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Timber Consumption (U.K) 50 million
cu.m. raw material equivalent p.a., of which 40 million cu.m. is
softwood, of which 85% is imported.
Personal consumption Approx. 1cu.m.
(1 tonne) per person p.a.
UK Production 7.5 million cu.m. plus
8.6 million cu.m. recycled fibre
Import cost £8.7 billion (2001) (cf.
Fuel £7bn.; Food £11.4bn.) or approximately half of the balance of
payments deficit
UK Annual Timber Production
Conifers Broadleaves
Total
(million cu.m.)
1987 - 1991
5.8
1.1
6.9
1992 - 1996
7.4
1.1
8.5
2003
10.0
0.6
10.7
Forecast 2021 - 2026*
18.4
1.2
19.6
Forecast 2042 - 2046
10.9
1.2
12.0
* Peak about 2020, will decline thereafter due to fall-off in planting
since 1970's.
Historical Context After the last
Ice Age, Britain revegetated so that all but the mountain tops were
forested. The range of species was limited by the English Channel, which
severed the UK from continental sources about 10,000 BC. Britain was
deforested at an early date by man's activities.
Estimates of forest cover
500 BC 80-85%
0 AD 50%
1086 15%
1900 5%
2000 11.6%
The Forestry Commission was
established in 1919 to create a strategic reserve of timber and has
effectively doubled the UK woodland area. The available land (wet
uplands of low agricultural production) was suited to fast-growing
conifers such as sitka spruce, which produce the softwood the UK needs.
By the 1960's planting had peaked and emphasis was on import
substitution. State planting has declined from about 42,000 in 1971 to
less than 10,000 ha./per annum in 2004, of which about 2,300 was in
England.
Private planting has increased
significantly in recent years in England, mainly broadleaved; commercial
planting of conifers has declined since 1988 due to tax and grant
changes, and is mainly in Scotland.
Government policy is to double again
the woodland area in England, but farming support through C.A.P. makes
conversion to forest financially less attractive, and UK funds for
planting are limited.
New Planting (England)
1971 1981 1991 2001
('000 ha.)
Conifers 6.0 1.2
1.0 0.5
Broadleaf 0.6 0.5
3.5 4.3
Land under Trees
Forests Farmland
UK
11.6% 77%
France 28%
57%
Germany 31%
52%
Finland 72%
8%
UK Woodland
Conifer Broadleaf
Total % cover
('000 ha.)(2004)
England 370
745 1,115
8.5
Scotland 1,051
280 1,330
16.9
Wales
162
123
285 13.9
Value of Trees
Traditionally, most English woods were coppiced broadleaves.
Decline of markets and mechanisation has led to decreased values of
coppice. E.g. in 1950 an acre (0.4ha.) of sweet chestnut was worth £50
(i.e. 6-8 weeks' wages); now it is worth only £200 (3 days’ wages).
Hazel, in 1939 worth five times the annual rent of grassland, is now
virtually unsaleable.
Most lowland woods are therefore either neglected; have been
converted to high forest (i.e. planted with timber trees); or
been grubbed up for farming (although this has now ceased).
Conifer Plantations are more
productive than broadleaves and therefore mature earlier. Productivity
is measured as yield class (YC) (growth in cu.m./ha./annum):
Conifers
Broadleaves
Norway spruce YC 6 - 22 Oak
YC 4 - 6
Scots pine YC 4 - 14
Ash YC 4 - 12
Douglas fir YC 10 - 24
Beech YC 4 - 10
Typical Tree Volumes and values of
plantation trees (2000 prices). Standing timber prices have fallen by up
to 75% in last 10 years due to competition from Baltic states, high
value of sterling, recycling.
Year Scots Pine (YC 12)
Beech (YC 8)
Vol.(cu. m.) Standing value Vol.
Standing value(cu.m)
20
0.03
Nil
0.006 Nil
40
0.32
£5
0.10 50p
60
1.03
£31
0.48 £5
80
1.88
£65
1.15 £30
Approx. value of final crop/hectare
@ 100 yrs 542cu.m. £18,740 @ 150 yrs. 430 cu.m. £13,000
Cumulative production:
(i.e. thinnings and final crop) 1095cu.m. (100 yrs) 1052cu.m. (150 yrs)
For high yielding exotic conifers such as Douglas fir, the difference is
even more striking. Large trees for sawlogs are more valuable than
smaller pulp or pole material and early thinnings may cost money to do.
Nonetheless, even with planting grants, forestry gives low levels of
financial return (typically 2-3% compound) and other justifications for
the industry must be assumed, e.g. import substitution, amenity,
recreation, wildlife, carbon fixing, etc. Non-market benefits of
England’s forests are estimated as over £1 billion p.a.
Christmas trees can be profitable as
they are a luxury product and grow in 5 to 10 years. Planted at 1m.
spacing, there are 10,000 per hectare. At year six a tree will have cost
about £2.50 to produce and will sell at a wholesale price of £4-£5,
giving a gross profit of £9,500 to £15,000 per hectare (assumes 60%
stocking). Fortunes are limited by market demand, about 5mill. trees per
year, of which 80% are home produced.
British forestry is subject to one of the tightest national control
frameworks in the world. Felling Control
is under the Forestry Commission. All felling, except for garden trees
and a few other exceptions, requires a Felling Licence. Local
authorities and other bodies are consulted, and trees may be further
protected by Tree Preservation Orders. Both normally are subject to
replanting conditions.
Grants are complex and have changed
in recent years away from simple planting grants toward assistance in
research and woodland management. All now linked to improving wildlife
habitat and/or public access. There are supplementary grants for better
land, "community woods" and other targeted areas, special management
grants, and annual payments to farmers.
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