Beech
Beech is the second most important broadleaved species in Britain occupying 13% of high forest in 1987. It is the only large and strongly shade-bearing tree native to Britain.
A beech leaf[/img]Beech timber is strong, straight-grained and even-textured, easily turned and bends well. It is widely used for furniture, flooring, contructional work and kitchen utensils.
Beech would be more widely planted if squirrel damage, to which it is very prone, was less severe and if improved genetic material was widely available. Beech is covered by the EU Forest Reproductive Material Regulations and there are currently 22 registered stands of 'selected' quality in Britain. However, even in a good year, these stands do not yield enough seed to meet total demand and imported seed from continental sources makes up any deficit.
The Forestry Commission initiated a tree improvement programme in 1950 followed by three further progeny tests over the next two decades. A common result from these trials was an inverse correlation between vigour and form. Beech seed orchards are not likely to be effective in supplying sufficient quantities of improved material, so a series of trials to assess different sources of seed, both from Britain and continental Europe, have been undertaken.
The Beech (Fagus sylvatica) International Provenance Trial planted at Paradise Wood in 1998 was the latest of these and the largest. There are 25 different sources being assessed, 21 of which are continental. All seed sources are common to each site (21 sites) with each participating country hosting a trial. The aims of the trial are to evaluate the suitability of the collected provenance material for timber production in southern Britain. The wide range of origins sampled may, in the long term, assist in selecting genotypes better adapted to climatic change in the UK.
