ENVIRONMENTAL groups have hit out at "woeful" statistics that show the number of trees being planted in Scotland has plummeted to its lowest level in six years.

Forestry Commission figures revealed that 4,600 hectares of woodland, the equivalent of 18 square miles, has been planted in Scotland in 2015/16, well short of a Scottish Government target of 10,000 hectares.

Woodland Trust Scotland called on the Fergus Ewing, the new environment secretary, to deliver on a manifesto commitment to meet the target and "hasten the pace" of tree planting across the country.

Charles Dundas, Public Affairs Manager at the charity, said: "These are woeful figures. We need to get on track to meet these targets for the sake of every person in the country. Trees help fight the causes and impacts of climate change - both removing CO2 and contributing to flood defences. They improve air quality, water quality and biodiversity, and are an economic asset. Their impact touches the life or everyone in Scotland. This rate of planting is not serving the people of Scotland well. It's not just about wildlife and scenery. It's about the wellbeing of the entire nation.

"Problems and delays with the Forestry Grants process over the last year, and the change over from one system to another was always going to impact on the planting rates, but this number of trees in the ground is disastrous for Scotland."

In February, it emerged that plans to plant 100 million trees in Scotland by the end of 2015 has been missed by more than 11m. The Scottish Government unveiled their target in 2010 as part of a bid to cut emissions across the country.

The growth of the nation's forests by 3.7 per cent was touted as a flagship scheme for the government - as it hoped to demonstrate Scotland could lead the way on tackling pollution and climate change. The dramatic shortfall was blamed on difficulties negotiating with farmers and landowners.

However, despite the figures disappointing charities, the new Forestry Commission statistics showed that almost 85 per cent of new planting across the UK in the last financial year came in Scotland.