Britain, I am fond of saying, is a cultural landscape. Farming created it, pushing back the primeval woodland to grow crops and keep livestock. By Roman times, most of Britain was sparsely wooded, save for some areas like the Weald. Farming maintainsthis landscape, from the Essex wheat fields to the Scottish Highlands. Take away the plough or the cow, and where trees will grow it all goes back to woodland. Nice, but nothing like as diverse or valuable for wildlife.
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