Rural Payments and Services

This item is for scarification / ground preparation that is designed to encourage natural regeneration, or to provide planting positions, free of surface vegetation.

Scarification should be done in patches or small areas to minimise disturbance and reduce soil erosion. Ground disturbance should aim to provide optimum conditions for seed germination – this will differ depending on target species.

This Woodland Improvement Grant capital item cannot be applied for in conjunction with Woodland Creation options.

You must record the area designated for scarification on a map and detail the management reasons for the operation in your Woodland Improvement Grant – Habitats and Species supporting information.

You must be committed to establishing natural regeneration on site and attempt to deliver this objective within at least five years following the date you received your payment.