Productive forestry in the Peak District predominantly consists of conifer plantations of larch, pine and spruce, and a small amount of mixed conifer and broadleaf.

Most woodlands have the capacity to make an economic return, usually as part of regular management practices. For example, trees that are removed can be used or sold as wood products or fuel, or coppicing can provide stakes for fencing or hedge-laying.

For nature

• Well-managed productive conifer forests in the Peak District can support species that might not otherwise be found here, such as crossbills that feed on conifer cones.

• Nightjars breed in rotationally felled areas.
• Productive forestry currently provides some of our largest tracts of woodland, and supports goshawk, which build their nests in large trees.
• Older trees are used by long-eared owl and bats.
• Adding diversity to productive forestry can help make these woodlands suitable for species to use to move through the landscape.
• Productive woodlands may provide habitats for new species to the Peak District, as the effects of climate change alter species ranges and distributions.

What else can productive forests deliver?

• Income from timber or wood products as part of the local economy. Forestry can provide long-term income for the next generation.
• Trees sequester carbon so help mitigate climate change, particularly if the carbon is permanently stored as part of a wood product, for example as building material.
• Local timber and wood products from a sustainably managed woodland mean wood is not imported from countries that allow felling of old growth or primary forest.
• Recreational opportunities, such as horse riding or mountain biking.

In practice

• Productive forests can be conifer, broadleaf or mixed.
• Create plenty of edge habitat, which can include clearings, broadleaf margins, scrub and wetlands.
• Consider alternatives to clearfell, such as continuous cover forestry (opens new window). If this is not possible, a mosaic of rotational clearfell, young plantation and old stands will provide different habitats.
• Enhance semi-natural habitats within commercial forestry, such as streams, wetlands and relic patches of native trees and scrub.
• New native woodland adjacent to productive woodlands can blend plantations into the wider landscape.
• The UK Forestry Standard (opens new window) sets out the UK government's approach to sustainable forestry, including standards and requirements, regulations and monitoring, and reporting.

CASE STUDY Dark Peak Forest Plan