A magnificent veteran...

So far we have recorded and tagged over 400 veteran trees at Chatsworth, ranging from those that are just reaching the final stage of their life (a stage which can last several hundred years) to those that are dead, but still providing valuable habitat for a wide range of associated insects, lichens, birds and mammals, including roosting tawny owls and nesting wrens.

Ancient trees are full of nooks and crannies, holes and dead and rotting wood. As the years go by they provide the perfect homes for thousands of species of plants, animals and fungi, including many rare and threatened species. Clusters of ancient trees are even more important because together all the trees will offer a really wide range of niche homes for lots of different specialist species in just one small area.

What makes ancient trees unique as a wildlife habitat, is the exceptionally species rich communities associated with wood decay and the bare surfaces of trunks, bough and roots.This twin-stemmed oak is a particularly fine example of a veteran, and is the largest tree we have found so far during our survey, with a girth of 11.65m.

It has significant areas of red rot, hollowing stems and gnarled bark but is still relatively vigorous, with a well developed crown of healthy foliage. It may be up to 1000 years old, but is likely to survive for another few hundred years, gradually getting smaller in stature as large limbs drop off and the crown gradually retracts. The oldest trees are usually small and squat, often hollow and look as though they belong in fairy tales.

'10,000 oaks of 100 years old are not a substitute for one 500 year old oak'
Oliver Rackham, conservation author and historian

'Ancient trees are precious. There is little else on Earth that plays host to such a rich community of life within a single living organism.'
Sir David Attenborough