Tree planting rates have risen to a 20-year high in England, figures for this year show.
But data has revealed a drop in UK-wide woodland creation from a 35-year high last year, due to a significant drop in planting in Scotland compared with 2024.
The latest figures come after the Climate Change Committee welcomed increased tree planting rates – key to storing carbon as part of efforts to cut climate pollution to zero overall by 2050, known as net zero – but warned that cuts to funding for woodland creation in Scotland could slow progress.
The area of woodland across the UK now stands at 3.29 million hectares, or around 14% of the country’s total land area.
In the planting season 2024/2025, more than 5,700 hectares of new woods were planted in England, 960 hectares in Wales, 8,470 in Scotland and 500 hectares in Northern Ireland, bringing the total area of new woods to just below 16,000 hectares, official data from the Forest Research agency shows.
Nearly two-thirds (64%) of the planting was broadleaved trees, with the remainder conifers.
While the figures for 2025 show the largest area of woodland created in England since 2003, planting in Scotland dropped significantly from 15,040 hectares in 2024 – the highest level since 1990.
Figures for England also show 7,164 hectares of trees were planted overall, including nearly 1,400 hectares of trees outside woodland.
Nature Minister Mary Creagh said: “With this Government, tree planting rates in England are now at the highest level in over 20 years.
“We rapidly established a new Tree Planting Taskforce, announced the first of three new national forests and these figures show we are making good progress.
“There is much more to do – that is why we are investing over £800 million to plant trees across the country as part of our Plan for Change.”
Forestry Commission chairman Sir William Worsley said: “We are making considerable progress in increasing rates of tree-planting in England thanks to government investment and a significant amount of work alongside our partners and stakeholders across the country, including farmers and land managers.
“We currently import 80% of the timber we use, and supporting domestic timber production and tree nurseries will be vital to drive up tree-planting rates further as well as creating productive woodlands, caring for the woodlands we already have and further work with farmers to show that tree planting schemes can go hand-in-hand with food production.”
The figures come after nature charity the Woodland Trust warned the UK needs to dramatically improve the condition and scale of woodlands to tackle wildlife loss, warning the quantity and variety of species was plummeting despite a slight rise in tree cover.
