CASH help is being offered to landowners who join in a scheme to plant more trees in the Yorkshire Dales.

The National Park wants to increase the area covered by native broad-leaved woodland which on a project which will, in turn, help boost wildlife habitats.

And grants can cover up to 100 per cent of the establishment costs - though in most cases applicants will be expected to make some contribution in terms of finance, materials or labour.

The Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority and its partners – the Forestry Commission and the Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust – are particularly keen to fund schemes where there are opportunities to make significant biodiversity, habitat or environmental improvements.

Senior trees and woodlands officer Phill Hibbs said the target was to plant 198 acres by the end of the 2009-10 planting season, which runs between October and March.

"Trees and woodlands are a vital component of the wider landscape of our countryside and they act as important storehouses for carbon that would otherwise be in the atmosphere," he said.

"Our ancient and semi-natural woodlands in particular are often relatively small and fragmented, so planting new native woodlands near them helps to protect them from the impacts of surrounding land use and the effects of climate change.

"Planting trees also creates natural corridors between areas of woodland that allow wildlife to move around more freely, and new woodlands also offer potential benefits to reducing flood risk by slowing down rainfall runoff and flood peak flows as they head downstream."

Anyone wanting more information about the grants is asked to contact Mr Hibbs on 01756-751607 or Chris Lodge at the Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust on 01524-251002.