The Gloucestershire Tree Strategy follow the mantra of the right tree in the right place for the right reason. However, 'right' in each of these circumstances is subjective. For instance, organisations differ in their opinions around the climate resilience of native UK trees - some believe that phenotypic elasticity will allow UK sourced and grown native varieties to adapt to warmer climates, while others consider the planting of more southerly specifies, such as Italian Oak, to be the better course of action to ensure woodlands are still thriving in a 2 or 3 degree future. Evidence suggests that if timber yield is the objective, more Southerly species might be prefered, whereas tree seed sourced from local UK provenances will be best adapted for UK sites in the long term (https://www.forestresearch.gov.uk/research/genetic-considerations-provenance-choice-native-trees-under-climate-change-england/<https://www.forestresearch.gov.uk/research/genetic-considerations-provenance-choice-native-trees-under-climate-change-england/).
In addition, for productive woodland, and indeed for carbon sequestration, landowners may consider spruce and larch to be appropriate. In such instances, it is important to design and manage the woodland in a way that also supports nature e.g. diversity of species, native wildlife buffers & encouragement of scrub edge habitat, continuous cover regimes etc. (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-uk-forestry-standard<https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-uk-forestry-standard)
The Gloucestershire LNP believes a mix of species is the right way to go, with a strong focus on UK sourced and grown native trees wherever possible. Gloucestershire County Council have created a list of suggested species to focus on, which is attached here.
The Woodland Trust have produced a useful list of UK Sourced and Grown accredited nurseries in the UK - those closest to Gloucestershire are highlighted in yellow on the attached document.
Natural regeneration - allowing trees to naturally establish by encouraging natural succession (and embracing scrub) - is an important way to increase tree cover, where it is appropriate and possible. Where there is sufficient seed in the soil and suitable site conditions, the benefits of natural regeneration (or colonisation) include greater ecological complexity and diversity, increased resilience to climate change and disease, and avoiding the risk (with planting) of introducing new pests and disease. Natural regeneration also requires less management and can be more cost effective than planting. For more, see Rewilding Britain's report:
(https://www.rewildingbritain.org.uk/reforesting-britain<https://www.rewildingbritain.org.uk/reforesting-britain) If your chosen site has poor seed stock, direct seeding can be good option to introduce seeds while encouraging natural establishment. In reality, many schemes seeking naturalistic outcomes for biodiversity may include a mix of natural regeneration and planting.