The Timber Thread

From The Wood Explorer:

Overview
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, located to the north-west of continental Europe, has a mild, humid climate. Forest and other wooded land accounts for only one tenth of the land area; this percentage has doubled since the First World War as a result of afforestation, much of which took place in Scpotland, Wales and northern England. More than four fifths of the forest is available for wood supply; the remainder is not available for conservation and protection reasons. Over two thirds of the forest is classed as plantations, the remainder as semi-natural. There are virtually no remnants of forest undisturbed by man. Coniferous species make up three fifths of the growing stock volume, with Sitka spruce and Douglas fir (introduced), Norway spruce and Scots pine among the more important species, mostly growing in plantations and in young to middle-aged age classes. Beech and oak are among the most common broadleaved species, but policy is encouraging a range of broadleaved species in planting for landscape and amenity reasons. Wood production is increasing, while remaining well below net increment because of the age class structure of stands. Public ownership has been declining as a result of privatization to around two fifths of the total. Most private forests are owned by individuals but some by investment groups and nature conservation associations.

Forest Types


Geographic Description
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is located in north-western Europe. It is bordered on the south by the English Channel, which separates it from the continent of Europe; on the east by the North Sea; on the west by the Irish Sea, the Atlantic Ocean and the Republic of Ireland.

Great Britain is the largest island in the cluster of islands known as the British Isles. England is the largest and most populous division of the island of Great Britain, making up the south and east. Wales is on the west and Scotland is to the north. Northern Ireland is located in the north-east corner of Ireland, the second largest island in the British Isles. There are numerous smaller islands. Total area is 244 110 km2.

Highlands cover the northern half of Scotland. They are a region of mountain ranges, plateaus, and deep valleys, including the highest point in the British Isles, Ben Nevis (1 343 m). Many bays and inlets cut deeply into the coast. Soils are poor. South of the highlands lie broad lowlands in the valleys of the Clyde, Forth and Tay Rivers. To the south are more uplands, mostly rounded, rolling hills, rising in the south to the Cheviot Hills, which form the border between Scotland and England.

The Pennines are an upland region extending from the Scottish border about halfway down the length of England. They are made up of broad, rolling, windswept moorlands separated by deep river valleys. West of the Pennines lies the Lake District in the Cumbrian Mountains.

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