EIR/202600521551 · FOI/EIR · not held
Forestry Statistics: EIR release
Information requested
1) The latest estimate of woodland and forest cover in Scotland both in number of hectares, and the total percentage of Scotland's land mass.
2) Scotland’s Forestry Strategy 2019-2029 committed to increase tree cover by:
10 000 ha in 2018 12 000 ha per year from 2020/21 14 000 ha per year from 2022/23 15 000 ha per year from 2024/25
Please tell me how many ha tree cover was increased by in each of the calendar/financial years (as relevant) between 2018 and 2025/26.
3) The strategy commits to increasing the amount of native woodland in good condition. Please advise how much native woodland has been upgraded to good in each year since 2018.
4) Please advise how much native woodland has been created in each year since 2018.
5) Please advise how many hectares of new native woodland have been upgraded to into satisfactory condition in each of these years.
You asked on 12 June 2026 for
Further to the above, for each question, please break down the hectarage by species.
Response
As the information you have requested is ‘environmental information’ for the purposes of the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004 (EIRs), we are required to deal with your request under those Regulations. We are applying the exemption at section 39(2) of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA), so that we do not also have to deal with your request under FOISA.
This exemption is subject to the ‘public interest test’. Therefore, taking account of all the circumstances of this case, we have considered if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exemption. We have found that, on balance, the public interest lies in favour of upholding the exemption, because there is no public interest in dealing with the same request under two different regimes. This is essentially a technical point and has no material effect on the outcome of your request.
1. The latest estimate of woodland and forest cover in Scotland both in number of hectares, and the total percentage of Scotland's land mass.
Further to the above, for each question, please break down the hectarage by species.
Under regulation 6(1)(b) of the EIRs, we do not have to give you information which is already publicly available and easily accessible to you in another form or format. If, however, you do not have internet access to obtain this information from the website(s) listed, then please contact me again and I will send you a paper copy.
The information you have requested is available from Forest Research within the report Forestry Statistics 2025 also here:
https://cdn.forestresearch.gov.uk/2025/09/FS2025_Ch1-68d4f71b97f6f.pdf
You may find it helpful to refer to the following within the above mentioned report:
Page 5, within Key Findings
Page 22, Table 1.5: Public sector land use1, UK, 2021 to 2025
2) Scotland’s Forestry Strategy 2019-2029 committed to increase tree cover by:
10 000 ha in 2018 12 000 ha per year from 2020/21 14 000 ha per year from 2022/23 15 000 ha per year from 2024/25
Please tell me how many ha tree cover was increased by in each of the calendar/financial years (as relevant) between 2018 and 2025/26.
Further to the above, for each question, please break down the hectarage by species.
Under regulation 6(1)(b) of the EIRs, we do not have to give you information which is already publicly available and easily accessible to you in another form or format. If, however, you do not have internet access to obtain this information from the website(s) listed, then please contact me again and I will send you a paper copy.
On how many ha tree cover was increased by in each of the calendar/financial years (as relevant) between 2018 and 2025/26.
Some of the information you have requested on how many ha tree cover increased up to 2025 is publicly available from Forest Research within their report Forestry Facts & Figures 2017 and Forestry Statistics 2025 available from:
https://cdn.forestresearch.gov.uk/2018/09/fcfs218.pdf
https://cdn.forestresearch.gov.uk/2025/09/FS2025_Ch1-68d4f71b97f6f.pdf
The Forestry Statistics 2025 report includes a link to the Time Series and ‘Table 5: New planting by forest type and ownership, Scotland, 1971 to 2026’, which details amounts for conifer and broadleaf species at the direct link below:
https://view.officeapps.live.com/op/view.aspx?src=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.forestresearch.gov.uk%2F2026%2F06%2Fnew_planting_restocking_2026-06-25.v2.ods&wdOrigin=BROWSELINK
Please also find attached the information we hold in relation to your request, which is the format of an Excel spreadsheet named: ‘FGS Native Woodland Creation 2005 – 2024’
Please note:
The attached spreadsheet shows the total area of native woodland creation in the private sector funded by the Forestry Grant Scheme (FGS) or declared to us at Scottish Forestry. The data is calculated once a year by Scottish Forestry, for Scotland as a whole only, and is up to the latest complete year (with 25/26 data not yet available). We have calculated the native woodland as in the below table:
FGS - Deriving a figure for native woodland area (from 2018/19 onwards) Conifer Option - 5% Native Broadleaves Diverse Conifer Option - 5% Native Broadleaves All Native Options - 100% Native Broadleaves & Small or Farm Options - 0% Native Natural Regeneration - 100% Native. Conifer/Broadleaves split as declared on case by case basis or 90/10 if unknown.
