Establishing an organic field scale forest nursery under Soil Association organic standards

为了使英国在2050年之前走上净零的道路，气候变化委员会建议将英国的林地覆盖率从目前占总土地覆盖率的13%提高到至少17%，并可能达到19%。19%的增长意味着额外的16亿棵树政府的树木行动计划2021-2024承诺到今年年底将英国的植树率提高到每年3万公顷。出于公共卫生和环境原因，用于控制杂草的杀虫剂，疾病和昆虫在英国持续面临被禁止的风险。迄今为止，英国正在通过进口前所未有数量的树木和植物来满足需求。根据The Woodland Trust的数据，进口额从2016年的5200万英镑增长了92%，达到2020年的1亿英镑。但进口的增加轨迹与疾病的传播直接相关。自1990年以来，至少发生了20种严重的树木病虫害，造成数千万棵树木损失。英国是世界上气候最适宜培育树苗的国家之一。对新的森林苗圃技术和技术的投资将使他们能够种植达到种植目标所需的所有树木，同时创造就业机会。清理火山灰枯死造成的破坏估计将花费150亿英镑。其中一小部分可以激励英国森林苗圃在工业规模上生产多样化，健康，本土，区域树木。* 创建一个1公顷的森林苗圃，包括至少5棵树和树篱物种 * 评估太阳能作物种植技术的有效性 * 种植所有植物以土壤协会有机标准 * 评估发芽，植物健康，潜在产量和成本 * 评估有机批准的好处，生物基土壤改良剂和种子处理剂 * 分析有机森林苗圃市场的目的不仅是提高我们自己的农业业务的生产力和适应力，而且要展示和报告种植情况。这项研究的结果将与英国现有的林业研究相结合，以帮助在面对进口竞争加剧和化学植物保护产品数量减少的情况下，为进一步增长奠定坚实的基础。

To place the UK on the path to Net Zero by 2050, the Committee on Climate Change recommends increasing UK woodland cover from its current level of 13% of total land cover to at least 17% and potentially 19%. A 19% increase means an extra 1.6 billion treesThe Government's Tree Action Pan 2021-2024 has committed to increasing tree planting rates across the UK to 30,000Ha per year by the end of this Parliament.For public health and environmental reasons, pesticides, that are used to control weeds, disease and insects are at continual risk of being banned in the UK.To date the UK is meeting demand by importing trees and plants in unprecendented quantities. According to The Woodland Trust, imports rose by 92% from £52 million in 2016 to £100 million in 2020\. But the increased trajectory of imports is directly associated with the spread of disease. At least 20 serious tree pests and diseases have arrived since 1990 resulting in the loss of tens of millions of trees. Most have been brought in by imported trees.The UK has one of the best climates in the world for raising young trees. Investment in new forest nursery techniques and technologies will equip them to grown all the trees needed to meet planting targets, while creating jobs. Clearing up the devastation caused by ash dieback will cost an estimated £15 billion. A fraction of that could galvanise UK forest nurseries into production of diverse, healthy, native, regional trees on an industrial scaleThis project will:* Create a 1Ha forest nursery incorporating a minimum 5 tree and hedging species* Assess the effectiveness of solar powered crop establishment technology* Grow all plants to Soil Association organic standards* Assess germination, plant health, potential yield and cost* Assess the benefits of organically approved, biobased soil conditioners and seed treatments* Analyse the organic forest nursery marketThe aim is to not only improve the productivity and resilience of our own farming business but also to demonstrate and report a cropping opportunity that can be replicated by other growers throughout the UK's regions.The results from the study will be pooled with existing UK forestry research to help to form a solid basis for further growth in the face of increased competition from imports and a decreasing number of chemical plant protective products.