Thoughts on trees on the hills

As I drove north towards Cumbria on the M6 recently I saw the proliferation of tree planting on the hills as the motorway followed the Lune Valley through the Howgills and up towards Shap summit.  Trees are being planted in their thousands in places which might previously have been considered inhospitable and the push for more tree planting continues.

Tree planting in the hills today is far from the “serried ranks of alien conifers” which proliferated in the 1960s and 70s. You are now more likely to see scrub planting, which might require livestock exclusion for a period of establishment, or upland wood pasture where livestock grazing continues alongside and under the individually protected trees. Both options can be funded through Countryside Stewardship, which offers capital grants and ongoing management payments for the duration of the scheme.

Remnant wood pasture in Mallerstang

We all know that trees can provide multiple benefits, or “ecosystem services”, including carbon capture, shading and cooling watercourses, providing shade and shelter for livestock, stabilising steep banks and even purifying the air through the filtering action of leaves, but these services are not all recognised and rewarded by society. Capital grants are useful, but long term funding is needed to secure the ongoing management of trees and encourage more farmers and landowners to treat trees as another venture on a mixed upland farm or estate. The Woodland Carbon Code sets standards for carbon credits from new woodland but neither scrub nor woodland pasture are currently eligible, although there are suggestions that this might be reviewed.

The impact of trees on biodiversity can be controversial and they can undoubtedly have a negative impact if planted in the wrong place. One particularly sensitive area is the North Pennines, a lightly wooded landscape which is internationally important for upland wading birds. Any new tree planting here must be carefully planned to avoid conflict with other conservation priorities, but there are places where trees can make a positive contribution to the local environment, such as ghyll planting which can support black grouse populations. North Pennines AONB has launched a scheme funded through the government’s Trees Call to Action Fund and now employs two Tree and Woodland Officers to support landowners in selecting sites, choosing the right tree species and accessing grant funding for the work. Interested landowners can contact Simon O’Hare, who covers Cumbria (sohare@northpenninesaonb.org.uk) and Iain Hartshorne, who covers Co Durham (iain@northpenninesaonb.org.uk). 

Ghyll planting in Cumbria

What we cannot yet know is how all these new plantings will affect the uplands as they grow and mature and there are many questions to be considered. Much of the recent planting will result in even-aged stands emerging – how will these sites be managed to promote age diversity over time? Part of what makes the planting so visible from the motorway is the ubiquitous green plastic tree tube – will there be funding to remove and recycle these in future, or will they slowly degrade where they stand, contaminating the land with micro-plastic? Which of the several biodegradable tree shelters coming to the market might be better? What will the impact of the trees be on local hydrology – will they slow the flow of water off the hill and so help to reduce downstream flood risk, or might some areas dry out, posing a greater risk for wildfire? Only time (and monitoring) will tell.

So while the push for more tree planting continues, there is much for land managers to ponder before making such a long term commitment. Which trees, what for and where? How will the work be funded and will there be enough income to pay for the ongoing management? What will be the local and wider impact of the planting for the farm business, for local wildlife and the environment? As with so much in rural land management, it can all be more complicated than it might at first seem, but there is plenty of advice and support available to help you see the wood for the trees.

27th July 2023