Introduction

This chapter presents a range of information about the woodland environment, mostly using sources that are outside the scope of National Statistics.  They are included to provide additional context to the topic.

Estimates for England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland are included, where possible, in addition to UK or GB totals.  Further information on the data sources and methodology used to compile the figures is provided in the Sources chapter.

All of the statistics presented in this chapter have been previously released.

The statistics on the populations of wild birds (Table 5.1 and Figure 5.1) have been revised since “Forestry Statistics 2019”.  For further details on revisions, see the Environment section of the Sources chapter.

A copy of all environment tables can be accessed in spreadsheet format from the Data Downloads web page at www.forestresearch.gov.uk/tools-and-resources/statistics/data-downloads/.

Key findings

The main findings are:

• The UK woodland bird index has remained relatively stable since the early 1990s, following a period of long-term decline. In recent years the index has decreased, most of this decline has occurred in woodland specialist species.

• The total area of native woodland in Great Britain is estimated to be around 1.51 million hectares.

• Non-native coniferous woodland is the single largest habitat type in Great Britain, accounting for 1.29 million hectares (42%).

Downloads

Additional resources

FS2020 Introduction & Glossary

Sources Chapter: Environment

Sources Chapter: Public Opinion of Forestry