Rising temperatures are threatening UK trees - but these species could save our forests

While the UK’s warmest summer on record has lead to a spectacular display of autumn colours in 2025, generally our trees just aren’t coping.

Recent heatwaves have led to trees dying, including 460 in the record-breaking heat of 2022 alone at the Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew.

Kevin Masters, Head of Tree Collections there said: “Something that would have happened once in a decade is going to happen every three or four years.”

Through a detailed assessment of how different species would perform under future conditions, Forestry England — who manage publicly owned forests in England — have devised an inventory of trees, external expected to cope better with rising temperatures, changing rainfall, and emerging pests and diseases.

Containing both native and non-native species, the aim is to create stronger, more diverse forests that can adapt to our shifting climate over the coming decades.