Devon Wildlife Trust wants to double size of county's rainforests

A wildlife charity has launched a campaign that aims to double the size of temperate rainforests in Devon.

The Devon Wildlife Trust said the rainforests - located in isolated pockets of Dartmoor National Park - cover less than 1% of the county.

The trust is petitioning the government to incentivise landowners to return suitable land to rainforest habitat.

The forests are considered "extremely vulnerable" due to overgrazing and the impact of invasive species.

Located in steep areas of high humidity and rainfall, temperate rainforests are distinguishable from other woodland due the mosses and lichens that hang from the trees.

Harry Barton, from the trust, said the aim was to reconnect the broken fragments of forest.

He said: "We want to double the size of them and we want to interconnect them.

"That sounds like a huge challenge, and in many ways it is, but by doubling the area of these rainforests, we'd still only have a small fragment of what we once had.

"If we could increase the size, if we can interconnect them, so the species can hop from one place to another, then the chances of these rainforests surviving into the long term against the ravages of climate change are much greater."

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