Woodland Creation – Native Scots Pine
This is an old version of the page
This is an old version of the page
Date published: 30 March, 2015
Date superseded: 2 July, 2015
Aim
The aim of these scheme is to create or expand native pinewood priority habitat of the National Vegetation Classification W18.
Eligibility criteria
You must meet all eligibility criteria listed on the Woodland Creation page and:
- you must comply with the UK Forestry Standard
- the minimum planting width is 15 metres
- the minimum block size is 0.25 hectares in any one year
- the woodland must be within the pinewood zone. Select the Forestry Grant Scheme (2014–2020) Target Areas folder on the Forestry Commission Scotland Map Viewer page to see if you are eligible
- your application must meet the species composition criteria in the table below
| Composition of native Scots pine woodland | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Item | Minimum (per cent) | Maximum (per cent) | Minimum stocking density on the planted area at year five (per hectare) |
| Native Scots pine | 70 | 75 | 1600 |
| Native broadleaves or shrubs [1] | 10 | 15 | 1600 |
| Designed open ground [2] | 0 | 15 | n/a |
| [1] Up to 20 per cent of the native broadleaves can be native woody shrubs as recommended for this National Vegetation Classification woodland type in Forestry Commission Bulletin 112. [2] You must refer to the designed open ground guidance on the Forestry Commission Scotland Technical Support page to see how designed open ground will apply to your application. For example additional open ground, in excess of the specified percentage, may be permissible depending on the specifics of the site, but will not be eligible for grant support. | |||
Please note that in order to achieve 100 per cent from the table above you will not be able to select all minimum or all of the maximum values.
Species selection
As an initial first step in determining whether or not the site is climatically suitable, you should view the Forestry Grant Scheme (2014–2020) Site Suitability folder on the Forestry Commission Scotland Map Viewer page.
You should also demonstrate that this National Vegetation Classification woodland type is appropriate to the site, which will be determined by existing vegetation indicators (refer to Forestry Commission Bulletin 112 – Creating New Native Woodlands), as well as climatic conditions, soil moisture and soil nutrient regimes.
Any applications that are not shown as being climatically suitable will only be considered if you can clearly demonstrate that the site is suitable for the chosen species of trees, for example where there is localised shelter in an otherwise exposed location.
As per the eligibility criteria of the woodland creation general guidance the tree species must be 'suitable' or 'very suitable' to the site.
For all native Scots pine and native broadleaves planted within this option, you must provide a copy of the supplier's document when submitting an initial planting claim (see Forestry Commission Scotland Technical Support for an example document).
As well as entering the quantity of trees and the Master Certificate Number on the suppliers document, you should also include the region of provenance, demonstrating that the trees are suitable for the site (refer to Forestry Commission Scotland guidance on Seed sources for planting native trees and shrubs in Scotland).
See the Forestry Commission's Marketing and Supplying Forest Reproductive Materials for further information.