THE woodland area of Britain more than doubled during the last century, according to the latest record of tree cover published by the Forestry Commission.
The `National Inventory of Woodlands and Trees - Great Britain' brings together data published for Scotland, England and Wales, summarising the picture across Great Britain at the start of the 21st century.
The report found 11.6 per cent of Britain is covered by woodland totalling over 2.6million hectares. This represents a 26 per cent increase in woodland cover since the previous inventory of woodland in 1980, and a more than doubling of woodland area in Britain over the course of the 20th century.
Scotland has the most woodland with 16.4 per cent cover, a high proportion of which is coniferous, followed by Wales with 13.8 per cent and a more even balance between coniferous and broadleaved trees. England has 8.4 per cent woodland cover, with broadleaved woodland now the most dominant type.
The survey was carried out by the Woodland Surveys Branch of Forest Research, the Forestry Commission's scientific agency. Copies of the 'National Inventory of Woodland and Trees - Great Britain' cost £15 and are available from Forestry Commission Publications, PO Box 25, Wetherby, West Yorkshire, LS23 7EW, telephone 08701214180.