Rhododendron is destroying our native woods and wildlife warns Woodland Trust NI

The charity is using Invasive Non Native Species week (12-18 May) to draw attention to the appeal, as Rhododendron, in particular, spreads fast, suffocates other plants thereby wiping out havens for indigenous flowers, fungi and wildlife.

Rhododendron ponticum can grow very large, rapidly outcompeting native plants. Invasive Non-Native Species (INNS) are animals, plants or pathogens that have been introduced to an area outside their natural range as a result of human activities and not part of the natural spread of species, causing a negative effect on the environment, population and/or economy.

INNS play a key role in 60% of recorded global species extinctions and are the sole factor responsible for 16% of documented global animal and plant extinctions.

Northern Ireland is currently ranked 12th worst in the world for biodiversity loss, especially with the lowest level and poor condition of ancient woodland.

As the Woodland Trust’s key objectives are to protect and restore woods and trees, as well as create quality native woodland, removing invasive species is a priority in supporting nature recovery.

The Woodland Trust cares for 55 woodlands and community woods across Northern Ireland, from the Faughan Valley in the north-west, to Mourne Park in the south-east. The conservation charity uses a multi-pronged approach on its estate to tackle the problem of invasive native and non-native species, by engaging contractors with machinery and teams of volunteer enthusiasts who remove invasives by hand.

The Woodland Trust also works in partnership with public and private landowners to eradicate invasive species on their land through significant outreach work.

Estate manager for the Woodland Trust Northern Ireland, Dave Scott said: “Without our intervention, woodlands, that are overgrown with invasive species would slowly die; that’s particularly devasting for our rare ancient woodland, of which we only have 0.04% remaining in Northern Ireland. These invasives also cast a deep shade which means that plants like bluebell, wood anemone just cannot survive.”

The Woodland Trust has been working on restoring and protecting ancient and veteran trees in Mourne Park since 2019; the woodland conservation charity now manages 188 ha of the land where 73ha is ancient woodland, extremely rare in Northern Ireland.

The ancient woodland in Mourne Park is under threat from rhododendron, laurel and other invasives like bamboo and Himalayan Balsam and the restoration work aims to clear them so that more light can reach the forest floor.

The woodland recovery that has already taken place is evident for visitors to Mourne Park, who, at this time of year, can enjoy the spectacle of carpets of bluebells which have now returned, due to the removal of the invasive plants.

Dave added: “The good news is that we can reverse the damage by removing invasive plants, so that trees can once again regenerate naturally, ground flora can thrive and the wildlife and fungi that rely on that ecosystem can flourish.

“So by clearing rhodi and laurel from this site, we are opening it up, allowing the light to come in and allowing the trees to regenerate.

“Without this regeneration our woods will die out, including our ancient woodlands the most diverse of our land habitats supporting more plants and animals than any other. To date we’ve cleared 60 ha of invasives from Mourne Park, and we’ve still 40ha to clear.”

The Woodland Trust’s Outreach Team works with landowners, public and private, to deliver nature recovery on a landscape scale outside the conservation charity’s estate.

The trust recently consulted, planned and delivered a woodland restoration management plan with Newry, Mourne and Down District Council at Delamont Country Park. Here 7.72 hectares woodland were at threat from invasives such as cherry laurel, rhododendron and smaller pockets invasives such as snowberry, Pheasant berry, privet and fuchsia.

Restoration works required the removal and follow up control of invasive plants with a particular focus on cherry laurel and rhododendron to help the woodland recover.

The Woodland Trust is calling out to landowners who have a crucial role to play and so does everyone.

To protect and restore our existing trees and woods in Northern Ireland, we need to pursue a mix of approaches, on our own estate and working in partnership with landowners.

Invasive Species week 2025 runs from 12-18 May. If you own land and want to find out more or get involved, visit www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/northern-ireland