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Information on removals from Forestry Commission (FC), Natural Resources Wales (NRW) and Forest Service (FS) woodlands is obtained from administrative systems.

A total of 4.9 million green tonnes of softwood was removed from FC/NRW/FS woodlands in 2017, a 3% decrease from the 2016 figure (Table 2.3). Over one half (55%) of FC/NRW/FS softwood removals in 2017 occurred in Scotland, 22% in England, 16% in Wales and 7% in Northern Ireland.

In comparison to private sector softwood removals (see Table 2.2), FC/NRW/FS softwood removals have been relatively stable over the last decade.

Table 2.3 FC/NRW/FS softwood removals by country, 2008-2017

Year England Wales Scotland Northern Ireland UK
thousand green tonnes     
2008 1100 556 2362 398 4415
2009 1213 717 2773 423 5126
2010 1142 644 2434 405 4625
2011 1185 689 2566 430 4870
2012 1154 663 2627 392 4836
2013 1188 693 2819 384 5084
2014 1064 722 2749 365 4900
2015 1023 692 2644 333 4691
2016 1146 778 2745 343 5011
2017 1087 758 2668 349 4862

Source: Forestry Commission, Natural Resources Wales, Forest Service.

Data:  Longer time series of the above table, including estimates for hardwood removals and for removals from private sector woodlands, are available from the Data downloads web page at: www.forestresearch.gov.uk/tools-and-resources/statistics/data-downloads/.

Additional resources

Sources chapter: Wood production

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