New woods thin on the ground

NEWLY released planting figures remain extremely disappointing, says the Woodland Trust, signalling a need for fresh thinking on getting more trees in the ground.

Forestry Commission statistics for 2016-17 show that just 7,000 hectares of woodland were created in the UK, including barely 1,000 hectares in England. While this is a small increase on last year, it is still far below the commission’s target set in 2013 for 5,000 hectares to be planted each year in England alone.

Last year the Woodland Trust planted 2.2million trees, equivalent to 850 hectares.

Austin Brady, the trust’s director of conservation, said: “We need to act now to secure the proven benefits to society of more planting, whether in terms of better public health, reducing soil erosion, tackling flooding or boosting air and water quality.” Samantha Herbert