Policy paper

Natural England and Forestry Commission: Our position on woodland creation

Published 8 December 2023

Applies to England

• Publication for Northern Ireland
• Publication for Scotland
• Publication for Wales

Purpose

The purpose of this page is to set out a shared Forestry Commission and Natural England position on woodland creation in England.

Vision

Government has a target to increase tree cover from 14.5% in 2023 to 16.5% by 2050. Forestry Commission and Natural England’s joint vision is to create a more resilient, nature-rich and productive landscape framed by a diverse range of forests, woodlands, copses, hedges and trees outside woods including treescapes in our towns and cities.

We want to increase tree cover to help nature recovery, to sequester carbon from the atmosphere and to help reduce our reliance on other countries to supply the timber we use to build homes, make furniture, packaging and paper, and to generate heat and power. We want to help landowners plant trees and create woodlands that can be enjoyed by more people and provide mental and physical health benefits to a larger proportion of society.

This is an ambitious undertaking and to achieve it we will need to use a wide range of approaches. We want to help owners and managers create a landscape that contains a variety of woodlands planted with a purpose. Well-designed woodlands that contain many tree species can provide a wide range of benefits. In some case owners may be particularly interested in nature recovery or particularly interested in timber production or carbon sequestration. In these cases we recognise that a narrower range of species, be they native or exotic, might deliver the results the landowner wants more effectively.

We also recognise, and financially support, different approaches to creating new woodlands. Conventional tree planting is a good way to create a closed canopy woodland quickly and reliably. Natural colonisation can increase woodland cover and provide valuable habitat for plants, insects and birds. This approach can work well when deployed close to existing woodlands. It can buffer and reconnect fragments of ancient woodland and provide valuable habitat for wildlife.

Where we see opportunities to plant trees and create woodland

Planting trees and creating woodlands has the potential to increase the natural capital value of many sites across England. We use the ‘precautionary principle’ for woodland creation that is designed to protect priority habitats and the species they support. Most woodland creation in England is reliant on public funding and grant conditions ensure that new woodlands comply with the UK Forestry Standard (UKFS).

This standard is based on a series of internationally agreed criteria and indicators designed to protect and enhance biodiversity, soil, water, landscape, and the historic environment as well as to increase carbon stocks and the production function of woodlands. New woodlands planted in accordance with UKFS result in environmental net gain and provide a range of public and societal benefits.

We encourage woodland creation proposals on sites that:

• link fragments of existing woodland in the landscape
• buffer ancient woodlands
• add resilience to existing sites and landscapes
• are close to towns, villages and cities
• are suited to supporting woodlands capable of growing good quality timber, quickly
• are on agricultural land classes 3a, 3b, 4 and 5
• can help improve water quality and reduce flooding
• are not on priority habitat
• are not on peat greater than 30cm in depth and hydrologically linked surrounding areas

We recognise that woodland creation is a demand led activity and is more likely to happen where it is an economically viable proposition or fits with other activities being carried out on the land holding.

There will be some land that will not normally be suitable for trees such as areas of high archaeological interest, high grade soils and areas of nature conservation interest. These are not no-go areas as there will be occasions when trees and woodland designs of certain types may be acceptable. For instance, agroforestry in areas of high-grade soil and gill woodlands in upland areas with bird interest.

Trees are highly valued by society for their amenity value. All types of woodland have the potential to provide high quality amenity benefits. The extent to which they do is more a function of location, design and infrastructure than species choice.

Local Nature Recovery Strategies (LNRS) will be an important tool in identifying those places where new woodland will deliver nature recovery ambitions and will be the mechanism by which the principles set out above will be applied.

Woodland types that we want more of

Although all woodlands can produce some timber for use as fuel and fibre and are able to benefit wildlife, different types can be optimised to produce specific benefits for the owner and to society. The following is a description of the types of tree cover we envisage being created in England as part of the tree cover target delivery. We do not want to introduce targets or limits for any of these woodland types and value them all equally.

Commercial tree plantations

England provides just 6% of the timber consumed in the UK each year and we import 81% of our timber from overseas. Offshoring this proportion of our timber production is undesirable for several economic and environmental reasons given the forecast growth in global timber demand and decrease in timber production in some parts of the world. Non-native conifer species grow well in the UK and timber from these species underpins the sawmilling and wood processing sector that contributes £2 billion Gross Value Added to the UK economy each year. Whilst they may have some biodiversity interest, particularly when compared with improved pasture or lower grade arable land, they are not a primary mechanism for the delivery of nature recovery.

The drivers for these woodlands will be commercial, driven by investment specifically aimed at timber assets.

Wildlife Rich woodlands for biodiversity

Defra’s Apex target is species recovery. New woods carefully designed, which expand, buffer and link existing high quality native woodlands are vital for nature recovery. This category also picks up the types of low-density shrub establishment that has been created to good effect in the upland margins. Whilst designed primarily for nature recovery, woodlands in this category may still provide a return for landowners through natural capital and in some cases timber sales and carbon.

The LNRS will identify those places where we should be targeting this woodland to help deliver a coherent Nature Recovery Network (NRN).

The driver for this woodland will be green finance payments for ecosystem services and strategic solutions like biodiversity net gain, nature disclosure offsetting and publicly funded schemes for the delivery of nature recovery.

