AF1: Plant an agroforestry woodland tree

⌂Back To Homepage Subscribe To RSS Feed

Natural England

December 16

12:31 2024

Print This Article Share it With Friends

Created by Natural England 0 comments

class="gem-c-govspeak govuk-govspeak govuk-!-margin-bottom-0">

This item is part of Capital Grants 2024. You must read the Capital Grants 2024 guidance to understand the rules and how to apply.

How much youll be paid?

5.40 per tree

How this item benefits the environment

An agroforestry system creates a range of benefits and supports the main output of the farm by:

reducing soil erosion
providing shelter and shade for livestock
mitigating the impacts of climate change
improving water and air quality
helping to mitigate flood risk

Where you can use this item?

You can use this item to plant trees that make up an in-field agroforestry system before applying for a maintenance action (see the Other items and actions you can use with this item section below for more information).

In-field agroforestry is where trees are deliberately combined with agriculture on the same piece of land.

Before you plant in-field agroforestry trees, you must check the sensitivity of the land you plan to plant on using the SFI Agroforestry data layer.

If a Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) action has less sensitive land in its title, it refers to land marked as low sensitivity on the data layer.

Planting on low sensitivity land

If youre planning to plant trees on low sensitivity land, you do not need an agroforestry plan if youre planning to plant at a:

very low density (30 to 50 trees per hectare)
low density (51 to 130 trees per hectare)

If youre planning to plant trees at a medium or high density (131 trees or more per hectare), you must have an agroforestry plan approved by the Forestry Commission before you can apply for this capital item.

You may also need to complete a forestry Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) the Forestry Commission will advise you on this. Read the Environmental Impact Assessments for woodland guidance for more information.

Planting on more sensitive land

You must have an agroforestry plan approved by the Forestry Commission before you can apply for this capital item on more sensitive land, regardless of the planned density of the trees.

More sensitive land is any land not classed as low sensitivity on the SFI Agroforestry data layer.

You may also need to complete a forestry EIA the Forestry Commission will advise you on this. Read the Environmental Impact Assessments for woodland guidance for more information. This also includes a list of sensitive land.

You should before you start planting and consider any local guidance on tree planting.

You should also check if you need a forestry environmental impact assessment (EIA).

The Forestry Commission may serve you an enforcement notice if it finds you:

are carrying out work subject to forestry EIA regulations without consent
have breached the conditions of a previously granted consent

An enforcement notice will require you to restore the land to its previous condition, among other things. Failure to comply with an enforcement notice carries a penalty on conviction of an unlimited fine.

You may also require a screening decision under the agricultural EIA regulation when planting:

on uncultivated land and semi-natural areas (including historic features) to avoid damage through increases in agricultural productivity
on rural land to prevent damage from physical restructuring (including but not limited to adding, removing or changing the type of fencing or adding, removing or moving materials including soil)

When you may need an agricultural EIA

You may require a screening decision under the agricultural EIA regulation when planting:??

on uncultivated land and semi-natural areas (including historic features) to avoid damage through increases in agricultural productivity?
on rural land to prevent damage from physical restructuring (including but not limited to adding, removing or changing the type of fencing or adding, removing or moving materials including soil)?

If you have an agroforestry plan that records the proposed project as needing consent under the EIA (Agriculture) Regulations, you must obtain consent before any works (subject to that decision) begin.

Breeding waders on low sensitivity land

If you have breeding waders on your land you must do an agroforestry plan to show how you will mitigate any impact on them. Breeding waders include:

lapwing
redshank
curlew
snipe
oystercatcher
stone curlew

You must not plant trees where they could damage areas of ecological, archaeological or historic interest.

If youre planting trees on low sensitivity land at a low or very low density (130 trees or fewer per ha), you must not plant on any historic or archaeological features identified on your Historic Environment Farm Environment Record (HEFER).

You must also not plant trees where they could damage protected sites, including:

sites of special scientific interest (SSSIs)
special areas of conservation (SACs)
special protection areas (SPAs)
Ramsar sites

Buffer zones

You may need to create a treeless buffer zone if youre planting near:

protected sites
scheduled monuments
registered parks and gardens
registered battlefields

If youre planting on low sensitivity land and have chosen to create an agroforestry plan, it should include details of any buffer zones you may need to create.

What you must do to use this item

If you use this item for Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier, you must ensure you have any consents or permissions in place before you start work.

When planting in-field agroforestry trees you must:

follow the agroforestry plan for planting, if applicable
plant trees according to the sensitivity of the land, using the pattern of planting and densities set out in table 1
plant young trees (select the most suitable by checking the agroforestry eligible species list)
use trees that are free from pests and diseases (get your plants from nurseries with plant health management standards in place, such as nurseries with Plant Healthy certification or similar)
retain trees for at least 10 years and keep the same number of trees as agreed in your agreement
replace all dead plants in the following planting season (each grant-funded tree must be alive and in good condition by the end of an agreement)

Your trees must be healthy. To establish healthy trees, you must:

use a planting method that helps survival, with roots fully inserted in the ground with the root collar at ground level (the tree must be firmed in without damaging the stem)
create a suitable planting position by spraying herbicide in advance, scarifying in lines or preparing a bare patch of land (screefing) with a spade
keep young trees weed-free for 3 years after planting using a mulch, an appropriate herbicide or weeding by hand
use tree species appropriate for the soil and climatic conditions that support the planting objectives
plant trees when dormant and protect straight away
protect young trees from grazing animals and maintain protection until the trees are big enough to survive potential threats

You must not:

plant within 5 metres (m) of a parcel boundary , hedge or existing tree canopy
displace any existing priority habitat, including woody priority habitats like existing woodland, wood pasture and parkland and traditional orchards
plant on peat deeper than 30 centimetres (cm) without the agreement of Natural England or the Forestry Commission
allow tree guards to cause damage to the growing tree, such as by fastening tree guards to the tree itself

Table 1: SFI in-field agroforestry tree spacing requirements

Land sensitivity and tree density

Number of trees (per ha)

Agroforestry plan required?



View the original news story

Scroll Back To Top 📄More Articles

Comments

Scroll Back To Top ✎Write Comment

We don't have any comments for this article yet. Why not join in and start a discussion.

GovWire