While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance Scottish Forestry does not have some of the information you have requested. Therefore, we are refusing your request under the exception at regulation 10(4)(a) of the EIRs. The reasons why that exception applies are explained below/in the Annex to this letter.
Under regulation 9 of the EIRs (our duty to provide advice and assistance) we would like to provide further information which may be of interest:
On how many ha tree cover was increased by in each of the calendar/financial years (as relevant) between 2018 and 2025/26.
The spreadsheet with title ‘FGS Native Woodland Creation 2005 – 2024’ includes figures on total woodland created each year since 2005, however, as this only has information on the private sector under the FGS or declared to us at Scottish Forestry, you may wish to contact Forestry and Land Scotland via email freedomofinformation@forestryandland.gov.scot who may be able to help you.
On hectarage by tree species.
Tree species information is available via a spatial query and it should be noted that Spatial Data and the Management Information we have provided on private and woodland declared to us, will not match, as species areas are mapped net of open space.
Whilst we do capture some data on species planted, a species breakdown for native woodland creation is not possible because the vast majority of planting is an intimate mix, recorded only as ‘Native Mixed Broadleaves’ in our data. We do not hold the data to give a full breakdown.
If you wish to look at the species-level data we have, this is contained within the ‘FGS Woodland Creation Claims’ layer, available to download from our Open Data site (the attribute table can be downloaded in either .csv or .xlsx format, so specialist GIS software is not required): SF Open Data - FGS Woodland Creation Claims
3) The strategy commits to increasing the amount of native woodland in good condition. Please advise how much native woodland has been upgraded to good in each year since 2018.
While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance the Scottish Government does not have the information you have requested. Therefore we are refusing your request under the exception at regulation 10(4)(a) of the EIRs. The reasons why that exception applies are explained below/in the Annex to this letter.
Under regulation 9 of the EIRs (our duty to provide advice and assistance) we would like to provide further information which may be of interest:
The National Forest Inventory programme, run by Forest Research which monitors woodland and trees within Great Britain, is not designed to produce annual data on condition. The first inventory cycle ran from 2009–2015, and the second cycle was carried out approximately from 2016 to 2021. However, ecological condition estimates from the second cycle are not yet available, so it is not possible to provide estimates of change between Cycles 1 and 2.
4) Please advise how much native woodland has been created in each year since 2018.
Please find attached the information we hold in relation to your request, which is the format of an Excel spreadsheet named: ‘FGS Native Woodland Creation 2005 – 2024’, (as provided for part 2 of the request).
Please note:
The attached spreadsheet shows the total area of native woodland creation in the private sector funded by the Forestry Grant Scheme (FGS) or declared to us at Scottish Forestry. The data is calculated once a year by Scottish Forestry, for Scotland as a whole only, and is up to the latest complete year (with 25/26 data not yet available). We have calculated the native woodland as in the below table:
FGS - Deriving a figure for native woodland area (from 2018/19 onwards) Conifer Option - 5% Native Broadleaves Diverse Conifer Option - 5% Native Broadleaves All Native Options - 100% Native Broadleaves & Small or Farm Options - 0% Native Natural Regeneration - 100% Native. Conifer/Broadleaves split as declared on case by case basis or 90/10 if unknown.
While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance Scottish Forestry does not have some of the information you have requested. Therefore we are refusing your request under the exception at regulation 10(4)(a) of the EIRs. The reasons why that exception applies are explained below/in the Annex to this letter.
