Forestry Commission
To A list of those who came to York seminar
Corporate and Forestry Support
231 Corstorphine Road
Edinburgh
EH12 7AT
Tel: 0131 314 6354
Fax: 0131 316 4344
E-mail:
richard.howe@forestry.gsi.gov.uk
19th December 2012
Managing forests in acid-sensitive water catchments: Consultation
on the draft practice guide.
I am writing to you because you expressed interest in the UKFS Forests and Water
Guidelines (published in November 2011). This draft practice guide helps to
underpin the Guidelines by addressing the specific issue of acidification and forestry.
The main purpose of the guide is to describe where and how to undertake
catchment-based critical loads assessments to determine if waters are potentially at
risk from new planting or restocking within affected areas. The attached document
sets out the approach in plain text, with a number of Figures/maps listed at the end.
The design will be improved in the final version to make it more "reader-friendly".
There was a deliberate effort not too include too much on the ‘why’ behind the
guidance as this will be the subject of a separate research note (see below).
Acidification continues to exert a major impact on freshwater ecology within affected
areas, and considerable investment and research has been directed at
understanding the causes, the role played by land uses such as forestry, and
tackling the problem. When the UKFS Forests and Water Guidelines were revised,
the steering group (made up of representatives from various bodies responsible for
forestry and the water environment across the UK) recognised a need to update and
provide more detailed guidance on managing the contribution of forestry to
acidification.
Account has been taken of the latest results of research and the suitability of the
Critical Loads Approach (CLA) has been reassessed. Consideration has also been
given to what additional practical steps could be taken by forest owners and
managers to aid the recovery of waters as acid emissions continue to decline. The
guide represents the consensus of the various regulatory bodies.
In arriving at the consensus, advice has been taken from leading water scientists in
the field. The steering group has decided to publish the scientific rationale
underpinning the practice guide as a separate research note. This is not quite
finalised but we expect to send you a copy for information by 25th January 2013.
A key aspect of the approach is to identify waters at risk from acidification and for
this purpose use has been made of the latest information from implementing the
Water Framework Directive (WFD). The affected area is defined as the catchments
of waterbodies that are either failing or at risk of failing "Good Ecological Status" due
to acidification. The presence of special protected sites is also taken into account.
The guide includes a number of maps showing the location of these areas and other
relevant factors. Some of the maps lack complete UK coverage and work is
underway to fill the gaps. This will be incorporated before the practice guide is
published. (See Annex 1).
Finally, the steering group is keen to stress that the guidance will continue to be
subject to review and refined in light of new research and experience. The maps
themselves will be updated every six years to coincide with the review of WFD River
Basin Management Plans, with the first review due in 2014.
Would you please send comments with the subject line "Consultation
Response: Acidification & Forestry " to:
lynne.rennie@forestry.gov.uk
or by post to:
Lynne Rennie,
Consultation Response: Acidification & Forestry ,
Forestry Commission,
231 Corstorphine Road,
Edinburgh EH12 7AT.
The consultation closes on Friday 15th February 2013
If you know of other groups or individuals who may wish to comment, please feel
free to forward the documents to them. Should you wish to discuss any aspect of
the guide please get in touch with me, contact details above.
Yours sincerely,
Richard Howe, December 2012
Annex 1
Table summarising status of map information
Map
Status
Catchments of river and lake waterbodies
classified as failing or at-risk of failing Good
Ecological Status due to acidification caused
by acid deposition.
Catchments of failing water bodies
containing Protected Areas with features
vulnerable to acidification.
Catchments of river and lake waterbodies
failing or at risk of failing from acidification
and potentially at risk from nitrogen
saturation.
Location of potential analogue long-term
monitoring sites.
Complete UK coverage although at-risk
water bodies in England remain to be
checked at the local level.
Complete coverage for Scotland, Wales and
Northern Ireland but awaiting data for
England.
Complete UK coverage.
Expect to include additional sites identified
during consultation.