FGS Climatic Site Suitability for Native Broadleaves in Scotland

Forestry Grant Scheme climatic site suitability data for native broadleaf trees in Scotland. The dataset supports the Scottish Rural Development Programme 2014-2020, aiming to extend woodland cover by 100,000 hectares from 2012-2022. It uses the Ecological Site Classification system to assess climatic factors like accumulated temperature and moisture deficit, excluding soil information.

Use Cases

• Assessing climatic suitability for native broadleaf species based on accumulated temperature and moisture deficit.
• Supporting grant applications for woodland creation under the Scottish Rural Development Programme.
• Identifying marginal or unsuitable areas where local factors like shelter may still permit planting.
• Planning forest habitat networks for climate change mitigation and carbon sequestration.

Strengths

• Supports a specific government target to extend woodland cover by 100,000 hectares (2012-2022).
• Based on a defined decision support system (Ecological Site Classification) using four climatic factors.
• Part of a funded programme utilising over £1,326m of European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development funding.

Limitations

• Row count and file format are unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Dataset explicitly does NOT take into account any soils information, requiring separate assessment.

Provenance

Source

Government Digital Service

Collection Method

Likely derived from the Ecological Site Classification (ESC) decision support system using climatic site factors.

Time Range

Associated with the Scottish Rural Development Programme 2014-2020 and a woodland cover target for 2012-2022.

Freshness

Last update date is unknown; freshness unverified.

Geography

Scotland