Managing our woodlands

 

The main contiguous forest area, Kielder Forest Park is the largest forest in England and one of the largest man-made forests in Europe.  It covers an area of 60 000 hectares and comprises the forests of Redesdale, Kielder, Falstone, Wark, Kershope and Spadeadam. Together, these form Kielder Forest Park, straddling the Northumberland-Cumbria boundary and lying between the Scottish border and Hadrian’s Wall.

The Forestry Commission also manages some 50 separate woodlands in north east England including Wooler Common, Hepburn, Thrunton, Harbottle, Harwood and Slaley in Northumberland as well as Chopwell Wood in Tyne and Wear, Hamsterley and the Stang in County Durham, and Guisborough in Cleveland.

Aims of management

Our management aims to create and sustain forests and woodlands which are attractive as well as productive, useful to the community and pleasant places for people to visit, rich in wildlife, both plant and animal, and where the natural and cultural heritage is safely conserved. It also aims to generate sufficient income to pay for these activities and provide a financial return on investment. The region is managed in the context of the England Forestry Strategy and the North East Regional Forest Strategy, and in accordance with the UK Woodland Assurance Standard.

Species

Across the whole region, species proportions are: Sitka spruce 70%, lodgepole pine 7%, Norway spruce 7%, Scots pine 5%, larch 3%, other conifers 3% and broadleaves 5%.

Sitka spruce is the main species in Kielder Forest Park. It is the only tree species which thrives in this hostile environment, accounting for three quarters of the forested area of the Forest Park. Of the remainder, 9% is Norway spruce and 7% lodgepole pine plus a small proportion of Scots pine, larch and broadleaves.  Through an expansion of broadleaved planting, the percentage of hardwoods will rise in the Forest Park from 1% in the original forest to 3% now and to 8% by 2020.

In the east and south of the region, Sitka spruce is less dominant at 55%, with more Scots pine (12%), similar lodgepole pine (9%), more larch (8%), other conifers (8%) and broadleaves (8%).