Woodland diversity urged to aid nature and climate

CAMPAIGNERS HAVE urged a move from single-species tree plantations and clear felling forests to “regenerative forestry” to help nature, the climate and people.

A report by the Soil Association, which supports sustainable farming and land use, backs the planting of more diverse forests containing a mixture of species and putting more trees into farmland.

The charity highlights that 99 per cent of plantation forests and 93 per cent of native woodland are “not in good ecological condition”.

But more effective integration of farming and forestry, increasing the number of tree species in planting and protecting soils would maximise the benefits forests hold for storing carbon, providing habitats for wildlife and supporting livelihoods and people’s wellbeing, the Soil Association said.

New forests must be established with thought for their location and the different tree species they contain, and they need to link up with other habitats to help wildlife, the charity said.

Forests cover around 13 per cent of the UK but the advisory Climate Change Committee has said that needs to rise to 19 per cent by 2050 as part of efforts to tackle greenhouse gas emissions – and the Government has announced plans to significantly boost tree planting.

In 2019, the UK produced 11m cubic metres of timber but fourfifths of the country’s consumption (81 per cent) was met by imports, imposing a huge footprint on other countries, including those with poor environmental protections, the report said.

Soil Association senior forestry policy adviser Clive Thomas said: “We welcome the Government’s commitment to a large-scale programme of tree planting matched by widespread public support.”

But he said: “Government needs to move beyond the tree planting rhetoric to support a more integrated approach to land use in the UK.”