Farming wood for good
Carbon Plantations are committed to developing engineered wood solutions for the construction industry and have already developed some key relationships with end market players in the exciting journey that lies ahead. More on this later.
Our overriding aim is to produce quality sustainable timber products within a biodiverse environment, whilst delivering carbon sequestration at a considerably faster rate than is achievable within mixed native woodlands in the UK. In fact, five to seven times faster. This is being monitored and measured down to each individual tree that can be GPS tagged in the process. Drone technology will provide the backdrop for the monitoring data alongside ground truthing both the nutrients within the soil , including active carbon and the analysis of the leaf structure of a chosen tree. This gives us a significant and live understanding of the growth metrics of the tree under UK climate conditions and it is demonstrating that it is behaving similarly to its neighbour plantations in Western Europe.
Biodiversity remains key
Within biodiversity, the plantations themselves continue to deliver positive surprises with a lush understory for the second consecutive year and returning wildlife in what was once was a barren arable canvas. This is a very important subject matter in its own right and we have covered it on previous blogs. We have commissioned our land agent, Brown and Co, to produce an in-depth report on the our plantation environment at Euston. The progression from intensive arable to woodland pasture has in itself yielded exciting results and a pathway to soil regeneration.
We have also been collaborating with Woodland Grow, led by Dan Iddon to trial a ‘living’ mulch around each tree. When we first baselined the land, we were taking on, it was noted that there was very little organic matter in the soil. Over the winter period, we have begun trialling a method to re-balance the fungi and bacterial conditions. This will have the impact of unlocking more nutrient for the plantation and thus optimise its growth. We are applying a living mulch to all planting with nutrition, biology, and carbon (forest residue) to improve the microbial communities and available nutrition. The volume of material, biology and nutrition is bespoke and can be tailored to each individual tree – and will support a more organic growth approach to them.
No matter what soils you are working with, both bacterial and fungal feeders need to be present in order for nutrient cycling to occur. In general, aerobic conditions promote the development of beneficial elements of the soil food web, and anaerobic conditions promote the development of the opportunistic, detrimental elements. On the flip side, beneficial bacteria and fungi through their activity build the porous structure of compost and soil, which in turn allows for water and oxygen to penetrate as deep as this structure exists. We regard this as a positive environmental way to support the development of our woodlands and will share its results in our future investor updates. This is especially relevant when you consider the relative intensive agricultural approach that was in place before we took on the land.
Commitment to delivering on engineered wood solutions
Carbon Plantations is committed to developing engineered wood solutions for the construction industry utilising Phoenix One. Over the past two years this has led to a number of key academic and commercial relationships with end market players in the exciting journey that lies ahead. Carbon Plantations have commissioned a third-party Timber report that is evaluating and extending the commercial options available in the UK. This is providing further support to our long-term business model and sits alongside the National Timber Strategy and the enduring fact that the UK imports around 85% of its timber. This body of work is taking Carbon Plantations further down the track of engineered wood solutions, backed by significant academic data analysis led by Cambridge and Napier Universities. The report backs the view that our timber satisfies the sustainable and quality option to deliver a light weight, durable and strong biomaterial. Importantly it’s a pathway to demonstrating that embodied carbon can be attributed a value in infrastructure and housing, especially when you know where the timber has come from.
Nigel Couch, Director, Carbon Plantations, July 2024