The Scottish and UK governments are gearing up for a planting war after each pledging to put millions of trees in the ground over the next decade.
Both the SNP and the Conservatives promised an increase in the number of trees to be planted in their election manifestos.
Last year more than 22 million trees were sown in Scotland alone, 84% of the total planted in the UK.
Figures from Forest Research show between 2007 and 2019, a total of 201,430 hectares of new planting and restocking took place in Scotland.
The SNP now plans to put 36 million trees a year into the ground by 2030 to tackle the climate emergency.
Under Prime Minister Boris Johnson, the Conservatives have committed to planting 75,000 hectares by “the end of the next parliament”, which is likely 2024.
SNP MSP Stewart Stevenson said: “Increasing tree planting can play a key role in tackling climate change.
“Trees are the planet’s lungs and as we enter this new year, we are faced with greatest threat to humanity in climate change.
“The SNP has pledged to plant 36 million trees in Scotland by 2030 and the Scottish Government has set world leading climate change targets but these figures show the good work that has already been done in tackling the climate emergency.
“In 2020, COP26 UN Climate Summit will take place in Glasgow. This is a chance for Scotland to be at the forefront of the global effort to tackle climate change.
“We must use that platform to push our international allies to adopt the same radical approach championed by the SNP in Scotland.”
Forest Research noted that as of last year, there was an estimated 3.19 million hectares of woodland in the UK.
Almost 20% of Scotland’s land is currently wooded or considered a forest, the highest proportion in the UK.
A Conservative spokesperson said: “We will invest in nature, helping us to reach our Net Zero target with a £640 million new Nature for Climate fund.
“Building on our support for creating a Great Northumberland Forest, we will reach an additional 75,000 acres of trees a year by the end of the next Parliament, as well as
restoring our peat land.”
The COP26 event, to be held in November, will see more than 30,000 delegates attend the United Nations Climate Change Conference at the SECC in Glasgow.
