German legislation requires that no alien trees may be planted in the wild without permission.
Trees and woody plants to be planted in woodland must be unique and have to be allocated to one of six ‘occurrence areas’ in Germany. The basis for this is § 40 paragraph 4 in the BNatSchG (Federal Nature Conservation Act).
The specialist module "Area-specific woody plants" applies to tree nurseries that produce and trade their own woody plants or seed of territorial origin as well as to seed breeding companies and seed harvesting companies.
The Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU) has formulated how this requirement can be implemented in its "Guidelines for the Use of Local Woody Plants".
Who needs to be certified?
- Nurseries
- Seed breeding companies
- Seed harvesting companies
The entire product chain, from seedling to delivery, can be certified. The specific requirements of each business are addressed by the audit questionnaire and the corresponding scope of certification is shown on their certificate.
What does the audit cover?
As a DAkks accredited certification body we conduct audits against the Specialist Module for Woody Plants or Woody Seeds of Local Origin standard, which focuses on three main areas:
- A review of the plausibility of delivery documents, cultivation lists, neighborhood files and other documents to ensure the complete traceability of an area's own woody plants from seedling to sale
- Visual controls in the field and in the warehouse/felling to check the data on the documents
- Check to ensure establishments are correctly identified and that the EC plant pass number is used consistently on delivery labels, documents and holdings
The standard ensures the guidelines are consistently and uniformly implemented throughout Germany and are reviewed by independent auditors, such as SGS, as part of the audit process.
Why choose SGS?
We are the first certification body to be accredited/approved for this standard in Germany and the world market leader in testing, certification and inspection.