Oak
The two native British oaks, the English Oak (Quercus robur) and the Sessile Oak (Q. petraea), are long-lived, able to grow on a wide range of soils and their timber used widely due to its great structural strength and decorative appearance. They also support the greatest associated biodiversity of any British tree species. Although the ranges of the two species overlap, Q. robur is more common in the lowlands whilst Q. petraea is characteristic to uplands in the north and west of England (e.g. Wistman's Wood, Dartmoor), Wales, Scotland and Ireland. The two species also commonly hydridise.
Oak is prone to shake particularly on drought-prone sites but research has detected a positive correlation between early vessel size and a predisposition to shake. Furthermore, vessel size has been found to be a highly heritable character in oak.
The British & Irish Hardwoods Improvement Programme (BIHIP) oak group is leading the UK research programme and has initiated a tree selection programme. The initial aim of the programme, started in 1997, was to identify 200 plus trees in the UK, Ireland and the northern European continent. Of the plus trees selected, approximately half this number were rejected after analysis of vessel sizes indicated that they may be prone to shake. The collection programme has been made difficult by poor mast (seed) years and collections have been made over three years but sufficient numbers were selected by 2001 to start the programme.
A series of breeding seedling orchards co-ordinated by the BIHIP oak group, will be planted in the autumn of 2002 across approximately eight sites in the UK and Ireland. One of these will be sited in Paradise Wood. Further details on these trials will soon be available here.
