Gearing up our supply chain

As the 2020s begin, what are the hard realities that will determine whether much vaunted and ambitious tree planting targets are met and indeed fulfil their overall potential to create a resilient treescape for the future?

In short, what do we have to do to have the infrastructure in place to make the most of this chance of a lifetime, in a country with one of the lowest percentages of tree cover in Europe?

In February I met Dougal Driver, Chief Executive of Grown in Britain (GiB) and Ian Tubby, Principal Advisor, Business and Markets, Forestry Commission (FC), to discuss the opportunities and threats that lie ahead.

The major challenges we identified included:

? Supply of land

? Supply of seed and planting stock

? Skills

? Biosecurity

? Ongoing management

Supply of land

The new Environmental Land Management Scheme (ELMS) will need to make tree planting at least as attractive to landowners as agriculture. Still very much in development, topics such as what species to plant and what provenances of native species are eligible highlight the challenges in creating a new system that makes forestry a viable option for landowners far more used to farming.

Nursery capacity can be increased with investment, but land use change is never simple with many owners reluctant to embrace the ‘for ever’ change that occurs once trees are planted. Rather than stock, it could be lack of ground in which to plant that threatens some missed targets over time.

Supply of seed and planting stock

Seed supply could be a limiting factor with few suppliers and not enough active seed stands. Registering more seed stands on both private and public land could be a relatively easy win in the short term; even the softwood favourite of Sitka Spruce has only a dozen or so seed stands to collect from (image below).

The planting target of 30,000 ha of new woodland a year is likely to require a further 30 million trees a year, on top of the current demand for 100 million per annum (roughly 70:30, restock: woodland creation).

With biosecurity an ongoing threat, it is encouraging that >90% of our young trees are UK supplied. Imports may be restricted anyway as other nations seek to plant more trees in their own countries. So, despite the setbacks of 2018 when an estimated ten million trees were lost to drought, recent investments by both public and private nurseries should bring increased supply in two to three years’ time of perhaps 20-25 million trees per annum. There may be further refinements needed, however, such as in capacity to offer cell grown trees, as well as a greater variety of species and provenances, all of which should address some of the risks posed by a changing climate. The likelihood is that the extra 30 million trees will not be needed immediately, so the signs are encouraging that we could plant more and become self-sufficient in stock.

Skills

The Forestry Skills Forum, in a skills audit partly funded by Woodland Heritage in 2017, had already identified planters as being in short supply, with a large number of employers stating that if planting targets are to be met, investment in training is required; this was written without any knowledge of the much larger targets since proposed for planting. Both GiB and FC have noted skills shortages in the nursery sector, characterised by smaller independent businesses with a heavy reliance on staff from around the world and often an all hands to the pump approach when weather is unfavourable. In all there is little resilience currently in the supply side.

Biosecurity

Our woods and forests are ravaged by imported pests and diseases and planting stock has been one of the major culprits for allowing hitchhiking from abroad. The new Plant Healthy Certification being launched by the Plant Health Alliance in 2020 and certified by Grown in Britain, is a major step to preventing further devastation from the nasty diseases that lurk across the waters.

Ongoing management

Over 40% of UK woodlands are under-managed or unmanaged, leaving millions of pounds of resource untouched and in many cases woodland biodiversity suffers as a result.

So, as with planting, some additional financial incentive for management might be needed to supplement the basic return from the timber itself and to incentivise the restoration of management in currently neglected woodlands.

Opportunities

The new ELMS will take time to stimulate the start of the timber supply chain, but right now, large businesses are pushing more than ever before to implement large carbon offsetting schemes. This can involve working with charities with big planting targets themselves like The Woodland Trust, which has already planted three million trees in a partnership with Sainsbury, whilst a further ten million are planned over the next decade to help absorb 2.5 million tonnes of the carbon produced in Lloyds Bank’s operations. Further, most welcome news is that the National Trust plan to plant twenty million trees and increase the tree cover on their holdings from 10% to 17% by 2030; great ambition and leadership.

I can’t help wondering if we need a national task force to coordinate all of our efforts?

We are the second largest net importer of timber in the world and need to use more timber to help reduce CO2 emissions, whilst locking up carbon for generations in the finished products created by the wood.

Cost is still the major determinant in choice, but there is a growing interest in using UK timber, so how can we convince mainstream consumers that they should buy British, whether as individuals or businesses? One way is to insist on the Grown in Britain certification mark on products.

One in the ground; millions to go - Photo: Heart of England Forest

When Woodland Heritage acquired Whitney Sawmills it meant that what is an increasingly rare example of a UK hardwood sawmill remained in operation, buying British logs and converting them to fine British timber which from this year carries the GiB certificate. In a very small way, could our sawmill be the manifestation of a turning around in fortunes of hardwood sawmilling, perfectly timed to help bridge a gap? After all, the swathes of planting planned should result in unprecedented levels of thinnings, hence our delight in being able to work with John Makepeace and the RSA on the ‘Branching Out’ project.

After the thinnings though will hopefully come the timber, ready to be fed into Whitney and other established mills, maybe supplemented by mobile millers able to feel confident to put down roots and establish their own roles in a growing timber supply chain, roles that Woodland Heritage would be delighted to help shape and advise on.

The next decade needs to lay the foundations for a timber supply chain that must be larger, more connected and more efficient if it is to play a key role in the Net Zero economy necessary in 2050. The opportunities are there, the threats potentially manageable, it is now down to collective willpower to create a thriving industry that will serve society, the economy and the environment well by the middle of this century.

by Lewis Scott, Co-Founder and Trustee of Woodland Heritage.

This article was first published in the Woodland Heritage 2020 Journal.