Nature must be at the heart of woodland expansion

Nature is vital in the fight for a safe climate

Our trees and woodlands are a striking example: they can provide rich and diverse habitat for wildlife, whilst sucking up carbon dioxide from the air and storing it safely.

We must expand our native woodlands to help tackle the nature and climate crises

With only 13% forest cover, the UK is one of the least wooded countries in Europe, well below the average of 38%. Our landscape is lacking trees: expanding our  native trees and woodlands  will be necessary both to fight climate change, and to restore living habitats that help nature recover. Woodland species are in steep decline and one of them, the willow tit, is now Britain's fastest-declining resident bird.

Not only do native woodlands deliver for nature…

… Mixed broadleaf woodlands managed for conservation can actually store more carbon over 100 years than Sitka spruce plantations under standard productive management.

The large drops in sequestration in Sitka spruce plantations are due to carbon released in rotational harvesting. Carbon stored in harvested wood products is included, but these often have short lifespans compared to long-term carbon stores in woodland.

However, trees are not a silver bullet to solve climate change.

No amount of woodlands can counteract growing carbon emissions. Ending the burning of fossil fuels is the only way to reach net zero. 

Therefore, when we plan significant changes in the way we use our land, like woodland expansion, they must deliver the whole range of potential benefits for nature and people – not just carbon.

Planting the wrong trees in the wrong places could even lead to overall carbon emissions from the soil.

Woodland expansion delivers the most benefits when in the right place.

There are major pressures on land in the UK already: for farming, forestry, nature and human wellbeing.

Our woodland opportunity map below indicates where there might be suitable areas in the UK to meet the Climate Change Committee woodland creation targets. The map highlights the importance of planning woodland expansion strategically for the whole UK, with nature at the heart of our decision making.

The map suggests where new woodlands could go, not where they should go. Any woodland creation would have to be carefully planned to maximise the nature and climate benefits, and pursued in consultation with local communities, farmers and land managers.

We have identified the areas where significant new woodlands could potentially be created. Our mapping avoids important open non-woodland habitats, sites designated for nature conservation, highly productive farmland and towns and cities. It also avoids deep peat soils, where woodland creation damages the habitat and releases carbon from the soil.

Within the areas identified, we compared soil types to assess the climate risks of woodland creation. Higher-risk soils, rich in carbon, are shown in red. Although new woodlands could be created here, there is a danger that we could lose more carbon from the soil than new trees would absorb, at least over the first few decades. Mineral soils, shown in blue, have lower levels of carbon, so new woodland expansion here poses a lower risk for the climate.

We found that there is just enough lower-risk soil in the UK to accommodate the Climate Change Committee’s most ambitious woodland expansion targets. However, ensuring that carbon emissions from higher-risk soils are minimised during woodland expansion will require a strategic approach across the four nations. Currently woodland expansion is unbalanced across the four nations and often focused on these higher-risk soils in Scotland and Northern England. This could lead to net carbon emissions and nature degradation.

Even in areas identified as lower risk, site surveys, advice and a planned approach is needed to avoid unacceptable impacts on existing species and habitats that may be harmed by certain types of woodland creation.

Click  here  for the methodology, and click  here  for our detailed briefing.

For a more interactive version of the map including layers for current woodlands and peatland, please continue to the end of the story.

Delivery of nature-rich woodlands should be one piece of a puzzle in creating coherent networks to revive nature.

Woodland species are declining for a host of reasons: deer and livestock grazing biodiverse scrubby under-storey of woodlands, drying out of soils caused by the climate crisis, and fragmentation of woodlands by development and agriculture.

Our new trees and woodlands must form a vital part of a connected network of habitats for nature’s recovery and for people to enjoy across the UK. 

Forestry is another vital part of the puzzle when it comes to trees.

As well as significantly expanding and enriching our permanent native woodlands, productive forestry has the opportunity to  deliver more for climate and nature.

However, our current forestry plantations could do much more.

Sustainable forestry, especially for long-lived materials like in construction, can contribute to addressing the nature and climate crises by making the best use of our land. But this would require major readjustments to our timber industry, recycling and end-of-life processing.

The UK Forestry Standard is not enough on its own and greater uptake of the accredited UK Woodland Assurance Standard is needed. More could be done to revive nature by setting robust standards.

We need high standards for both woodland expansion and forestry that drive the best outcomes for nature and climate. True nature-based solutions must prioritise nature: with a balance of rich, biodiverse native woodlands, and well-managed, sustainable forestry to meet our needs.

Our call to action for UK governments

A strategic approach to woodland expansion

·        Ensure the ‘right tree in the right place’, undertaking mapping and environmental assessments, including at the site level, to protect species, habitats and soil carbon and maximise the benefits of new woodlands

·        Embed woodland expansion plans in overall objectives for nature, contributing to a network of diverse and connected habitats

Prioritise native woodland

·        Focus public money on expanding native woodland habitats to secure multiple benefits for nature, climate and people

·        Provide long-term funding for restoration and enhancement of existing habitats, including Ancient and Semi-Natural Woodlands, woodland protected sites, and open habitats

Protect our peat

·        Continue to prevent tree planting on deep peat and restore afforested peatlands

·        Only undertake tree planting on organo-mineral soils such as shallow peat if nature and carbon benefits can be demonstrated

High standards for all woodlands

·        Enhance the UK Forestry Standard to maximise biodiversity benefits in commercial forestry for timber, nature and climate outcomes and get more woodlands into the UK Woodland Assurance Standard

·        Take a robust approach to implementing environmental regulations and consultation to ensure woodland expansion delivers genuine benefits for climate and nature.

Photo credits

Hawfinch Coccothraustes coccothraustes, adult male perched in tree, Hampshire, January

Ben Andrew ( rspb-images.com )

Pied flycatcher Ficedula hypoleuca, adult male perched on branch, Devon, June

Ben Andrew ( rspb-images.com )

Veteran tree, RSPB The Lodge Nature Reserve, Bedfordshire, October 2016

Kelly Thomas ( rspb-images.com )

Blue tit Cyanistes caeruleus, adult with caterpillar ready to visit nest to feed chicks, Buckinghamshire, May

Ben Andrew ( rspb-images.com )

Ecotricity's wind turbine erected at the RSPB's Headquarters, The Lodge, Sandy, Bedfordshire, February

Ben Andrew ( rspb-images.com )

Forestry harvester in operation, removing non-native conifers from a plantation near a pool system, RSPB Forsinard Flows Nature Reserve, Forsinard, Sutherland, Scotland, UK, 2010

Paul Turner ( rspb-images.com )

Woodland scene, RSPB Franchises Lodge Nature Reserve, New Forest, Hampshire, July

Emma Brookman ( rspb-images.com )

Spotted flycatcher Muscicapa striata, adult perched on branch, Bedfordshire, July

Ben Andrew ( rspb-images.com )

Child using binoculars to learn how to spot birds, RSPB Rye Meads Nature Reserve, Hertfordshire, March 2019

Ben Andrew ( rspb-images.com )

Culbin Forest, Forestry Commission Scotland (adjacent to Culbin Sands RSPB reserve). Morayshire, near Nairn, Scotland. August 2008. "Wildlife stump. Saved for food, shelter & nesting"

Capercaillie Tetrao urogallus, male in roost tree, Caledonian pine forest, Scotland, February

Ben Andrew ( rspb-images.com )