'Blanket' forestry threatens southern Scotland landscapes

by EWAN LAMB

Large scale coniferous forestry planting backed by financial incentives in the shape of public grants is altering the landscape in many areas of the South of Scotland without proper consideration for the impacts on local communities, according to a report from the Southern Upland Partnership (SUP).

A so-called position statement from SUP explains there is currently a major and rapid shift in land use taking place across Southern Scotland. This is being driven by a combination of public grant, economics and assumed environmental benefits. 

The report says: "We believe this change is not being as carefully considered as it should be. We risk losing a range of habitats, species and opportunities for a more diverse pattern of land use that might improve community and environmental resilience.

"In the South of Scotland, we are concerned that the mixing of the terms forest and woodland is misleading because of the huge extent of planation forest and the much more limited extent of more diverse woodland."

SUP concedes that forest and woodland expansion is in general a good thing because it will help  address the climate and biodiversity crises, and the Government should be supporting forest and woodland expansion (and restoration) through support, advice and funding. However, care must be taken to ensure that other valuable habitats (and cultural sites) are not lost as a result of poorly planned tree planting.

The report points out that the South of Scotland already has a lot of tree cover. In 2014 Dumfries & Galloway already had 31% tree cover and the Scottish Borders had 18.5%. The average for South Scotland is now thought to be 25% (2019 figure) compared to the average across Scotland of approximately 18% of the land classed as forest and woodland”.

"South Scotland is attractive for forestry investment because of the good transport links and proximity of processing plants (especially in D&G and Ayrshire). In 2019, coniferous forest made up approximately 75% of all woodland in South Scotland (and some 60% of the stocked area was Sitka Spruce). 50% of recent planting (2020) across Scotland has been of coniferous species while in South Scotland the figure is significantly higher at 88%.

"There is a real concern that South Scotland is taking more than its’ share of new tree-cover. In addition, disproportionately more of the planting is coniferous forest and much less of the planting is woodland compared to other parts of Scotland. This is evident from the recent statistics for 2020/21 and continuing a long term trend in South Scotland. There are also concerns that the drive to meet planting targets is pushing forestry onto sites which are not suitable eg peatlands (where the climate benefits are questionable) and species-rich habitats (where there is likely to be a net-loss of biodiversity)."

In the Partnership's opinion further afforestation should not be considered without wider stakeholder and community consultation. 

The report claims: "There is currently, within the region, considerable anti-forestry feeling. Consultation exercises will therefore need to seek to show how land use change can be integrated with other land uses and demonstrate that the proposals can deliver significant local and regional benefits. 

"Loss of farming families, loss of open ground, loss of biodiversity, loss of archaeology and cultural heritage, more monotonous landscapes and increased timber movements along poorly maintained roads and through small towns and villages are all regularly blamed on forestry. We suggest more could be done to done to increase the benefits to local communities (as is done when wind farms are developed).

And SUP says the loss of cultural sites and archaeological landscapes has been one of the most damaging consequences of forestry in recent years. These are often unrecognised at the time and their significance unrecorded. 

"The South of Scotland landscape is particularly rich in these. Walk-over surveys prior to planting are therefore essential if this history is not to be lost. While guidance suggests this should be done,  there are concerns that it is not always undertaken. Expansion of forest and woodlands needs to take account of and protect the historic environment and its setting which can be lost forever once an area is afforested."