Prince visits CO2 lab in woodland

The Prince of Wales has been learning how a woodland research laboratory could help meet the future challenges of climate change.

The Prince was visiting the University of Birmingham’s Institute of Forest Research (BIFOR) and its Free-air Carbon Dioxide Enrichment (Face) experiment facility yesterday.

The site was established in 2014 with a £15million donation to provide a research setting of gantry towers in an oak forest, 80-90ft high.

Unveiling a plaque at the site, the Prince quipped: “You’re not going to put it at the top of the tree, are you?”

Carbon dioxide is pumped up into the canopy and measured at both ground and leaf level.

The experiment aims to model the effect of CO2 levels based on projected assumptions of levels in 2050, using the data to understand climate changes and how forestry might be able to help the situation.