Guidance

Guide to restocking your woodlands (Ips typographus)

Published 15 January 2024

Applies to England

• Publication for Northern Ireland
• Publication for Scotland
• Publication for Wales

Restocking

Over the next 10 years, the Forestry Commission is encouraging landowners to remove spruce (particularly any stressed, windblown and snapped tops) from the Demarcation Area (DMA) within the south-east of England and to replant with other more resilient species.

The Tree Health Pilot (THP) provides funding that could help manage or fell at risk spruce trees, restock woodland and maintain newly planted trees.

If funding is granted, you must not plant the same species that was affected by pests and diseases in the first place, this means you cannot replant spruce.

You should consider which tree species is most resilient to any pests and diseases that may be present in the area, and the impacts of climate change, including drought and windblow. For more information contact your Woodland Officer or view the available tools in the Q&As.

Restocking does not need to impact productivity or have adverse impacts on the market in the Ips typographus DMA. We also need to balance the needs of biodiversity and climate resilience.

Planting should comply with UK Forestry Standard (UKFS), which includes promoting diverse woodlands.

What you need to know

Understand the legal requirements in grant funded situations when spruce trees are felled under Statutory Plant Health Notice (SPHN) or proactively felled within the Ips typographus DMA.

Understand the requirements across different sites, including Plantations on Ancient Woodland Sites (PAWS), designated Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), Special Protection Areas (SPAs), Special Areas of Conservation (SACs) and other protected landscapes (e.g. National Parks).

Legal and regulatory process (with grant support)

If you receive an SPHN, we strongly encourage you to restock, to ensure there is no net loss of tree cover. However, you are not legally required to do this.

You may be legally required to restock as a condition of a felling licence, or a restocking notice associated with a felling licence.

If you receive grant funding to restock trees, there are legal and regulatory requirements which you must follow as a condition of the funding. This includes ensuring restocking is compliant with the UKFS, the Plant Health Management Standard and wider policy requirements (for example, restocking approach and species choice, selection and design).

Your guide to restocking for healthy woodlands

To promote establishing diverse woodlands a maximum of 65% may be allocated to a single species within Forest Management Units (FMU) (75% until 1 Oct 2024).

All sites

Legal requirements    

Adhere to requirements outlined within SPHN.

Landowner actions   

Must not plant spruce.

Grant funded options

Spruce cannot be replanted.

Undesignated sites

Legal requirements

Can legally restock with any tree species, unless states otherwise on an SPHN or felling Landowner actions licences prohibit spruce.

Landowner actions

Can restock with any tree species other than spruce.

Restocking must be UKFS compliant.

Diverse planting is encouraged to promote resilient woodlands. A maximum of 65% of the Forest Management Unit can be allocated to a single species.

Grant funded options

Spruce cannot be replanted.

Restocking must be UKFS compliant.

Grants are available to help with felling, restocking and maintenance. For restocking payments, woodland sites are subject to a per hectare cap of £4,720 for native tree species and £3,850 per hectare for non-native tree species. Read our guidance on grants for restocking trees.

Ancient Woodlands

Legal requirements

Can legally restock with any tree species.

Landowner actions

Restock with native broadleaves via planting and/or natural regeneration (not grant funded).

Restocking must be UKFS and Plant Health Management Standard compliant.

Grant funded options

Grants are available to help with felling, restocking and maintenance. Restocking payments are subject to a per hectare cap of £6,000 for native tree species and £3,000 per hectare for non-native tree species. Read our guidance on grants for restocking trees.

Option 1

The recommended restocking method is to restock with native broadleaves via planting. At the discretion of the Forestry Commission, conifers can make up to 20% of the permanent woodland canopy cover if you can show that there will be no negative impact on surviving ancient woodland features.

Option 2

Restock with native broadleaves with a nurse crop of up to 50% conifer (other than spruce) over the area being restocked.

Management intervention can aim to achieve up to 20% canopy cover as conifer over time allowing landowners to continue growing a commercial crop. Proposals to be agreed with the Forestry Commission.

SSSI, SPAs and SACs

Legal requirements

Restocking proposals must be consented to by Natural England.

Landowner actions

Restock with 95% site native trees preferably via natural regeneration, then by planting or a combination. In some circumstances, other species may be acceptable.