Wildlife Rich woodlands for biodiversity is defined by The Environmental Targets (Biodiversity) (England) Regulations 2022.

Woodlands for climate change mitigation

Net Zero is a key target for the UK government. Without accelerated climate change mitigation it is certain that the climate will warm further with potentially catastrophic impacts on habitats and biodiversity. Some of our trees and woodlands are already changing their phenology and growth rate as a result of climate change.

We want to encourage people to plant woodlands designed to absorb carbon quickly and increase the carbon stock of the landscape over the long term.

We want to enable more owners to benefit from carbon markets and we are working to further improve the Woodland Carbon Code quality assurance standard for woodland creation projects in the UK.

Multi-functional woodlands

We encourage the establishment of woodland with a mix of species, some conifer, some hardwood, well designed and with good silviculture practices in place. These woods will be productive, delivering a range of products that can be capitalised upon including timber but also natural capital such as biodiversity, carbon and access.

Woods of this type are good for nature, help to address timber shortages and can attract private finance from businesses interested in investing in natural capital outcomes.

The drivers for this type of woodland will be landowners looking to increase long term assets and derive a portfolio income from their woodlands going forward. The return needs to be sufficient to a business case for changing land use more appealing than it is from scheme funding alone.

Trees outside of woods

Individual trees in our landscapes, cities and towns deliver vital services for society. Ash die back and, before that, Dutch Elm disease and intensification of agriculture mean that our landscapes are being depleted of trees. Trees in our towns, schools and hedgerows provide vital services for society, cooling streets and providing visual amenity and wellbeing outcomes. The Defra Nature for Climate (NFC) has started to address this through the Local Authority Tree Fund, but we want to see mechanisms that encourage establishment of trees outside of woods expanded.

The drivers will be varied but will in nearly all cases require some form of public sector support as the benefits are mostly societal and difficult for landowners to capitalise on even though they may provide measurable financial benefits.

Agroforestry

Building on the theme of trees outside of woods a wide uptake of agroforestry has the potential to see an increase in tree cover across our landscapes using productive land that would potentially not otherwise be available for increasing tree cover. Agroforestry has the potential to improve or diversify agricultural productivity at the same time as increasing tree cover and delivering natural capital benefits for society.

Agroforestry is a broad category that includes wood pasture, silvopasture and alley cropping. Some silvicultural systems such as short rotation forestry and short rotation coppice can also be used to graze sheep or cows and provide shelter to poultry.

Drivers here may be varied but predominantly will be part of farm diversification. There is a role for the public sector in helping with the communication, education and pump-priming of this land use change.

Resilience

Regardless of the type of tree cover being established or managed it is vital that resilience to pests, diseases and climate change is a central feature of operational design and planning. Exactly how resilient design manifests itself will depend on the tree cover being established and owner objectives. Where the primary purpose of woodland creation is strong growth, rapid carbon sequestration and timber production it will be necessary to use tree species and provenances predicted to sustain (and enhance) productivity over the next century.

As with any woodland creation endeavour, it is essential that planting material is sourced responsibly to minimise biosecurity risks. This will encompass continued use of long-established exotics and some novel species, selected for their good timber and growth characteristics. Trees that remain healthy, vigorous and able to naturally regenerate also provide a strong foundation for the ongoing flow of a range of ecosystem services and public benefits. A cautious, evidence-based approach is needed for new species introductions to ensure they do not become invasive as the climate changes.

When considering nature recovery outcomes most of our native and naturalised tree and shrub species are likely to remain within their climate envelopes and are predicted to remain ecologically viable. These species will be vital in supporting biodiversity and we want to make best use of the genetic diversity already present in our native woodlands.

To understand how climate change is altering growth rates, rates of regeneration, woodland flora and associated insect, bird and mammal communities we will explore ways of increasing data collection and monitoring in a range of woodland types. This will improve our evidence base and enable us to make timely decisions on how woodlands can be managed to ensure they remain functioning and productive ecosystems in the long term. Without climate change adaptation there can be no long-term climate change mitigation.

Our role

We see our joint role as:

• advocating woodland creation and tree planting
• ensuring public funded woodland creation results in environmental gain
• helping landowners decide which type of woodland can improve the contribution their holding makes to the environment and the economy – and their own business interests
• supporting environmental non-government organisations and private landowners to maximise the contribution woods and trees make to the environment, economy and society on and around their land
• ensuring the NRN and LNRS include opportunities for woodland creation
• encouraging uptake of woodland creation grants
• maximising the contribution of woodlands, including the Nation’s Forests, to the statutory species recovery goal and other Environment Improvement Plan targets
• developing new markets for ecosystem services delivered by new and existing woodlands
• helping landowners to understand the opportunities that ‘carbon finance’ may provide
• encouraging more private investment into forestry
• working together to speed up regulatory decision making and grant approval
• simplifying the regulations for applicants, whilst maintain environmental protection
• developing options to resolve conflicting policy objectives involving tree planting
• improving the evidence base, and associated guidance, on how to create and manage woodlands that provide public and private benefits as the climate changes and new pest and disease threats emerge

Richard Stanford (CB MBE), CEO Forestry Commission and Marian Spain, CE Natural England. April 2023.