Skip to main content
Contact Us
Tools and Resources

Woodland area by ownership and species: Broadleaves

Table 1.9 presents the area of broadleaves, broken down by principal species, ownership and country.

The most commonly occurring broadleaved species in Great Britain are Birch (accounting for 18% of broadleaf woodland), Oak (16%) and Ash (12%) (Table 1.9). Birch is more dominant in Scotland, accounting for 43% of the broadleaf area there.

Table 1.9 Stocked woodland area in GB by ownership and principal species: Broadleaves
Principal species England Wales Scotland GB
thousand hectares
FC1
Oak 16 3 3 21
Beech 13 2 1 15
Sycamore 1 0 0 2
Ash 3 1 0 4
Birch 6 2 11 19
Sweet chestnut 1 0 0 1
Hazel 0 0 0 1
Hawthorn 0 0 0 0
Alder 1 0 1 1
Willow 0 0 0 0
Other broadleaves 14 9 15 38
All broadleaves 54 16 32 102
Private sector2
Oak 151 23 23 198
Beech 59 5 15 78
Sycamore 74 9 21 105
Ash 120 18 15 153
Birch 90 11 116 217
Sweet chestnut 28 0 0 28
Hazel 64 14 8 86
Hawthorn 57 8 8 73
Alder 30 10 16 56
Willow 41 11 13 65
Other broadleaves 133 12 29 174
All broadleaves 849 121 265 1 235
Total
Oak 167 26 26 219
Beech 72 6 15 94
Sycamore 75 9 22 106
Ash 123 19 16 157
Birch 96 12 128 236
Sweet chestnut 28 0 0 29
Hazel 65 14 8 87
Hawthorn 57 8 8 73
Alder 31 10 17 58
Willow 41 11 13 65
Other broadleaves 146 21 44 212
All broadleaves 902 137 297 1 337

Source: National Forest Inventory: 50-year forecast of hardwood availability (Forestry Commission, April 2014).

Notes:

1. FC: Forestry Commission (England, Scotland and Wales).

2. Private sector: all other woodland. Includes woodland previously owned/managed by the Countryside Council for Wales and the Environment Agency in Wales, other publicly owned woodland (e.g. owned by local authorities) and privately owned woodland.

3. Stocked area only: excludes felled areas and (for private sector land) open space.

4. Areas at 31 March 2012.

These figures are outside the scope of National Statistics

Tools & Resources
In this section
Tools & Resources