Scotland leading the way on the tree planting front

The UK Government insists it remains vital for Britain to produce more home-grown timber

The climate change emergency has been pushed down the list of global priorities during the coronavirus crisis, but the UK Government has insisted it will not lose sight of the need to increase tree planting and woodland creation.

In the week Westminster Environment Minister Lord Goldsmith told an online conference on woodland creation it is vital the UK produces more home-grown timber, it was revealed Scotland planted almost 35,000 hectares (ha) of trees in the last four years, the bulk of it on privately-owned land.

According to the 2019 Forest

Research report, Scotland planted more trees than anywhere else in the UK, helping take the area of tree cover to just under 1.5 million ha. More than 70% of the trees have been planted on privatelyowned land and the average area of new planting is 24ha.

Commenting on the report, Malcolm Young of SAC Consulting’s woodland team highlighted the high market values of farms being sold with tree-planting potential and suggested farmers could capitalise by taking a different approach.

“Typically, these farms are being sold due to retirement from farming, with the land often being purchased for forestry investment,” he said.

“In my opinion, this is the result of a very binary view – forestry or farming, the sentiment of selling out rather than buying in to the opportunity that trees create.”

Mr Young insisted the two land uses could sit comfortably together.

“By establishing well-designed timber or carbon crops on part of the farm, farmers will be in a position to reap the benefits of tree planting, while maintaining control of their land.

“Added to this there is the incentive of cash-boost from grants, growing an investment planned for retirement income and/or succession, the downscaling of farming enterprise, shelter belts, flood mitigation, shooting, and carbon footprint reduction or offsetting.

Mr Young said SAC Consulting, part of Scotland’s Rural College, has been involved in 1,000ha of planting over the last two seasons, and proposals have ranged from small-scale woods designed for shelter to schemes involving larger areas of hill ground where timber is seen as a better use of the land.

He added: “Based on the inquiries we receive from farm and landowners in

Scotland, the interest in planting trees reflects a growing awareness among farmers of the contribution woods and forests can make to farm businesses, for example for livestock shelter which reduces feed cost and keeps animals in better condition; better utilisation of ground with limited agricultural value, succession planning, diversification or reducing diffuse pollution.”

The Forest Research report surmises that 51% of UK woodland area is planted to conifers and the rest to a range of broadleaved trees, with 74% of Scotland planted to conifers, 58% of which is Sitka spruce, followed by Scots pine at 17.7%.

Meanwhile, the forestry lobbying organisation, Confor, announced the winner of its #TheFutureisForestry video award is Dan Haslam of Scottish Woodlands, who put a forestry and wood spin on Monty Python’s famous sketch, What Have the Romans Ever Done for Us?

Timber production is seen as a good option on hilly ground.