Forestry Journal

10/10/2026

Hidden giants, lasting legacies: Sussex’s Lost Woods project records more than 5,500 ancient and veteran trees.

A growing network of ancient trees is being uncovered across Sussex thanks to the efforts of dedicated woodland preservation project.

10/10/2026

They found fewer than 20 surviving trees. Now they're replanting the forest

10/10/2026

Crunch Scottish Forestry talks 'genuinely constructive'

10/10/2026

AS far as unique machinery went, it didn’t get much more bespoke than a purpose-built Europe Forestry woodchipper on the impressive Field and Forest Machinery stand.

Even at first glance, you could tell the EC850 was a little different. Featuring a Palms crane, elevated cab and hydraulic slew, it had taken the standard unit and built a machine for the most daunting of biomass challenges.

“We have combined all three together to create a really unique and bespoke chipper,” said Field and Forest’s Tom Brown. “There are just two in the world. This is the first one in the UK and one is currently working in the Netherlands.

“We actually sold it back in April time and there has been a bit of a push on to get it ready for APF, but Europe Forestry pulled it out of the bag."

Like the standard EC850, this bespoke unit is capable of tackling 800 x 500 mm logs.

“We partnered with Europe Forestry earlier this year and this will be the fifth machine we have put into the UK,” Tom continued. “We have had great feedback on the chippers.

“If you look at them compared to similar chippers, you may think they are the same. But they are not.”

10/10/2026

One crofting couple are reforesting 300 windswept acres on Benbecula, proving native woodland can take root.

One crofting couple are single-handedly reforesting 300 windswept acres on Benbecula, learning from the abandoned Millennium Forest project’s failures.

10/10/2026

A growing network of ancient trees is being uncovered across Sussex thanks to the efforts of a dedicated woodland preservation project.

More than 5,500 ancient, veteran and notable trees have now been recorded within the Lost Woods project area as part of the Woodland Trust’s Ancient Tree Inventory, which celebrates 20 years.

Bob Epsom, outreach adviser for the Lost Woods, said: "Every ancient tree has a story but many of these remarkable trees are still unknown and unrecorded.

"Reaching more than 5,500 records in the Lost Woods is an important milestone, helping us understand the incredible living heritage right on our doorstep.

"Mapping is only the first step.

"We need to make sure that trees are recognised, cared for and protected so that they can continue to support wildlife and communities for generations to come."

The Lost Woods is a partnership project between Action in Rural Sussex, the Small Woods Association, Sussex Wildlife Trust and the Woodland Trust.

10/10/2026

A remarkable bespoke chipper arrives in Britain, built for daunting biomass work and operator safety.

Even at first glance, you could tell the EC850 was a little different.

10/10/2026

"Good deer management protects young woodlands, supports peatland restoration, and helps our ecosystems recover."

10/10/2026

Wildfire season inspires first-of-its-kind firefighting Pfanzelt Moritz

10/10/2026

I recently wrote an article for Forestry Journal about Rotatech chains (writes Simon Bowes). While this was not a particularly critical article, and I acknowledged that for the price the chains are good value, it did seem to upset a few people.

I have a friend who is a local tree surgeon. We’ve known each other for many years and done bits of business here and there. His crew felled a big sycamore just down the road from me and I have secured the timber for my domestic firewood. I need about 10 tonnes for my stoves each winter and the sycamore will do about half of that. He has some beech I can have on the same farm, so that’s me sorted with maybe a little ash from home. We have diseased ash trees in the quarry that need to come down, but I’ve been saving those for when there’s nothing else available.

I’d started cutting the sycamore up with a 572 Husqvarna, but after the Facebook posts I decided to dig out one of the Rotatech chains I’d used on my MS 400 in the windblow spruce from last summer.

I found one with a bit of cutter left and I spent a little while sharpening it, freehand, no sharpening aids other than my reading glasses. I find you can’t sharpen them if you can’t see them. I dressed the bar, cleaned it and set the raker clearances to give it half a chance.

I’ve cut most of that tree up using a 75-per-cent worn Rotatech chain and I have no problem with it. It cuts, but not overly aggressively, and it has got the job done. I would say I’ve sharpened it more often than I would have done a Stihl chain and it isn’t as fast cutting as an Oregon chain, but none of this is unwarranted criticism. In fact, it isn’t criticism – it is pragmatism. If you could buy a chain that performs as well as the industry leaders, but for a third of the price, they would take all the market share in a matter of months.

Rotatech chains have their place and if you can’t justify spending almost £50 on a top-brand chain, then go with the Rotatech, but don’t tell me it’s as good as Oregon or Stihl chain because it isn’t, and I’m basing that on 50 years of experience starting with cutting firewood with a Partner 5000 as a schoolboy and going all the way to using a Stihl MS 400 as a semi-retired woodcutter.