Caro -
Given the mixed reactions to a certain P.G. shown by denizens of this particular pond, is it safe to mention "Earthly Joys" and "Virgin Earth" about the Tradescants?

I read and like those many years ago, but have forgotten most of them.  That was a long time before The Other Boleyn Girl, etc. Probably a shame the Tradescants gave their name to a plant that is now basically a weed?  Or is that just the case in NZ?  I think it's a really pretty plant, but not to be grown in gardens here.

The tallest tree in the UK is a Douglas fir growing in Reelig Glen near Inverness - in 2005 it measured 64m (210 ft).

And in Britain the most planted pine for forestry is the Sitka 'spruce', Pinus sitchensis, also introduced by Douglas, and named after the old Russian capital of Alaska on Baronof Island. It grows well in the damp British climate but is rather hated as a bit of an eyesore when planted in huge, regular monochrome blocks on upland fells, it also readily self-sows and so there is a danger of it getting established in some of the last pockets of natural Scots pine forest.

The more trees the better as far as these characters are concerned;

True Trike, to a degree, only pine martens are carnivores, eating birds, their fledgelings and their eggs, plus squirrels, mice and other small animals ... and all these wee beasties prefer a rather more open, diverse forest of native trees and plants. Sitka plantations tend to be dense mono-cultures of an alien species, which isn't good for much else than themselves.

That said, here we have beech martens, also known as stone martens .... and they seem to have diversified their diet in response to man's actions. Unfortunately they have now developed a taste for rubber ... and in particular all the pipes and clad cables under the bonnets of cars ... especially Toyotas!

Some of the pine martens in Scotland have developed a taste for jam and peanut butter sandwiches.

The more trees the better as far as these characters are concerned;

Not those bludy sitka spruce though, green deserts. Almost nothing grows or lives in the dark and horrible sterile undercroft and then when they are harvested, it's carnage reminiscent of the Somme. Forestry ploughing is so deep that it rips the guts out of any archaeology and although there's a plethora of guidance, advice and information available, unless it's near something listed or scheduled, it is, to all practical purposes, a free for all.
A group I was involved with were fortunate to have good relations with a landowner so were able to work for a few years on a newly planted plantation. Because the plough goes through the peat cover, we uncovered a mesolithic, neolithic and bronze age landscape over the almost the entire area: camp and lithic working sites, structures, features, post holes, pits and pottery and huge assemblages of lithics. Once the seedlings got going though, we had to stop. The roots will now be destroying the even larger number of sites that we never got to.

Sitka spruce should be controlled - as should $%^&%^ leylandii and lawsonii - should be harder to get permission to plant those than to get a gun licence.

Remember these are commercial timber plantations. They are not nature reserves or meant to look nice, but to produce timber on a large scale.

This is another commercial plantation, in Perth & Kinross, producing Christmas Trees:

The Forestry Commission was set up after WW1, because the demand for timber during had reduced forest coverage in Britain to 5% of land area.
Timber was regarded as a strategic resource like coal, and by 1919 British reserves of timber were dangerously low.