Ideal areas for tree planting are mapped
TREE planting in the South West and beyond has become a key element of the drive to tackle climate change and boost biodiversity.
But conservationists say crucial decisions about what you plant, and where, need to be made to ensure the maximum environmental benefits.
New maps, which include swathes of the Westcountry, now reveal how the UK could deliver the two billion trees recommended by government advisors, analysing soil types, habitat and taking into account protected conservation areas in order to support woodland wildlife and lock up carbon.
Analysis by the RSPB suggests where new woodlands could be created to have the “biggest impact on climate change and reducing carbon, whilst also being in harmony with nature”. It warns that planting trees in the wrong areas could hinder the UK’s efforts to tackle the climate crisis and harm some wildlife.
In 2019, the UK Committee on Climate Change, advisors to governments across the UK, recommended that two billion new trees and a 40 per cent increase in woodland would be needed to help the UK reach net zero by 2050. Combined with decarbonising the energy sector and changes in transport and other industries, more trees and woods will play a crucial role in how the UK reduces carbon emissions, it said.
The RSPB argues that the scale of land use change presents both opportunities as well as real risks for nature.
Scientists at the RSPB compared soil types to assess the climate impacts of woodland creation. Some soils are rich in carbon and although new woodlands could be created on these, there is a danger of losing more carbon from the soil than new trees would absorb, at least over the first few decades. Woodland creation on mineral soils, with lower levels of carbon, pose a lower risk for the climate.
The new maps reveal that the UK holds enough lower-risk soil to meet the Climate Change Committee’s most ambitious woodland expansion targets. However, the study warns that if the woodland expansion extends into the higher-risk soils area then the governments of the UK must adopt a strategic approach if they are to avoid increasing carbon emissions.
More work is needed as even in lower risk areas any woodland expansion should consider the impact on existing species and habitats that may be harmed by certain types of woodland creation.
The study also looked at the differences in carbon sequestration made by different types of woodland. It found that, over the long-term, native broadleaf trees absorb and continue to hold more carbon and benefit wildlife than some fast-growing conifer species such as Sitka spruce.
Tom Lancaster, the RSPB’s head of land policy said: “Today just 13 per cent of the UK is covered by woodland, and new woodlands could play a key role in tackling the climate and nature crises.
“For this to happen we need to ensure that we plant the right trees in the right places.”
To find out more about the UK carbon maps visit: https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/1ea3da7bc65847ddb087bb17121c2a91