THE NEW Forest has come up smelling of roses from a scathing report slamming Europe's woodlands for being too tidy and endangering insects and plants.

The World Wide Fund (WWF) for Nature claims Europe's foresters are clearing out too much deadwood, which is impacting on bats, woodpeckers, beetles, lichens and fungi, which rely on it as a source of food and shelter.

But the New Forest has had a strict policy of leaving all deadwood untouched in its 3,500 acres of ancient and ornamental woodland as part of its 1999 management plan for the care of the forest. Even in its 8,000 acres of pine plantations large amounts of deadwood is left where it falls.

As a result the New Forest is a magnet for rare species that rely on mature timber, including lesser-spotted woodpeckers, stag beetles and Bechstein's bats, and it is one of the richest sites in Europe for fungi.

Forestry Commission ecologist Simon Weymouth said: "The Forestry Commission in the New Forest has for many years recognised the ecological importance of deadwood habitats.

"A large number of our ancient woodlands are managed to ensure standing and fallen deadwood are retained, providing ideal habitats for insects, bats, birds and fungi."

The report reveals that deadwood is at a low level in Europe due to a lack of recognition of its importance and inappropriate management in com-mercial forests and protected areas.

In Western Europe forests have on average less than five per cent of the deadwood expected in natural conditions.

WWF forest specialist Daniel Vallauri said: "By stripping a forest of its decaying timber and old trees we are performing a strange and unnecessary cosmetic surgery on a natural ecosystem, which threatens much of its biodiversity."

First published: October 28