An endangered, ancient rainforest is set to be restored with 100,000 new trees across 50 hectares in north Devon.
Temperate rainforests are lush habitats of ancient oak, birch, ash, pine and hazel, with high humidity and low temperatures.
They are one of the most diverse in Britain, adorned with varieties of rare ferns, mosses and lichens, and home to pine martens and stoats. They also lock up carbon dioxide, helping to offset climate change.
A temperate rainforest once blanketed most of western Britain and Ireland, but today this has been reduced to small patches, due to air pollution, invasive species and diseases such as ash dieback.
The habitat now covers just 1% of Britain, with rare specialist plants like Devon Whitebeam threatened with extinction, the National Trust said.
This winter, the Trust will plant 100,000 trees across Arlington Court, Exmoor, and Woolacombe and Hartland, with more planting to follow in the coming years.
Image: The Trust recruited community volunteers to help plant the trees. Pic: National Trust Images/Trevor Ray Hart
Image: 50,000 trees are being planted at Arlington Court in Devon this winter. Pic: National Trust Images/Trevor Ray Hart
Bryony Wilde, project manager for the National Trust at Arlington Court, said: "These trees will not only provide a habitat for wildlife but also fix carbon into the soil, purify air and water, and provide a place for people to enjoy.
"Simple grassland fields with little nature value are now being transformed into a dynamic mosaic of habitats to create a bigger, better, more connected landscape.
"We're planting tens of thousands of trees, creating wood pasture, tree shelterbelts, hedgerows, orchards, and species-rich grassland as well as rewetting the land - all to help restore natural process and help nature flourish."
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player 5:25 Britain's lost rainforests
Among those planting trees at all sites will be community groups, including local primary schools.
It has been funded by donations from the Trust's Plant a Tree fund, HSBC UK, and Utility Warehouse.
The Trust has completed 51 similar projects using cash raised from its fund. It aims to plant and establish 20 million trees by 2030.