ABOVEInthe'80s,only
a fewisolatedtrees,
suchasthisancient
beech,punctuated
theopenexpanseof
farmland.Today,the
landisa blendofold
andyoung– thetwisted
trunksofveteran
treescontrastwiththe
stands of new growth.LEFTInrecentyears,
thetreeshavestarted
thenaturalprocessof
droppingbranches.The
woodpilescreatedinthe
processprovideshelter
forinvertebratesand
idealhabitatforautumn-
sprouting fungi(left).PHOTO STORY CORNISH WOODLAND
76 BBC Wildlife May 2020