Scotland accounts for a major proportion of UK forestry and the Scottish Government aspires to increase land under forestry significantly through Scotland’s Forestry Strategy 2019 – 2029.
The planting of new trees at Glen Dye Moor will result in several areas of new woodland, designed to complement existing forests and local landscape features. Up to 3,000 hectares of plantable land will be developed over the life of the project. The site will be broadly developed as a mixture of two-thirds native woodland and one-third commercial crops. The final woodland composition will be guided by the principle of the right tree in the right place.
Native woodland is designed to replicate, as near as possible, the type of natural woodland habitat that would be found in the locality.
The commercial element of the woodland – featuring a mix of species including pine, spruce, fir, cedar and larch – will be designed to maximise productivity of the site for the species best suited to each location. No single species is expected to exceed 50% of the commercial area. Commercial forestry crops are an important element of the journey towards net zero. As a nation that imports the majority of its timber, there is a real need for more home grown supply. It underpins local processors and sawmills and is vital in supporting sustainable construction.
Planting will be designed, implemented and managed in accordance with the UK Forestry Standard (UKFS). The woodland will also be jointly certified under the Forestry Stewardship Council (FSC) and Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC) standards, verifying the sustainable forest management of the site.
Future timber produced at Glen Dye Moor will be utilised in accordance with the agreement at COP26 (the Glasgow Leaders Declaration on Forestry and Land Use) on the use of sustainably-produced wood products.
Forestry works are intended to start on-site in 2023 with ground preparation commencing following approval in 2023, before moving into planting thereafter. Given the scale of the planting, the initial works and maintenance to see the woodland established will take many years.
Woodland carbon predictions and outputs will be validated and verified in accordance with the Woodland Carbon Code. It is anticipated that the woodland creation activities will result in net carbon sequestration of 780,000 tonnes of CO2e.