In the 11th article in the Wilding for Conservation series, Aljos Farjon reviews the debate around the conditions required for successful establishment of oak trees, and explores the potential for wild oak-dominated woodland to persist in lowland Britain.
In and around Greater London there are many commons, most of them reduced in area from their 19th-century extent since grazing and other uses of the land by the commoners ceased. Encroaching urbanisation along with agriculture and forestry are the main causes of their fragmentation and reduced acreage.