Where can new forests be established to offset carbon emissions?

The Ministry of Defence (MOD) owns 225,000 hectares of land in the UK where trees could potentially be planted to capture carbon and help the government achieve its net zero target by 2050.  Now, independent research, conducted using ArcGIS, has shown precisely where new forests could be established on this land to offset up to 28% of the MOD’s annual carbon footprint.

In its 2021 report, Climate Change and Sustainability Strategic Approach, the MOD acknowledged the part it must play in helping the government to address climate change.  It was responsible for emitting around 3.95 million tonnes of carbon in 2019-2020, which corresponds to around 50% of central government’s greenhouse gas emissions.  The MOD is now exploring ways to capture and offset this carbon, and one key strategy is to plant new forests on its land. 

Passionate about green initiatives, Captain Luke Parker of the British Army’s Royal Engineers instigated an innovative project to identify the best locations for new forests, based on a better understanding of the necessary conditions for growing trees.  He used Esri’s ArcGIS Pro solution to analyse data on land cover, land use, soil type, site latitude, elevation and steepness (slope).  He also took into account atmospheric effects and compass direction (aspect) for optimum sunlight, factoring daily and seasonal shifts of the sun angle and the effects of shadows cast by surrounding topography to find those sites with access to the right soil, land and sunshine to enable trees to thrive.

In the initial proof of concept, the geospatial analysis highlighted 1,681.6 hectares of land at the Sennybridge Training Area (SENTA) in Wales that are highly suitable for afforestation.  If these prime locations are planted with climate resilient species such as Sitka Spruce, the research estimates that the MOD could sequester 38.5 kilotons of carbon through afforestation by 2050 at this training area alone.  If all defence estates were to yield a similar proportion of areas suitable for afforestation as SENTA, the MOD could sequester up to 28% of its annual carbon emissions (based on 2020 levels) through afforestation by 2050.

“My research with ArcGIS Pro has gotten the conversation started with the right ecology experts to show where afforestation could take place to help the MOD offset nearly a third of its annual carbon expenditure from 2020 over the next thirty years.” 

Captain Luke Parker, Strategic Command, 42 Engineer Regiment (Geo) 

 To read more inspiring stories of how different organisations and government are using GIS to challenge climate change and make a difference, click here.