FGS Woodland Creation - Claims

Scotland’s woodlands and forests are a vital national resource and play an important role in rural development and sustainable land use. As well as helping to reduce the impacts of climate change and providing timber for industry, our forests enhance and protect the environment and provide opportunities for public enjoyment. The Forestry Grant Scheme (FGS) will support: - the creation of new woodlands, contributing towards the Scottish Government target of over 10,000 hectares of new woodlands per year - the sustainable management of existing woodlands WOODLAND CREATION - CLAIMS ============================== The aim of this category is to support the creation of new woodland that will bring economic, environmental and social benefits. These benefits include: - meeting our target to increase woodland cover by an extra 100,000 hectares between 2012 and 2022 - helping mitigate climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions through carbon sequestration - restoration of 'lost' habitats through developing forest habitat networks - supporting a sustainable forest industry by providing a reliable timber supply - protecting soil and water - providing community benefits through public access - enhancing urban areas and improving landscapes - supporting rural development through local businesses and farm diversification This dataset identifies areas where tree planting has taken place under the following FGS woodland creation options: - Conifer - Diverse Conifer - Broadleaves - Native Scots Pine - Native Upland Birch - Native Broadleaves - Native Low-density Broadleaves - Small or Farm Woodlands - Native Broadleaves in Northern and Western Isles The polygons in this dataset identify the spatial location of tree species grant aided under FGS and the planting year. All areas of grant aided open ground (OG) and non-grant aided other land (OL) are excluded from this dataset.