Woburn Abbey
ARBORICULTURE
Client
Bedford Estates , Woburn Abbey
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Project Type
Park, Formal Garden
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Status
Ongoing ​
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Location
Worburn, Bedfordshire
Following a long working relationship with Bedford Estates in London, TMA were commissioned to carry out a tree risk and condition survey at Woburn Abbey, Bedfordshire. The gardens and Abbey have been closed since 2019 for refurbishment, as the reopening looms, TMA were tasked with assessing the trees and ensuring that any risk from the garden tree stock is managed, whilst having consideration of the historic nature of the site, and the values of the many mature and veteran trees present.
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Following initial survey, TMA were asked to carry out an analysis of the ecosystem services provided by the tree stock, to demonstrate the environmental credentials of the garden, which may otherwise be forgotten and overshadowed by the visual impact of the tree and plant collection.
Overview
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The site is a 28-acre formal garden, designed by Humphrey Repton and situated at the Abbey, home and family seat of the 15th Duke of Bedford. Initially, the focus was to be on the risk posed by the maturing tree stock, and balancing this against the need to maintain a high amount of tree cover due to the historical landscape nature of the site. However, following initial surveys, the focus encompassed consideration of the ecosystem services provided by the tree collection, and how these can be used to further demonstrate the value of the gardens.
Challenges
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The gardens have been closed since 2019, with no prior formal record of tree inspections. When open, the gardens receive a large number of visitors - around 124,000 in 2005. With paths, benches and grass areas, in close proximity to large mature and veteran trees, assessment was needed with a balanced approach to assessing the risk. This tree data was comprehensive and could have been used to generate a very rough estimate of the values for some of the ecosystem services provided by the tree stock.
Our Approach
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TMA identified that there was an opportunity to collect additional data at the next full tree survey to provide a vastly refined estimate of the benefits provided. The survey included the risk assessment of the trees as usual, but the extra data for each tree collected meant that a full suite of ecosystem services could be reported on, and with greater accuracy than simply importing old data.
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Outcomes
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Following the survey, the output survey data was imported into the i-Tree software to provide the ecosystem service analysis. The data collected meant that TMA were able to report on:
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Tree species, genera, and life stage diversity,
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Remaining contribution,
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Leaf area by species,
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Oxygen production total (and by species),
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Air pollution removal,
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Carbon storage,
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Carbon sequestration annual total (and by species),
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Stormwater runoff avoidance,
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Replacement cost,
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And amenity value,
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Furthermore, data modelling meant that we could provide forecasts on how these values were likely to change over the next 30 years, and provide tree stock-specific estimates for damage that could be caused by novel pests and diseases, should outbreaks occur.
​Services Provided
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iTree Eco
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Tree Condition Survey