RSE - tree planting inquiry evidence - Dr Andrew Cameron 2024

We seek to establish the extent to which current practices are delivering these benefits, how far they represent good public value in the short and long term, and what more, if anything, could be done to improve public benefits in tackling the climate-nature crisis and the economic and social well-being of resident communities by tree planting, woodland and commercial forest management. [...] What evidence is there that current practices will ensure that all newly planted woodland will be a net sink over this period, taking account of both above- and below-ground carbon? What impact will the time lag for carbon capture of new plantings and the harvesting of previously planted commercial forestry have on meeting the targets? [500 words] Response: 3 Most of the stored carbon in establish. [...] Do you have evidence on the role tree species choice and composition have in influencing biodiversity, timber production, flood management, and other outcomes? Do the species of trees and the mix of species help, hinder or change the balance of the benefits being sought? [500 words] Response: The immediacy of climate change has renewed the debate on appropriate tree species to use in productive fo. [...] Arguments supporting the use of mixtures in productive forest stands is based on the likelihood of one of the species in a mixture surviving climate related damage (biotic and abiotic) limiting the potential environmental and economic loss if only a single species were present (e.g. [...] While the use of non-native species continues to be criticised with the implication of poor biodiversity, there are numerous studies demonstrating that productive forests of non-native temperate trees sustain a level of biodiversity equivalent to that in planted forests of native species (e.g.