Sustainable Woodland Management

Woodlands in England• Total woodland area 1,119,000ha

Conifers 370,000ha

Broadleaved 749,000ha

Woodland History• Woodland clearance started in the neolithic

period 5000 years ago• Dropped to 15% by time of the Norman

Conquest, and further to 5% by 1900• Creation of the Forestry Commission in 1919

to develop a strategic resource stimulated a rise to 8.4%, with England’s most wooded county, Surrey, having 22% cover

Woodland History

This compares to • 11.6% across the UK• 15% target for England in IFP report 2012• 27.9% in France• 40% average in EU countries• Sweden 60%• Japan 70%

Key Facts

• 75% of all woodlands are between 0.1 and 2ha

• 93% of timber and timber products used in England are imported

• Annual increment 7.1MT, Harvested at present 2.9MT, Unutilised 4.2MT (59%)

Why value woodlands?

• Economic benefits – from planting, management, harvesting, processing, manufacture, also recreation and landscape

• Biodiversity• Social/psychological – sense of place, calming• Environmental – shade, screening, • Carbon Balance

Woodlands and Climate Change• Woodfuel – carbon neutral

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Woodlands and Climate Change

• Product substitution

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Woodlands and Climate Change• New woodlands – carbon sinks

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Health warning –Carbon offset planting must be additional and include provision for future management

Woodlands and Climate Change• Shade, cooling, flood plain management

Coppice produce/green wood crafts

Why manage woodland?• Light is life• Benefits for biodiversity – decline in woodland

birds, butterflies and dormouse linked to unmanaged woodlands since WW2

• Local jobs• Carbon balance – carbon neutral woodfuel

into local markets, reduced ‘timber miles’

Options for management -Coppicing• Cutting trees

down to ground level at intervals to stimulate new growth

• ‘Coupes’ of 0.25-0.5ha

• Coppice with standards

• Biodiversity value – usually high

Options for management-Clear fell

• Growing a crop of trees, thinning then felling them all at once, then replacing them with another crop

• Replacement by planting or natural regeneration

• Even age – all trees of same age• Biodiversity value – usually low

Options for management-Continuous cover

• Individual trees or small groups selectively felled

• Gaps filled by natural regeneration• Uneven age – trees of all ages present• Can convert even age woodlands into

continuous cover over time• Biodiversity value- usually high

Current issues• Woodlotting• Cuts to FC, Natural England• FC disposals• Diseases – Phytophthora, Chalara• Climate change – species selection, pests/diseases• Public perceptions of woodland management• Woodfuel

Any questions?