Provisional statistics on woodland area, new woodland creation and replanting of woodlands that have been felled in Britain have been published by the Forestry Commission.
Main findings in the First Release “Woodland Area, Planting and Restocking” are that the estimated woodland area in Britain at March 31, 2005 is 2.74 million ha – 12% of the surface area of the country.
Of this, 1.96 million ha is owned by private woodland areas and non-Forestry Commission public sector bodies.
Around 12,000ha of new woodland were created in Britain, with most new planting being broadleaf species – more than 9,000ha compared with around 2,000ha of coniferous species.
The statistics also reveal that around 14,000ha of woodland was restocked in Britain in the year to March 31.
The information is available on the Forestry Commission website at www.forestry.gov.uk/statistics.
