AN ecologist has said conservation will be more difficult if the New Forest and Dorset’s woodlands are broken up in a government sell-off.

Dr Anita Diaz from Bournemouth University said if land is fragmented, the expertise and habitats will be fragmented too.

The government is proposing to sell off land owned the Forestry Commission in an attempt to raise around £470 million.

That includes 86,000 acres managed locally, taking in the New Forest, Ringwood Forest, Wareham Forest and Shillingstone Forest.

A national consultation was launched this week.

Dr Diaz, a senior lecturer in ecology who has studied the Purbeck heathlands, said: “The Forestry Commission has a large pool of people that really understand forest management and how it fits into the whole landscape.

“They know how to manage heathland, and do work like |butterfly surveys or build bat boxes.

“They are also used to working with a range of other people including volunteers – that’s a big plus.

“It’s going to be hard work for a small organisation that takes on the land to be able to maintain that level of expertise.

“And by nibbling away areas of forest, you fragment it, and it could become harder for the wildlife to move from one space to another.”

The Forestry Commission owns 18 per cent of the woodland in England and was formed in 1919 mainly to provide trees for industry.

The government has pledged to sell 15 per cent of its land by |2015, and wants to sell the other 85 per cent, depending on the public consultation.

It said: “Robust measures will remain to preserve the public |and environmental benefits of woods and forests, under any |new ownership arrangements.

“Tree felling is controlled |through the licensing system managed by the Forestry Commission and any proposal for development will continue to be subject |to the planning regime.”