Thinkpieces
Long-form writing that steps back from the day-to-day to ask searching questions about trees, woods and how we will manage them in future. These pieces sit between my books and academic papers on one side, and my news and book updates on the other.
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UK tree planting targets demand new funding approaches. While past forestry tax relief led to disastrous monocultures, a modern Woodland Resilience Tax Credit offers a smarter path. By tying fiscal rewards directly to verified ecological management, we can mobilise long-term private capital for…
In this two-part thinkpiece series, Gabriel Hemery explores whether the UK needs a national woodland register and management planning duties. The series examines how policy can bridge information gaps, safeguard continuity across changes of ownership, and recognise deliberate non-intervention as…
With UK woodland registration incomplete and management records dispersed, this thinkpiece explores whether a dedicated woodland register could bridge the information gap. It examines four policy tiers—from basic contacts to management duties—weighing potential benefits for landscape-scale action…
The UKs forestry plans assume one climate future: hotter and drier. But an AMOC collapse could bring the opposite, colder, stormier winters instead. This thinkpiece tests both scenarios against three common woodland types, commercial Sitka, ancient semi-natural woodland, and new farm planting, and…
UK forestry faces dual climate futures: a hotter, drier scenario or a potentially cooler one due to the collapse of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC). Recent research suggests the latter is increasingly plausible, necessitating a shift in species selection, provenance…
This thinkpiece explores the interconnected risks facing human civilisation, particularly in the context of ecological collapse and national security. It emphasises that risks such as leadership failure, infrastructure fragility, pandemics, and artificial intelligence are interlinked and drive…
In early 2026, the Cabinet Office released a summary of a JIO national security assessment on global ecosystem collapse. In this speculative foresight thinkpiece, silvologist Gabriel Hemery explores the redacted layers—examining how British forests shift from passive assets to critical biological…
I believe 500,000 ‘Corner Copses’ could drive Britain’s land use transition. As the country grapples with the trilemma of food security, climate mitigation, and biodiversity recovery, discussions on land use policies often stall on a zero-sum debate: food production versus land availability.
Could artificial intelligence help anticipate the long-term challenges facing Britain’s forests more continuously?