Scotland’s Forests Under Threat

By Kieran Leigh-Moy, Future Woodlands Programme Manager

Scotland’s forests are under growing pressure from climate change and new pests and diseases. These challenges could make it harder for our woodlands to keep providing the benefits we rely on – from timber and fibre to flood risk management and wildlife habitat. That’s why it’s becoming more important than ever to make our forests tougher and more resilient for the future.

A photo of a forest showing the trees and ground flora. — Implementing early-stage thinning improves individual tree stability, allowing the forest to be restructured using Continuous Cover Forestry techniques later in the rotation. It also creates space for light to reach the forest floor- allowing a more diverse ground flora to develop (Photo by Kieran Leigh-Moy)

Furthermore, timber and other forest products are expected to play a big part in helping the UK move toward a low-carbon economy by replacing materials that are more carbon-intensive. But right now, the UK imports more timber than almost any other country — second only to China — with much of it coming from central and northern Europe. Demand for timber and fibre across the EU is also set to rise by about 25% between 2024 and 2050, which could leave a massive shortfall of around 173 million cubic metres. That means the UK may need to depend more on home-grown timber in the future to cope with global supply swings. If we can’t meet demand locally, it could make it harder to hit our climate goals.

At the same time, the public increasingly expects Scotland’s forests to deliver more than just timber. According to official Forest Research statistics, people want woodlands that boost biodiversity, offer great places to visit, and support wildlife. This trend is also shaping forest policy across the rest of Europe too. While many of Scotland’s native broadleaf woods are struggling with biodiversity loss, research shows that diversifying the age structure and the mix of tree species in conifer plantations can really boost their ecological value.

Continuous Cover Forestry

People walking in the forest, the trees have numbers written on them. — The thinning course was delivered using a specially designed forest training plot called a marteloscope, which allows foresters to see the consequences of their tree marking decisions and receive immediate feedback (Photo by Conor Gault Photography)

Continuous Cover Forestry (CCF) is one approach promoted to address these concerns, which “aims to develop structurally, visually and biologically diverse forests, in which sustainable production of quality timber is achieved along with the provision of a wide range of ecosystem services”. CCF management avoids removing all the trees at once when timber is harvested- maintaining some continuity of canopy cover. This contrasts with the way in which conifer plantations are often managed in the UK, through even-aged monocultures where large areas are clear felled after 30-50 years.

At the moment, it’s thought that only about 5% of Britain’s forests are already currently managed under CCF, compared with 22% across the whole of Europe. In Scotland, expansion has been limited by the challenge of strong winds and poorly drained soils, which can make trees more vulnerable to being blown over. However, preliminary results from new research funded by Future Woodlands Scotland suggests that a much larger area could actually be suitable for CCF than some might think. So, diversifying how we manage forests — including using more CCF — could be a great way to strengthen Scotland’s forests for an uncertain future.

Training Programme for CCF Thinning

A group of people listen to a man talk, in the forest. — The 3-day training course was delivered by Jens Haufe, eminent silvicultural trainer of TreeStory (Photo by Conor Gault Photography)

Switching to CCF isn’t always simple. It requires careful, early thinning — selectively removing some trees — to help the remaining ones grow stronger and more stable. However, conifer plantations in Scotland have often not undergone much, if any, thinning, making regenerating the woodlands later on through CCF impossible as the risk of wind damage is too high. One of the main hurdles to adopting CCF more widely is that there just aren’t enough people with the skills and confidence to design and implement these kind of thinning operations.

To tackle that, Future Woodlands Scotland has secured funding to train 24 forestry professionals in these essential skills. We’ve commissioned TreeStory to design a hands-on training programme in early-stage thinning of conifer plantations that includes mentoring and peer-to-peer learning after an intensive three-day practical course. The goal is to give participants both the technical know-how and the confidence to plan and carry out early-stage thinning that sets forests up for a successful transition to CCF later in the rotation. The course will use a special “marteloscope” plot — a training site where trees have been precisely measured — so participants can get instant feedback on their thinning decisions and fine-tune their tree-marking skills.

With this programme, Future Woodlands Scotland hopes to help build a new generation of foresters ready to create more diverse, resilient, and sustainable forests across Scotland. The first round of 12 participants have already started the programme in the beginning of November. The second round will be open for applications early next year and will be targeted towards forest managers who have clear opportunities to immediately implement the skills they develop during the programme. Keep an eye on our website and social media for when the next round is open for applications.