I was quite taken aback.  I’d always associated the term “desertification”  with virgin, old growth forests in tropical regions of the world.  I’ve seen it in Australia, where I grew up, and I’ve seen it in Malaysia and Thailand many years ago.  I never thought of that term ‘desertification’ applying to conifer plantations in damp old Ireland.  Yet I could see how, in this young lady’s mind, that’s how it appeared. She’s articulate, intelligent and bright.  She’s not an environmentalist or a ‘green’.  She’s not a scientific person. She wouldn’t know that much about forestry, apart form what she sees in her area. But there it was, – her word, her observation.

I thought about her on the way home. The trees were planted and left to grow away, slowly changing the landscape over forty years or so. To someone who grew up in such an area, – that’s what a forest is. And then whamo, just as the trees reach a relatively impressive size,  along come big machines and the rapid process of “desertification” occurs, very often on a large scale. Her landscape is dramatically changed very suddenly and she feels the impact of this “desertification”.  If she chooses to remain living in the area this young lady  will be an elderly lady before she ever sees big trees there again.  Kind of sad, I thought.  Big trees are just so inspiring to be around. The only big trees around Drumshanbo, and indeed most parts of Cavan/Leitrim, are occasional single trees and ones in the hedgerows.  No big trees in the forests.  European foresters reading this post will no doubt also think that a strange concept.

Anyone can see by looking at this image that, done this way, plantations will never become a forest. This is what my young friend meant when she used the term 'desertification'.

If Copenhagen was less than what was aimed for, one thing that stood out above all else was that we must preserve forests.  Not just virgin, tropical forests that are so under threat, – but all forests.  Sequestration of carbon seems to be one powerful way of stemming climate change and forests do that so well.

The main reaction from here, reflected in the media that I read following Copenhagen, was that there was a clammer for the Government to provide more forestry grants; about the re-aforestation grant coming to an end and how will we manage to keep forest land as forest land without it. (Umm, one way seems fairly obvious.)   But the message from Copenhagen wasn’t that ‘forestry’ as a land use must be preserved, – that is, the practice of establishing forests and then cutting them down. What they said was ‘forests’ must be preserved.  So if the only forests we have are even aged, single species plantations, – then that’s what we must preserve, surely, in order to be part of the solution to this world-effecting problem/crisis. Some readers might find the thought of preserving conifer plantations as a fairly depressing thought, but………

Luckily the plantations that we have are ideally suited to being transformed through skillful management and time, into something quite different. Permanent forests that contain big trees and that produce quality timbers, ad infinitum.  That’s our good fortune, should we opt to grasp it.

This was a single species plantation, in Austria. Now look at the beauty of it, and the timber it is still producing. No need to cut it all down. The worlds leading experts are telling us: |Forests must be preserved. Producing quality timber does not have to conflict with forest preservation. Done this way the plantation has been allowed to evolve into a forest, with its unique ability of carbon sequestration.

My friend Rory and I doing the tourist thing at the famous Little Mermaid

I didn’t know before I went that Copenhagen is famous for its cycling. Cycle paths were planned in at a very early stage and 36% of the population cycle to work or place of education. The Danish Government are aiming for 50% by the year 2015. Think of it!  And the cycle paths aren’t just a painted line on the road.  Most of them are separated from the road by a small curbstone and the pedestrian areas also have this little curb. So even though cyclists, pedestrians and cars travel right alongside each other, there doesn’t seem to be a problem.   The car dirvers have so much respect for the cyclists.  It took me a little while to gain confidence amongst so much bicycle traffic. But before too long I was whizzing along confidently with all the thousands of other cyclists in the city.

One day we put the bikes on the train, –  very easy and commonplace, – and then we cycled out to Jaegersborg Dyrehaven, a forest park north of Copenhagen.

Jaegersborg Dyrehaven translates as The Deer Garden and there are about 2000 deer living peacefully on the 11 square kilometre estate parkland.

Here are a few of the 2000 dear at Dyrehaven grazing peacefully in the forest

This would normally be a foresters nightmare, but Dyrehaven is maintained as a natural forest park, with the emphasis on tourism  over commercial forestry.  However of course new trees need to come in so as to perpetuate the forest. Some areas had been planted and were deer fenced.

New planting beside a forest block is protected by a deer fence.

In other areas the forest block itself had been fenced, including some neighbouring grass land so that the forest could regenerate and expand naturally. I thought it was great to see examples of both being tried.

Some oak, beech and minor species regenerating naturally behind the deer fence.

Old trees are felled only if they are a danger to the public, so there is plenty of dead and dying old trees adding their unique atmosphere to the healthy forest. It was a Saturday when we were there and many people were out enjoying the peaceful, natural setting.

Children climbing and playing on upturned old tree roots

I loved to see the huge amount of dead wood standing and lying around where the big old trees had fallen.  In these ways the park took on a truly natural and quite magical character.

Here's me sitting in an area of dead and decaying beech trees. - A haven for insects and birds

I was blessed lucky having such a great tourist guide in my friend Rory, who has lived in Copenhagen for nearly twenty years.  That made all the sightseeing easy and a lot of fun. We spent some time wandering through Christiania where people have been forging out another way of life in the city centre over the last thirty years.

The lovely tranquil setting of Christiania, right in the heart of the city

It was impressive to see how nature and home made houses have been allowed the freedom to remain, right close to the centre of Copenhagen. Wandering along the unmade road beside the river I could have easily imagined I was way out in the countryside again.