Forests Scotland: Public perception of Sitka spruce needs to change as nation 'fails to reach tree planting targets', industry leaders say

The coniferous tree has been the subject of debate for decades after swathes of Scotland’s land were covered by Sitka spruce plantations in the late 20th century.

The negative perception of Sitka spruce growing in Scotland needs to change if the country is to meet its tree planting targets and decrease its reliance on timber imports, industry leaders have said.

It comes after an annual forestry paper reported a fall in tree planting in the UK over the past year. Just 13,000 hectares of trees were planted – a drop of 7 per cent and 43 per cent of the national target of 30,000 hectares.

Sitka spruce is native to north west America and is the fifth largest conifer in the world. It grows up to 55m, but can reach 100m. It is fast growing, with young trees growing as much as 1.5m in a year, and is used for timber.

Forestry workers fell a Sitka Spruce tree in Northumberland's Kielder Forest before it makes the 330-mile journey south to Westminster. Picture: Owen Humphreys/PA Wire

Swathes of Scotland’s land was planted with the confier between the 1960s and 1980s for commercial timber plantation. These dense plantations have drawn criticism over the years for establishing monocultures across land that could have seen alternative use, including the return of native trees.

There have been concerns the plantations are less resilient to disease, severe weather and longer-term climatic shifts, and that mixed species with a healthy component of native species should survive better. The visual impact of the ‘serried ranks’ on the landscape and the lack of species diversity under its dense canopy have also been noted as issues.

Forestry leaders, however, have said the Sitka industry has “become a lot wiser” in the past few decades. If used in the right place, they claim the conifer remains the best tree to meet the urgent need to grow more UK timber on an environmental and productivity level, and to meet climate mitigation obligations.

Jon Lambert, a partner at land and forestry group Goldcrest, said: "The healthiest, fastest growing and what produces the best quality timber for our environment on our UK soils is Sitka spruce. If we are planting broadleaf in a high-amenity landscape environment, we use native oak and native species, which won’t produce large quantities of merchantable timber at the end of the day.

Sitka spruce after it has been cut, ready for sale

"It’s very much about choosing the right tree for the right location for the right use.”

He said the hoops the tree planters go through now compared to the 1980s was “immeasurably different”. For example, 40-plus years ago, forests could be 100 per cent Sitka spruce.

But now the Scottish Government has policy in place that allows only up to a maximum of 65 per cent of one species in a forest to prevent monocultures. The remaining percentage then tend to be a mix of other species, including larch and fir, broadleaf varieties, and maybe some open ground.

There are also measures in place to protect wildlife. For example if a golden eagle nest is found in a Sitka forest, a buffer around the nest is required should the pair of birds return the following year.

Jon Lambert, a partner at Goldcrest, said public perceptions of Sitka spruce need to change for the nation to meet targets and reduce reliance on imported timber (pic: Goldcrest)

The call for a more positive view of Sitka also comes with an increasing, global demand for timber as Scotland moves into a low carbon era.

At the launch of the 2023 UK Forest Market Report earlier this month, architects discussed a notable change in the past three years compared to the past two decades on the use of timber in commercial and residential buildings – demand is increasing.

Mr Lambert said: “We are using more and more timber as concrete, steel and plastics go out the window. The timber we get from Sitka is completely sustainable.

"The trees grow for 35 years, we chop them down, we convert them into timber, we convert that into roof trusses and cross-laminate timber (CLT) walls, we restock the site and it grows again.”

The UK imports 81 per cent of its wood products, which makes it the third biggest importer in the world after the US and China. Most of the wood it imports comes from Europe.

Despite global, annual consumption increasing, Mr Lambert said the world is in short supply. The impact of geopolitical shifts, such as the Russia-Ukraine war, which led to a hike in timber prices, is also another reason for the conifer to be grown on home soil, he said.

"There is a lot of land in the UK that is appropriate for tree planting for timber,” he said.

Mr Lambert said while there were challenges with other competing uses for land such as food production, housing and transport, he insisted “it is all about planting trees in the right place”.

"We only have a finite amount of land, so we need to put it to the best use,” he said. "There is often opposition from the farmer and the forester – the farmer wants to farm, the forester wants to grow trees.

"It’s about finding the best solution for that piece of ground. The foresters are not allowed to go and plant on grade one, two and three in Scotland, so we are planting on grade four, five and six. But this is not one or the other. The two can go hand in hand."

Xander Mahony, head of forestry investment at Tilhill, said the industry needed to work together more to change public perceptions about the tree and address the “disconnect” with where wood products come from.

“People want things made out of wood,” he said. “Wood looks nice, we have our buildings made out of CLT [cross-laminated timber], but they don’t connect that to growing good Sitka in plantations. And so breaking through that communication barrier and making that connection is really important.”

The forestry report found for the first time in almost a decade forestry values fell, with a 10 per cent to 20 per cent drop in the past year.

Produced by Tillhill and Goldcrest, the paper said: “Compared to the rampaging run of forestry as an asset class over the last 17 years, the lagging effect of economic turmoil from the mini-budget, the war in Ukraine, and rising interest rates have softened market activity across the board in both afforestation and commercial/amenity woodlands.”

The report found land listed for sale that could offer natural capital potential reached a massive £276 million, up 241 per cent, dwarfing the land suitable for commercial forestry. England had the biggest market by value with £144.5m while Scotland had the most land available with 13,394 hectares. Prices were highest in Wales at £17,000 per hectare.