Forestry Commission
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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 guidehelps 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 by25th 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:

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. / Complete UKcoverage although at-risk water bodies in England remain to be checked at the local level.
Catchments of failing water bodies containing Protected Areas with features vulnerable to acidification. / Complete coverage for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland but awaiting data for England.
Catchments of river and lake waterbodies failing or at risk of failing from acidification and potentially at risk from nitrogen saturation. / Complete UK coverage.
Location of potential analogue long-term monitoring sites. / Expect to include additional sites identified during consultation.