MUCH has been written in these columns and others about the ambitious tree planting programmes initiated by central and local government. These are, of course, to be applauded. There has also been a similar amount written about ambitious targets for increasing tree canopy cover, especially in the harsher urban environments also set by central and local government.It is natural, perhaps, to link the two and suggest that dramatic increases in canopy cover are to be achieved by planting by numbers. The more trees planted, the greater the canopy cover gain achieved. There is nothing fundamentally wrong with this natural association other than the suggested timescales these increases in canopy cover are targeted to be achieved in. To suggest that planting copious numbers of new trees now will achieve significant tree canopy increases within 10 to 15 years has alwaysseemed dubious.
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