Drought stress adding to challenge of caring for Sherwood Forest’s iconic Major Oak
Image credit: Chloe Ryder.
Pioneering techniques and technology are being used by Britain’s largest conservation charity to deliver bespoke care to one of the nation’s most famous and beloved trees.
But the recent heatwave is bringing an additional challenge as attempts continue to address complex issues affecting the tree’s health.
The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) is working closely with some of the UK’s leading tree and soil health specialists to help the Major Oak, in Sherwood Forest, Nottinghamshire.
The tree, estimated to be around 1,000 years old, has a long association with the legend of Robin Hood and his band of outlaws, and is reputed to have been a hiding place for them in the forest.
Over the past 200 years, millions of visitors from all over the world have travelled to Sherwood to admire the Major Oak.
But its popularity has contributed to compaction of the sandy acidic soil around its base, caused by decades of people walking – or even riding and driving – up to the tree until the installation of a fence in the mid-1970s.
The fence helped to ease pressure on the soil, but not the ongoing threat to its health due to the compaction, which has continued to restrict the flow of water, oxygen, and the availability of nutrients to the tree’s roots.
In addition, recent ‘ground-truthing’ of a subterranean root radar survey, which had estimated the extent of tree’s root system, has discovered the alarming reality of a much-reduced network of roots in poor condition.
Analysis of the roots has revealed a lack of vital interaction with fungi and other organisms.
In 2023, the charity began a phased root recovery programme, approved by Natural England, the government’s regulatory agency for the natural environment, with the aim of sustaining the Major Oak for as long as possible.
But the warmest June ever recorded in the UK and weeks without significant rainfall in 2025 have added to the urgency of the work already being done for the tree to reverse the impact of compaction.
A watering system has been regularly deployed by staff at the reserve in recent weeks, in response to information provided by technology measuring moisture in the soil.
Hollie Drake, RSPB Senior Site Manager for Sherwood Forest, said: “The responsibility of caring for such an iconic tree is a huge privilege, but it is also a significant challenge.
“The Major Oak has an unrivalled cultural heritage and means so much to our community and the county of Nottinghamshire, quite apart from its immense value to nature here at Sherwood.
“We know there is very strong feeling and emotion generated by the tree, and many thousands of people around the world will be interested to know how it is doing. Our staff and volunteers absolutely share that deep affection.”
Chloe Ryder, Estate Operations Manager for the RSPB at Sherwood Forest, who has been leading the work, explained: “One of our objectives for the hundreds of Ancient oaks here at Sherwood Forest is to keep them living for as long as we possibly can, while creating optimal conditions for younger oaks to live well into their Ancient and Veteran stages.
“For the Major Oak in particular, we have been sourcing the best available scientific advice and evidence from tree and soil health experts to deliver a plan to enhance the health of the tree, if that is even possible at this stage.
“But this considerable task is not made any easier by climate change.
“We can already see that climate change is having a devastating effect on the natural world, and the warning from the Met Office that extreme weather is the ‘new normal’ for the UK gives us real cause for concern.
“The Major Oak has experienced three consecutive summers with prolonged periods of drought during its growing season, and unprecedented high temperatures of 40oC in 2022.
“This year, once again, its leaf coverage demonstrates the massive stress that the tree is under. A tree this old, with such a complex history, faces gargantuan challenges as it is, which are being continually exacerbated by very hot and very dry summers.”
Aside from helping the tree cope with the effect of drought, the RSPB had already begun to address the issue of soil compaction around its base.
During the past two winters, RSPB staff and volunteers, working with Hampshire-based soil health agency SoilBioLab, have been painstakingly breaking up the tightly packed soil from around sections of the tree’s compromised roots.
Organic material gathered from within the forest is added to feed the soil and stimulate biological activity before the earth is replaced over the roots. The work is all done by hand to minimise the risk of any damage to the tree.
As part of the root restoration work, vegetation within the Major Oak’s fenced enclosure is being left to complete its full growth cycle. Established plants will help to naturally break up the soil, as well as to increase biodiversity and ecological complexity around the tree.
Grasses and other plants will retain moisture, transfer nutrients, and attract pollinating insects. Decaying wood, which is integral to the ecosystem of Sherwood, is also being used to try and enhance biological activity in the soil.
A young oak tree, felled for conservation reasons, has been laid in the enclosure to decay over time, releasing vital nutrients into the ground as it breaks down and provides a habitat for a variety of wildlife, including the rare saproxylic invertebrates which have earned the forest its protected status as a Site of Special Scientific Interest since 1954.
Monitoring the results of the work is vital to the outcome of the programme, so the charity has trialled soil sensors to check temperature and moisture content in the ground.
Data from these devices is provided in real time, helping to inform the management of the tree.
In partnership with the Woodland Trust and Dr Andy Hirons, a Senior Lecturer in Arboriculture at University Centre Myerscough, the RSPB has attached dendrometers to the tree to measure its growth and shrinkage relative to water uptake.
Louise Hackett, Treescape Development Lead for Sherwood at the Woodland Trust, said: “The dendrometers are providing unique and real-time information about the condition of the Major Oak and how it is responding to challenges, such as the long dry spells we are currently experiencing, as well as to the efforts being made to help it cope with these challenges.
“Everything we are learning from the Major Oak right now is furthering our understanding of ancient trees, which will help us to protect other ancient and veteran trees in the future.”
Hollie Drake said: “While no one can definitively say how long it will continue to live, the Major Oak will remain standing in the heart of Sherwood and forever be part of the legend of Robin Hood.”
