Forest and Woodland

The forest cover which developed in Scotland after de-glaciation was a western outlier of the European temperate/boreal (northern) forest transition zone.  Prior to forest clearance in Scotland, the extent and composition of these forests changed in response to the prevailing climatic conditions.

By 1919, when the Forestry Commission was established, Scotland's forests had declined to less than 5 per cent of the land area, despite substantial tree planting by private landowners in the nineteenth century.  The forest area then expanded steadily after 1919 and by 1992 it was estimated to cover approximately 14 per cent of Scotland.

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