Woodland types : Coniferous plantations
by Chris, 15 July, 2015, 3 comments
Coniferous plantations are found throughout the U.K. There are some 300,000+ hectares in England, 900,000+ hectares in Scotland, and circa 106,000 hectares in Wales. Large scale conifer planting ‘took off’ soon after the First World War. At about this time, the woodland cover had fallen to 5% (in Britain) so the Forestry Commission was established. This had the aim of ensuring that there would be a strategic reserve of timber.
Vast areas of ‘low grade’ land were pressed into service. Areas around Thetford and Kielder were used, as were some sandy coastal sites (e.g. Holkham in Norfolk) and many large tracts in Scotland (including the use of some natural peatlands). Read more...
