Wales discovers it has more woodlands than previously thought.

woodland

Better surveying tools and methods has meant that the latest woodland cover for Wales has been increased by an extra 20,000 hectares. Forestry Commission Wales has recently published the findings of one of it’s periodical National Forest Inventories. Woodlands now cover 14.3% of the country.

Woodland cover of Wales now at 14.3%.

This latest forest inventory is thought to be the most accurate ever undertaken.It is the first of a series of reports which will give a much fuller picture of the sate of woodlands and forests – both privately and publicly owned – in Wales. Currently about 303,500 hectares of the country is now covered by trees.

This all bodes well for the future as we aim to make Welsh woodlands more resilient to the effects of a changing climate

The average woodland cover of Wales at 14.3% compares very favourably with the average woodland cover for England at 8.4% but it is still well behind the average EU wide figure of 37%. However while both Wales and England have a lower woodland cover than other countries in Europe they are also less urbanised than many developed European countries. Both England and Wales have higher levels of agricultural development of their land in percentage terms.

The last national inventory was carried out between 1995 -1999 and since that time the records have shown that 130 hectares of woodlands were lost but this was made up by more than 5,000 hectares of new woodland being planted. Woodland cover in Wales continues to grow.

Improved woodland surveying techniques.

The more accurate estimates of the woodlands and forests found in Wales have come about from new technology and analysis methods. Satellite images of Wales are now much more available than for previous inventories and photographic images are of a much more accurate scale – 1:10,000 rather than 1:25,000 previously. The wider availability of colour images over black and white also makes distinguishing variations of land use much easier and reliable.

Peter Weston, Head of Inventory and Forecasting for the Forestry Commission, said, “We were able to use more sophisticated tools and techniques for gathering and interpreting woodland cover data than we have ever had since we began compiling forest inventories in the 1920s.

“As a result we have been able to identify smaller woodlands and pick up more areas where woodland has regenerated or been planted without our knowledge, and other areas where woodland has been lost or removed without our knowledge.

“The new equipment and techniques have also enabled us to ‘fine tune’ some of the data and correct honest mistakes in the previous inventory that inevitably occurred because we did not have the sophisticated resources then that are available to us now.”

Welsh Assembly 50 year woodlands strategy.

The Welsh Assembly government has given a high priority to woodlands and forests. It has recently unveiled a 50 year strategy to improving the conditions of the nations woodlands and is currently in the process of rolling out a series of 5 year action plans. The Senedd (Welsh Assembly government) is in the process of releasing a series of 8 policy papers in relation to woodlands:

Community involvement with Welsh woodlands and trees,
Health and well-being benefits from Welsh woodlands and trees,
Education, learning and skills from Welsh woodlands and trees,
Landscape Heritage and Culture,
Welsh woodlands – their extent, nature and culture,
Water and soils,
Biodiversity.

The latest National Forest Inventory by the Forestry Commission Wales will play an important role in helping the Senedd to achieve it’s woodland aims and whether the Assembly meets the 23 ‘markers’ it has set down to measure the effectiveness of it’s policies.

Clive Thomas, FC Wales head of policy, said the NFI map and statistics on woodland cover were good news for everyone involved with Wales’s forests and woods.

“Although this woodland area change is mainly explained by improved survey techniques, it’s the underlying information that will be available in the months and years to come that is really valuable.

“It will help us to provide advice to the Welsh Assembly Government on its policies for woodlands and trees. And – most importantly – due to the move to a rolling inventory process, we will be able to far more accurately detect changes over time.

“This all bodes well for the future as we aim to make Welsh woodlands more resilient to the effects of a changing climate, as well as to further improve their multipurpose delivery for people and the wider environment.”

Good news for Welsh woodlands.

The news that Wales has more woodlands than it thought has to be good news. While most of the broadleaved woodlands in Wales are in private ownership many have public paths through them allowing us to enjoy the wildlife sights, sounds and smells that makes woodlands such a great place to visit.