The UK has the lowest tree coverage in Europe - this is how we fix it

The UK has one of the lowest tree covers in Europe. And that remains because our current tree strategy is failing.

Bert Evans-Bevan | Nature Programme Officer

At the moment, it's because we are focusing far too much on planting new trees. 

Naturally, this is a good start. But, we must not neglect the role nature must play if we want to fix this tragic problem. This means overcoming obstacles such as an overpopulation of deer and invasive plants like rhododendron which are stifling the ability for trees to regenerate naturally. 

Trees are a critical social and economic good, supporting both biodiversity and nature, improving and making local communities more beautiful, protecting houses from flooding, as well as sequestering carbon. That is why it is unsurprising to learn ‘more trees’ made it into every party’s election manifesto last year. It is clear that we all want more of them, which is why, in 2020, the Conservatives set the ambition to increase tree cover to 16.5% by 2050. 

But at the rate we are going, we are going to miss this target by an area the size of Birmingham. 

That is because the current strategy isn't working, mainly because it relies largely on planting new trees. 

Planting requires significant effort, from sourcing saplings, finding and funding manual labourers, putting in plastic tree guards, and then continued maintenance of the saplings, which often includes the use of herbicides. Furthermore, thousands of these saplings die each year because of drought or flooding, which can quite easily put all the time, money, and hard work to waste.

Surviving extreme weather, pests, and diseases, we are often left with unnatural-looking plantations that can resemble the sort of regimented monocultures you would typically like to avoid when attempting to benefit nature and create wilder places. 

Tree planting certainly has its place, but we must do more to make space for the natural regeneration of trees and allow nature to take its course as well.  

Long before the first tree nursery, trees were happily growing away on their own, without human intervention. They were also doing it for free, and they were not fretting about where their offspring grew. 

We have inadvertently become the nannies nature never asked for. We don’t need to just plant to get more trees; what we really need to do is clear the way for them, and protect their saplings from overgrazing and invasive species. 

But in its current state, Britain has several challenges, from red-tape to invasive species, holding back nature and in turn boosting our tree coverage.  

We need to start by tackling invasive species like the rhododendron shrub. Since its arrival in 1700’s, it has significantly expanded its range from botanical gardens and country estates, displacing entire fragments of rare ancient woodlands and spreading disease to vulnerable native species. 

We also need to tackle the rising invasive deer population. Without any natural predators, they have hit their highest level for 1000 years. Accompanied by native red, roe, and fallow deer, invasive sika, muntjac, and chinese water deer are eating any chance nature has to grow trees on its own terms alongside undermining our tree-planting efforts in the first place. 

These obstacles are widely dispersed and embedded in our countryside, and as the stewards of that, we need land managers on the ground, all over the country to take action. But they need the financial incentives to do so. 

The Environmental Land Management schemes (ELMs) are the perfect vehicle for this, and they offer some financial support already, including up to £5,500 per hectare to control rhododendrons. Meanwhile WS1 offers up to £105 per hectare for controlling deer. Currently, many land managers would argue that the reward does not offer enough to cover the costs of controlling and managing these species, however. If we want to increase tree cover, we need to increase the financial reward so that significant action can be taken. 

This is why likely cuts to the Environmental Land Management schemes (ELMs), that reward farmers for actions like these and much more, are so worrying. Labour has completely neglected the role farmers can play in meeting their own targets. With no alternative in place, Labour seems to be ready to sacrifice their tree cover commitments and add to their list of mounting broken promises. 

Nature is already struggling for space as it is. we will need to be even smarter about how we can make space for it. Land covered by rhododendrons, or overgrazed by deer, can be recovered for nature without much love lost. Enabling our woodlands to regenerate naturally would be an important and valuable legacy.

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