Sir, – I certainly strongly support Una Mullally’s appeal to plant more deciduous trees rather than monoculture sitka (“Sitka spruce dominates Irish ‘forests’ – this is both wrong and dangerous”, Opinion & Analysis, July 25th).
Given climate change and the fairly limited number of native species, I feel that there is a need to include in such a programme non-native species such as sweet chestnut, which will thrive in hotter temperatures, as well as species such as beech and lime, with a proven ability to thrive in our climate.
Heavy reliance on any one species is dangerous. Dutch elm disease and ash dieback have severely impacted the Irish countryside and should force us to concentrate on maximising biodiversity. – Yours, etc,
JULIAN
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GAISFORD-ST LAWRENCE,
Coil Dubh,
Co Kildare.
Sir, – What was the purpose in putting quote marks around the word “forests” in Una Mullally’s recent article and its accompanying online headline? A forest, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, is a “large area of land that is thickly covered by trees”, irrespective of whether those trees are “native”, “naturalised”, naturally regenerated or strategically planted. – Yours, etc,
MIA GALLAGHER,
Inchicore,
Dublin 8.
