Action grows to save Scotland’s rainforests

Stretching down much of Scotland’s west coast is one of the world’s rarest habitats.

Here, along the fringe of the Atlantic, is Scotland’s temperate rainforest – a place where mild air and high rainfall levels combine to create a moisture-soaked atmosphere in which almost everything, from stone walls to living trees, are carpeted in a thick blanket of green moss.

To anyone whose idea of rainforest is a paradise of palm trees and parrots, Scotland’s hyper-oceanic woods may seem very different, but in fact these dappled woodlands are rarer and even more threatened than their tropical equivalents.

They occur in patches in England, Wales and Ireland and to a lesser extent in Norway, France, Portugal and Spain, but in nothing like the quantity or richness that can be found in Scotland.

Jeanette Hall, a woodlands specialist at Scotland’s nature agency NatureScot, says: “Compared to the giant redwood forests of North America’s Pacific coast, or the dense jungles of Central America, the small oaks, ash, willow and hazel seem like a forest for Hobbits. 

“But these low-growing trees and the life that exists under their canopy is no less important and in need of protection as they are under threat from a number of environmental factors and in some places they have become very degraded.”

And the figures make grim reading. As little as 30,000 hectares of Scotland’s rainforest remain – just 2% of the country’s woodland, despite climatic conditions being suitable for five times this area of cover.

But not only are the remaining areas small and often isolated from each other, they are in many places severely degraded and showing little or no signs of regeneration.

There are a number of reasons for this decline and chief amongst them is over-grazing, mostly by the red, roe and sika deer that eat young tree seedlings and prevent the woodlands from regenerating.

Another major threat is the smothering effect of Rhododendron ponticum, a species that is well-behaved in its native Portugal but, from the moment it was transplanted to Scotland in the 18th century as cover for game birds, went rogue, colonising every patch of bare ground, squeezing out native species and creating a thick, acidic leaf litter that allows little to grow beneath it. 

And then there are environmental factors, such as pollution, which has devastated some woodland communities, and diseases including Ash Dieback while in some places exotic conifer plantations have replaced ancient woodlands, casting such dense shade and with the trees so tightly packed that there is no way for native species to grow amongst them.

But it isn’t just the trees themselves that are threatened. 

The woods are home to a unique community of mosses, liverworts and lichens, some of which are found nowhere else.

These flourish in the clean air and moist environment and they colonise, not just the woodland floor, but also the tree trunks and branches so that ferns can sprout at head height and fallen wood can be covered in a matter of months. 

And to this year-round backdrop of green is added in spring the flowering of primroses, wild garlic, bluebells and early purple orchids that transform the woodland floor with colour.

Without these woodlands the character of the west coast of Scotland would be very different and so helping to retain and restore them is a priority for NatureScot, alongside more than 20 environmental organisations that have formed the Alliance for Scotland’s Rainforest, a partnership working together to help save Scotland’s rainforest.

Two years ago the Alliance published a report that outlined the threat to this habitat and what needed to be done to save it. NatureScot manages some of the best areas of rainforest as National Nature Reserves, and is also collaborating with other organisations and communities up and down the west coast to develop and support a range of other projects.

Jeanette says: “Scotland’s rainforests are in decline but a lot is going on to help conserve them, often by working alongside local communities. Through the Alliance we are also working together to develop projects to restore and expand woodland in Argyll, Morvern and Torridon.

“At Loch Arkaig the Woodland Trust has set up a community deer larder, with financial support from NatureScot in order to help manage the deer population and the Argyll Coast and Countryside Trust is exploring the potential for one as part of a rainforest initiative in Argyll.”

As well as being good for nature, restoring this precious habitat can also help us tackle the climate crisis. The rainforest acts as a “nature-based solution” to climate change by locking up carbon. And last November the Scottish Government pledged to restore and expand existing rainforest sites as part of its aim of increasing Scotland’s woodland cover in a bid to tackle climate change.

By controlling deer populations, rooting out rhododendrons and planting new trees, Scotland’s rainforests will  thrive again, providing an even greater haven for wildlife and continuing to add unique character to the west of Scotland.
www.nature.scot

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Projects united on root and branch approach to restoring habitats

MILD temperatures along Scotland’s west coast create the ideal conditions for hyperoceanic woodland to flourish. 

With only a slight difference between summer and winter temperatures, and high moisture levels, the birch, oak and hazel trees that grow here are home to exceptionally high numbers of mosses, lichens and liverworts, some of which are found nowhere else.

Barnluasgan in Argyll is an important location for Scotland’s rainforest habitat and wildlife. Photograph: Lorne Gill

These are helped to flourish by the range of habitats found in the woodlands, including rocky areas, streams and open areas as well as deeper shade.

Amongst the mammals that live under the canopy are pine marten and red squirrel and the trees are also home to several species of bats.

Bird life abounds, including pied flycatchers, willow warblers and redstarts and amongst the insect life are many beautiful butterflies, including marsh fritillaries and chequered skippers.

Some of the best places to see and experience the rainforest is at National Nature Reserves (NNRs) on the west coast.

Some of the finest examples can be found at NatureScot’s reserves at Taynish in Argyll, Ariundle Oakwood near Strontian and Beinn Eighe and the islands of Loch Maree at Kinlochewe, which are carefully managed to protect their globally important habitats and wildlife.

Another project to help preserve the habitat is on the Morvern Peninsula where RSPB Scotland is leading large scale rhododendron eradication, with funding from NatureScot through the Nature Restoration Fund.

The isolated nature of Morvern means that, once cleared, it will be difficult for the rhododendron to re-invade and so restoration of woodland can be carried out successfully.

Argyll is home to more than half of the remaining rainforest habitat in Scotland, in areas such as Barnluasgan, and as well as providing shelter for livestock, it is also important to the area’s eco-tourism.

Saving Argyll’s Rainforest is a project led by the Argyll and the Isles Coast and Countryside Trust, supported by NatureScot, which is collaborating with communities, landowners and stakeholders to clear non-native species, manage the impact of grazing and plant trees, helping to boost both the environment and the local economy, through increased tourism, outdoor learning and enterprise opportunities.

And on Loch Torridon the Woodland Trust is working with NatureScot, the National Trust for Scotland and local communities to restore one of the country’s most impressive landscapes, which includes the wonderful pine rainforests at Beinn Eighe.

The 28,000 hectares that run from Kinlochewe to Glen Torridon contain a rich mosaic of habitats, including rainforest and removing the rhododendron ponticum from this area is part of a range of measures that include joining up the few remaining areas of the ancient Caledonian pine forest which in this part of Scotland forms part of the rainforest.

All of these sites have global importance and their survival is crucial, not just for their local communities or Scotland, but for the world as a whole.