I recall reading that many of the Hebridean isles of Scotland were deforested, with the trees sold for timber, by owners who whose lands were possessed after the English Civil Wars. (I have hunted about for the right quote in Boswell's THE JOURNAL OF A TOUR TO THE HEBRIDES, but cannot find anything but a few remarks by Samuel Johnson.)

There is some mention of forfeited estates being bought by a timber company, and other details here.

Anyway, my question is essentially as stated in the title - is there much talk of people selling the timber of their lands before having them seized?

On the related note, I read in Henry Miller's The Colossus of Maurossi:

The Turks, in their fervid desire to desolate Greece, converted the land into a desert and a graveyard; since their emancipation the Greeks have been struggling to reforest the land. The goat has now become the national enemy.

and was wondering if this was common practice.

I know this question is somewhat abstruse, so cheers in advance if anyone knows anything.

-Jimmy