © Crown Copyright. Centre for Forest Protection; Forest Research – Dr Tom Ovenden.

Researchers from across our Enhancing forest resilience through stand structural complexity project have been busy this summer, with teams conducting fieldwork campaigns, networking at a regional specialist study group meeting, and developing analysis methods.

Following a successful pilot study in 2025, researchers focused their 2026 efforts on collecting data from Douglas fir dominated sites that cover a broad spectrum of forest structures. Since June, the team have collected over 1,600 cores from 830 trees across 25 sites located in Thetford Forest and the Forest of Dean, which are subsequently processed to generate tree-ring data that indicate responses to environmental conditions and stressors (e.g. drought).

Vertical point-cloud image of a tree showing branch detection analysis. Thousands of grey points outline the trunk, branches and canopy, while clusters of coloured diamond-shaped markers highlight detected branch locations throughout the crown. The coloured markers are distributed at different heights and positions within the tree structure, illustrating identified branching points against the underlying LiDAR-derived tree point cloud.

Automated branch detection (coloured points) from a point cloud generated from ground-based mobile LiDAR © Crown Copyright. Centre for Forest Protection; Forest Research – Dr Rubén Manso.

Each site was also scanned using ground-based mobile LiDAR to generate corresponding high-resolution 3D imagery of the forest, from which relevant tree- and plot-level structural metrics can be calculated. These data will be combined to investigate the relationship between forest structural diversity and drought response of trees.

For the purpose of predicting what is inside the trees (wood properties) from what we see outside them (ground-based mobile LiDAR), researchers have been developing methods to extract variables known to affect wood properties from the point clouds collected in 2025. This method can very rapidly detect and identify branches up to 30m in height, from which relevant metrics such as branch density, insertion angle and a proxy for insertion diameter can be built. These metrics will be paired with measured wood properties to investigate their predictive power.

 

Scots pine resilience project

Person kneeling in a recently planted forest restoration site, using a handheld field instrument beside young conifer saplings. The area contains dry grass, wildflowers and logging debris, with a stand of mature trees visible in the background under a blue sky with scattered clouds. A clipboard with survey sheets lies on the ground nearby, indicating ecological or forestry field data collection.

Dr Annika Perry taking chlorophyll fluorescence measurements of Scots pine needles, a good indicator of plant health © Crown Copyright. Centre for Forest Protection; Forest Research – Dr Thomas Sim.

This summer, our Scots pine resilience team have been putting both trees and equipment to the test at their field site in Tentsmuir. Across three visits, they assessed tree health using visual surveys and measurements of chlorophyll fluorescence, a useful indicator of plant performance and stress. On one occasion, temperatures approached 30°C, creating challenging conditions for both researchers and trees. In fact, the heat proved too much for their chlorophyll fluorescence instrument, which temporarily refused to cooperate.

Fortunately, repeated site visits are built into the project design, allowing the team to capture reliable measurements across the season despite the occasional setback. They also took advantage of their time on site to carry out mechanical weeding, reducing competition from brambles and other vigorous vegetation around the young trees.

Young pine sapling growing in a recently clear-felled forestry site, marked with orange and yellow survey tags at its base. The sapling is surrounded by sandy soil, dry grasses and logging debris, with additional planted trees and a dense stand of mature conifers visible in the background under an overcast sky.

Scots pine seedling at the Tentsmuir trial site, with mature Corsican pine in the background © Crown Copyright. Centre for Forest Protection; Forest Research – Dr Thomas Sim.

The trial brings together Scots pine seedlings from five native Caledonian pinewood provenances alongside European seed sources from Spain and Norway. These trees were planted at Tentsmuir Forest in Fife during spring 2026, having already experienced contrasting drought, waterlogging or control treatments during a pot-based glasshouse experiment the previous summer. The site itself offers a unique opportunity to study disease interactions, being located near Scots pine and Corsican pine affected by Dothistroma needle blight (DNB).

Over the coming years, the team hope natural inoculation will allow them to investigate how trees from different provenances respond to the successive challenges of abiotic stresses (drought or waterlogging), and biotic stresses (DNB). Ultimately, the project aims to improve our understanding how Scots pine populations will respond to a changing climate.

Researching complex yew decline project

Person standing beneath a large, multi-stemmed tree with twisting, moss-covered trunks and branches. The individual is wearing a short-sleeved shirt and a round pendant on a cord around the neck. Dappled sunlight filters through the canopy, illuminating parts of the tree’s textured bark and creating strong contrasts between light and shadow in the woodland setting.

Geoff during project fieldwork this summer © Crown Copyright. Centre for Forest Protection.

Over the summer, PhD student Geoff Monck and members of the wider Researching complex yew decline project have been collecting needle, bark, and fine root samples for metabolomics and microbiome analysis. The work to process and run the samples is currently underway, and the team were joined by a new intern in October who will be supporting the lab work, as well as the further survey and sampling work planned for this autumn/winter.

In July, Geoff also presented his work on adjacent yew decline related projects at the Herefordshire Parklands Conference!

 

EXPLORATION project

Field research station set up beneath a canopy tent in a young woodland planting site. A seated researcher operates scientific monitoring equipment connected to a laptop on a folding table, while additional instruments mounted on tripods are positioned among rows of newly planted trees in the background. Another researcher stands nearby in the restoration area, which is covered with grasses, planting stakes and forestry debris under bright sunny conditions.

Dr George Xenakis, EXPLORATION project lead, during fieldwork in Wark Forest, Northumberland © Crown Copyright. Centre for Forest Protection; Forest Research.

This summer was a busy and rewarding period for our EXPLORATION project. Over this year’s field season, the team carried out an intensive monitoring programme at Wark Forest, Northumberland, where drought is expected to become an increasingly important challenge. You can find out more detail about this fieldwork and early observations from the team’s data analysis in a standalone blog written by project lead Dr George Xenakis coming soon!

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We are delighted to have been able to showcase some of the fascinating field research undertaken across our projects this summer. A huge thank you to all the research teams who contributed to this feature, and to everyone across the CFP network for your continued dedication and hard work in supporting the health and resilience of our trees and forests.

Join us next week as we look back on the conferences attended by our project teams throughout the summer and celebrate two of our scientists who were featured in BBC interviews discussing their CFP research.

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