Objectives and priorities of nature conservation in British woodland

Abstract

Nature conservation has been defined variously as an attitude of mind and a form of land management, and of course it is both. It is an expression of concern that man should have a sensitive relationship with his environment which can be sustained indefinitely, but it must be expressed practically in the way in which land (i.e. soils and vegetation) and populations of individual species are utilised. Other attitudes to and forms of utilisation are encountered which range from the short-term materialism of exploitation to the long-term view of conservation, which tempers materialism with scientific, aesthetic and spiritual considerations.