Restocking proposals must be consented to by Natural England.

Grant funded options

The recommended restocking method is to restock with 95% native broadleaves via planting.

Grants are available to help with felling, restocking and maintenance, read our guidance on grants for restocking trees.

National Landscapes/National Parks

Legal requirements  

No legal requirements but check local guidance.

Landowner actions

Check local guidance.

To maintain the natural beauty and character of these sites, tree species must be appropriate for the environment and site conditions.

Grant funded options

Grants are available to help with felling, restocking and maintenance, read our guidance on grants for restocking trees.

Read more on woodland diversity and best practice in the UKFS.

Peatland

Legally, landowners should engage with Natural England, Forestry Commission and other established experts, while restocking must also be UKFS and Plant Health Management Standard compliant. Grants are available to help with felling, restocking and maintenance.

When restocking, consider this guidance: How to benefit species and habitats biodiversity in your woodland.

Q&As

Which tree species are suitable to restock my site with?

Landowners should consider which tree species are most resilient to any pests and diseases that may be prevalent in the area, and resilient to the impacts of climate change, including drought and windblow. Landowners can seek advice from their local Woodland Officer or professional foresters and it’s recommended that the Ecological Site Classification decision support tool is used to support species choice decisions locally.

Forest Research tools available to help advise on restocking:

• Ecological Site Classification (ESC) is a decision support system to help forest managers and planners select tree species that are ecologically suited to particular sites, instead of selecting a species and trying to modify the site to suit

• Tree species database provides Information on over 60 tree species that are either widely grown in British forests at the present time or which could play an increasing role in the future

• Climate Matching Tool provides a visualisation of regions with a similar climate to the climate projection for any location in Europe. It can help practitioners to consider the selection of better suited material from environments that may be experienced in the future

• Forest Development Types are a long-term vision of how the species composition and structure of a forest stand is intended to develop. The concept encourages greater use of mixed-species stands and a wider variety of stand structures. It also promotes better use of site adapted species and natural regeneration

• Climate Change Hub brings together information and practical guidance about protecting our woodlands and forests from the impacts and risks due to the changing climate through adaptive practice

What are nurse species and what are the timeframes involved in thinning the woodland?

A nurse crop is a forestry practice used to help trees establish and develop. Nurse species provide protection, as well as improving growth and form of the target trees. Conifers are fast-growing and can stimulate slower-growing broadleaves to grow straight, enabling a productive crop. Thinning out of the nurse trees through the rotation is essential to give space to the target trees and provides revenue from the thinnings.

There are many potential options for management of mixed stands and a Forestry Commission Woodland Officer will be able to advise on site-specific recommendations. A silvicultural plan will be required as part of any restocking grant agreement involving a nurse crop on ancient woodland sites.

How can I minimise damage from mammals to my trees?

Mammals, including deer, rabbits, and squirrels, can damage young trees, so it is important to have plans to manage their impacts in place.

Deer management options will vary according to factors such as the deer species present in the local area, their prevalence, existing control programmes, and the palatability of the species you intend to plant.

There are several approaches for controlling grey squirrels; the suitability of each depends on aims and objectives, landscape character and squirrel abundance. Read our ‘Grey squirrel and deer damage to trees guide’, and the Forest Research website.

A variety of fencing and tree protection options are also available through the THP grant.

Where should I source my trees from for restocking?

You must use tree suppliers that meet the biosecure procurement requirement to be eligible for a restocking grant. The supplier must show that they meet the Plant Health Management Standard by providing either:

• the certification number showing their current membership of the Plant Healthy Certification scheme
• an application number to show they’ve applied to become certified members of the Plant Healthy Certification scheme
• a successful Ready to Plant assessment voucher with a unique reference number.

Read more details on sourcing trees.

How can I minimise/cover the costs of replanting after felling my spruce trees?

The THP scheme offers grants to support replanting trees and helping them to establish, which cover some of the costs of restocking. Proactive felling of spruce is also likely to be more economical than felling according to the requirements of an SPHN, so acting to remove the risk before an infestation may allow for more funds to contribute to a resilient and well-protected restocking plan.

These case studies offer more information for proactive management of spruce and accessing grants.

For more information about Ips typographus, including how to report sightings, visit our Ips guidance page.