Skip to main content

Popular Searches

Climate change Oak Processionary Moth TreeAlert National Forest Inventory Acute Oak Decline
Home / Tools and resources / Statistics / Forestry Statistics and Forestry Facts & Figures / Forestry Statistics 2016 / 2016 – Woodland Areas and Planting / 2016 – National Forest Inventory
Back to 2016 - National Forest Inventory

Growing stock is the volume of timber in living trees. It is also often referred to as the standing volume.

Table 1.10 presents the volume of coniferous growing stock, broken down by principal species, ownership and country.

The total volume of coniferous growing stock in Great Britain in 2012 was 355 million m3 overbark standing (Table 1.10).

Sitka spruce accounted for around one half (51%) of the conifer growing stock, followed by Scots pine (15%) and Larches (10%). This largely reflects the distribution of species by area (see Table 1.8).

Table 1.10 Growing stock in GB by ownership and principal species: Conifers
Principal species England Wales Scotland GB
million cubic metres overbark standing
FC1
Sitka spruce 8.9 11.1 52.1 72.0
Scots pine 4.0 0.5 8.8 13.3
Corsican pine 5.5 0.6 0.4 6.4
Norway spruce 1.7 1.5 3.5 6.7
Larches 1.7 2.7 4.8 9.2
Douglas fir 2.7 1.3 1.4 5.4
Lodgepole pine 0.8 0.6 8.2 9.6
Other conifers 1.5 1.1 1.0 3.6
All conifers 26.8 19.4 80.2 126.4
Private sector2
Sitka spruce 11.4 9.5 88.0 108.9
Scots pine 14.7 0.3 24.5 39.4
Corsican pine 4.7 0.2 0.3 5.3
Norway spruce 7.1 1.3 5.9 14.4
Larches 10.7 3.3 12.3 26.3
Douglas fir 6.4 1.6 3.5 11.5
Lodgepole pine 1.0 0.3 7.4 8.7
Other conifers 7.6 1.1 3.0 11.7
All conifers 63.7 17.9 146.7 228.4
Total
Sitka spruce 20.3 20.6 140.0 180.9
Scots pine 18.6 0.8 33.3 52.7
Corsican pine 10.2 0.8 0.7 11.7
Norway spruce 8.8 2.8 9.4 21.1
Larches 12.4 6.0 17.1 35.6
Douglas fir 9.1 2.9 4.9 16.9
Lodgepole pine 1.8 0.9 15.5 18.3
Other conifers 9.1 2.2 4.1 15.4
All conifers 90.5 37.4 226.9 354.7

Source: National Forest Inventory: 50-year forecast of softwood availability (Forestry Commission, April 2014).

Notes:

1. FC: Forestry Commission (England, Scotland and Wales).

2. Private sector: all other woodland. Includes woodland previously owned/managed by the Countryside Council for Wales and the Environment Agency in Wales, other publicly owned woodland (e.g. owned by local authorities) and privately owned woodland.

3. Areas at 31 March 2012.

These figures are outside the scope of National Statistics

Tools & Resources
In this section
Tools & Resources