Under regulation 9 of the EIRs (our duty to provide advice and assistance) we would like to provide further information which may be of interest.
On woodland created each year since 2018:
The spreadsheet with title ‘FGS Native Woodland Creation 2005 – 2024’ we have provided only has the information on the private sector under FGS or declared to us at Scottish Forestry, however, you may wish to contact Forestry and Land Scotland via email freedomofinformation@forestryandland.gov.scot who may be able to help you.
On native woodland hectarage by tree species:
Tree species information is available via a spatial query and it should be noted that Spatial Data and the Management Information we have provided on private and woodland declared to us, will not match, as species areas are mapped net of open space.
Whilst we do capture some data on species planted, a species breakdown for native woodland creation is not possible because the vast majority of planting is an intimate mix, recorded only as ‘Native Mixed Broadleaves’ in our data. We do not hold the data to give a full breakdown.
If you wish to look at the species-level data we have, this is contained within the ‘FGS Woodland Creation Claims’ layer, available to download from our Open Data site (the attribute table can be downloaded in either .csv or .xlsx format, so specialist GIS software is not required): SF Open Data - FGS Woodland Creation Claims
5) Please advise how many hectares of new native woodland have been upgraded to into satisfactory condition in each of these years.
While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance Scottish Forestry does not have the information you have requested. Therefore we are refusing your request under the exception at regulation 10(4)(a) of the EIRs. The reasons why that exception applies are explained below/in the Annex to this letter.
Under regulation 9 of the EIRs (our duty to provide advice and assistance) we would like to provide further information which may be of interest:
The National Forest Inventory programme, run by Forest Research which monitors woodland and trees within Great Britain, is not designed to produce annual data on condition. The first inventory cycle ran from 2009–2015, and the second cycle was carried out approximately from 2016 to 2021. However, ecological condition estimates from the second cycle are not yet available, so it is not possible to provide estimates of change between Cycles 1 and 2.
ANNEX A
REASONS FOR NOT PROVIDING INFORMATION
Information not held
Under the terms of the exception at regulation 10(4)(a) of the EIRs (information not held), Scottish Forestry is not required to provide information which it does not have. Scottish Forestry does not have the information you have requested because:
i. (Requests 3 and 5) We do not hold data and/or information on how much native woodland has been upgraded to satisfactory condition in each of the years of the request since 2018 and it should be noted the National Forest Inventory is not designed to produce annual data on condition.
ii. (Request 2 and 4) We calculate woodland created in the private sector in relation the Forestry Grant Scheme, or declared to us at Scottish Forestry, for Scotland as a whole (with data for 25/26 not yet available), and this calculation does not include Forestry and Land Scotland native woodland creation.
iii. (Request 2 and 4) The Management Information in the spreadsheet we are providing will not match species data, as species areas are mapped net of open space.
iv. (Request 2 and 4) While we do capture some data on species planted, a species breakdown for native woodland creation is not possible because the vast majority of planting is a mix, recorded only as ‘Native Mixed Broadleaves’ in our data and we do not hold the data in the format to report on hectarage by species.
This exception is subject to the 'public interest test'. Therefore, taking account of all the circumstances of this case, we have considered if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exception. We have found that, on balance, the public interest lies in favour of upholding the exception. While we recognise that there may be some public interest in information about native woodland created and in the hectarage by species, the amount of native woodland in good condition and how much of this has been upgraded to satisfactory condition for the years requested, clearly, we cannot provide information which we do not hold.
About FOI
The Scottish Government is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. View all FOI responses at https://www.gov.scot/foi-responses.
Detected exemption language
We are applying the exemption at section 39(2) of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA), so that we do not also have to deal with your request under FOISA. This exemption is subject to the ‘public interest test’. Therefore, taking account of all the circumstances of this case, we have considered if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exemption. We have found that, on balance, the public interest lies in favour of upholding the exemption, because there is no public interest in dealing with the same request under two different regimes. Therefore, we are refusing your request under the exception at regulation 10(4)(a) of the EIRs.