Statistics on UK woodlands, environment and recreation. Provisional woodland figures are published in June and final figures for all topics in September (in Forestry Statistics and Forestry Facts and Figures).
Publications
Summary statistics on woodland area, planting, timber, trade, environment, recreation, employment and finance for the UK.
Detailed statistics on woodland area, planting, timber, trade, environment, recreation, employment, finance and prices for the UK.
Provisional UK statistics on areas of woodland, certified woodland, new planting and restocking.
Overview
This topic covers the following areas:
Woodland:
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Woodland area
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Certified woodland area
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National Inventory of Woodland & Trees
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International comparisons
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New planting and restocking
Environment:
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Protected forest areas
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Climate change and carbon
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Woodland birds
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Woodland vegetation
Recreation:
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Visits to woodland – household surveys
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On-site visitor surveys
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Forestry Commission facilities
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Public access
Expenditure and grants:
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Government expenditure
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Grant schemes
Technical Data
Full information on the statistics produced on forests and woodlands is available in the Sources section of Forestry Statistics.
Woodland area
For Forestry Commission (FC)/ Forest Service (FS) woodlands, data are obtained annually from administrative systems. FS also provide estimates of non-FS woodland on an annual basis.
For non-FC woodlands in Great Britain, annual estimates of woodland areas are based on the most recent inventory of woodlands, currently the 1995-99 National Inventory of Woodland and Trees (NIWT). The figures obtained from NIWT are then rolled forward for each country by adding statistics for new planting of non-FC woodland and disposals of FC woodland. No account is taken of woodland converted to another land-use, nor for changes in composition at restocking as there are no sufficiently reliable data sources for these topics.
Woodland inventories
Woodland inventories have taken place in Great Britain every 15 years or so. Most inventories however, used slightly different definitions of woodland, so some apparent changes in area over time are due to changing definitions.
In the latest 1995-99 inventory, data were collected for one hectare squares, covering a wide variety of topics and include: ownership type, species and age. The results were uprated to total woodland areas from a digital map based on aerial photography. Results are published for all countries within Great Britain and for more detailed geographical breakdowns (regions and counties). Further details on the most recent inventory are available from the forestry website.
New planting and restocking
New planting is the creation of new areas of woodland. Restocking is the replanting of areas of woodland that have been felled. New planting can use planting/seeding or natural colonisation. Restocking can also use planting/seeding or natural regeneration.
Information about FC and FS new planting and restocking comes from administrative systems. Information about other woodland has come principally from the Woodland Grant Scheme (WGS) and the successor grant schemes introduced in England, Scotland and Wales. Local estimates for areas of planting and restocking, which are not FC and which are not grant-aided, are included for England, Scotland and Wales.
Ancient and semi-natural woodland and protected areas
The information has been reproduced from Protected Forest Areas in the UK (S Pryor & G Peterken, 2001) (not National Statistics). It has been derived from a variety of sources, and is unlikely to give a wholly accurate inventory of protected areas in the UK.
Carbon sequestration
The information is taken from inventory and projections of UK emissions by sources and removal by sinks due to land use, land use change and forestry, contributing to 2006 UK Greenhouse Gas Emissions.
Populations of wild birds
Population indices for wild birds are a framework indicator for sustainable development. The data are rescaled to give year 2000 = 100 instead of year 1970 = 100. Further data and analysis about populations of wild birds are in Defra Wildlife KeyFacts. The index for woodland specialists was recalculated in 2007 to include four additional species; this affected the indices for total woodland birds and (to a lesser extent) all birds.
Woodland vegetation
The overall condition and richness of flora in woodland, is derived from data collected in 1998 for the Countryside Survey 2000. The Countryside Survey is carried out at intervals of about eight to ten years; the next was in 2007, with initial results to be published in late 2008.
Recreation
There are two main approaches to visitor monitoring:
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general population surveys of individuals at their home, and
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surveying and counting of visitors to a specific area or woodland
Government expenditure
Information about government expenditure on forestry is obtained from administrative records held by the Forestry Commission. Data are published annually in the Annual Report & Accounts produced by National Offices.
Glossary
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Broadleaves
Trees that do not have needles or cones (a few, such as alder, have cone-like structures for their seeds that are not true cones).
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Conifers
Trees with needles and cones.
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Coppice
Trees that are cut near ground level (or sometimes higher, in which case they are pollards), causing them to produce many small shoots. These shoots are harvested every few years at a relatively early age for products such as staves, fencing, fuel and charcoal. 'Coppice with standards' includes scattered trees that are left to grow as normal ('standards').
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Establishment
The first five to ten years or formative period that ends once young trees are of sufficient size that, given adequate protection, they are likely to survive at the required stocking.
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FAO
United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation, responsible for the Forest Resources Assessment and for compiling international statistics on production and trade of wood products.
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FC
Forestry Commission: the government department responsible for forestry matters in Great Britain. The responsibility for forestry is devolved to ministers in the Scottish Parliament and Welsh Assembly, but the executive functions are exercised throughout Great Britain by the FC.
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Forest
In the UK, there is no formal definition of 'forest'; the term is often used for large areas (especially conifers) or for old Royal hunting preserves such as the New Forest or the Forest of Dean.
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FS
Northern Ireland Forest Service (an agency of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development).
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FSC
Forest Stewardship Council.
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Ha
Hectare (2.471 acres).
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Hardwood
The wood of broadleaved trees, a term sometimes used for the broadleaved trees themselves.
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High forest
Trees capable of growing to be suitable for timber production (compare with coppice).
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Native species
Species that have arrived and inhabited an area naturally, without deliberate assistance by man. For trees and shrubs in the UK usually taken to mean those present after post-glacial recolonisation and before historic times. Some species are only native in particular regions - hence locally native.
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Natural colonisation
Creation of new woodland by natural means, that is without sowing or planting.
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Natural regeneration
Establishing woodland on ground that was not woodland in the recent past.
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NIWT
National Inventory of Woodland and Trees.
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Restocking
The replanting of an area after trees are removed.
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Scrub
Area of poorly formed trees or bushes unsuitable for conversion to timber.
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Semi-natural
Woodland with natural characteristics (predominantly native species of trees, ground plants and animals) where wood production is not a primary objective; this term is used rather than natural because the woodland may have originally been planted or have been managed for wood production in the past.
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Silviculture
The care and cultivation of forest trees.
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Softwood
The wood of coniferous trees or conifers themselves.
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SRC
Short rotation coppice (either willow or poplar).
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UN ECE
United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, responsible for compiling international statistics on production and trade of wood products for Europe, the Russian Federation and North America.
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Woodland
Land under stands of trees with a canopy cover of at least 20 per cent (25 per cent in Northern Ireland), or having the potential to achieve this, including integral open space, and including felled areas that are awaiting restocking.
Contact Details
For statistical enquiries about this topic, please contact:
Sheila Ward
Email: statistics@forestry.gsi.gov.uk
Telephone: +44 (0) 1313 146171
Economics & Statistics Forestry Commission Silvan House 231 Corstorphine Road Edinburgh EH12 7AT
