6,000
Trees Planted
1,500
Tonnes CO2
Sequestered*
Project Summary
In October 2019, we launched our reforesting Scotland project to restore the Caledonian forest in the Scottish Highlands. So far we’ve planted 6,000 native trees at Alladale Wilderness Reserve.
The reforesting Scotland project aims to restore and diversify the native pinewood habitat. Scots pine and downy birch saplings are being planted in open areas while less common food-producing broadleaf species are being planted in existing planting schemes to enrich and diversify the growing woodland. River banks are being planted with species such as alder and bird cherry to help stabilise the river bank and create vital riparian woodland habitat.
To compliment the reforestation activities, rewilding interventions are being developed for the area, including monitoring of Atlantic salmon, construction of eagle nest platforms and translocation of mountain hares.
Project Timeline
October 2019
Our project is launched to restore the Caledonian woodlands with the planting of 3,000 trees.
March 2020
An additional 3,000 native trees are planted to restore the Caledonian pinewood.
September 2020
To compliment the reforestation activities, two eagle nest platforms are built in the ancient pinewoods to support the breeding of golden and white-tailed eagles.
The Ecosystem
Tree species
We plant Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris), downy birch (Betula pubescens), juniper (Juniperus communis), hazel (Corylus avellana), holly (Ilex aquifolium), European crab apple (Malus sylvestris), common hawthorn (Cratageus monogyna), alder (Alnus glutinosa), bird cherry (Prunus padus), Elder (Sambucus nigra) and Wych elm (Ulmus glabra).
Priority species
Twinflower (Linnea borealis), black grouse (Lyrurus tetrix), golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos), white-tailed eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla), red squirrel (Sciurus vulgaris), Scottish crossbill (Loxia scotica), pine marten (Martes martes) and Atlantic salmon (Salmon salar) are all present in the area.
An Ancient Wilderness
Reversing centuries of ecological damage
Historically, much of the Scottish Highlands were covered in a forest of majestic Scots pine and colourful broadleaf trees, home to a diversity of plants and animals. Today, the landscape is largely devoid of these unique woodlands and many of the species that once thrived here have been lost. Our aim is to undo some of this damage and restore the empty glens and rewild the Scottish Highlands to rich, biodiverse, wild woodlands.
A Unique Habitat
What makes this ecosystem special?
The Scottish pinewoods are a globally unique habitat due to the absence of any other conifer tree, other than Scots pine, within the woodland. These woodlands support some of the UK’s rarest plant and animal species like the beautiful and delicate twinflower, the elusive wildcat and the impressive capercaillie. Restoring native woodlands in all their beautiful complexity will help return Scotland to wilder, richer state that a variety of species, including humans, can enjoy.
The Threats
Climate change
At the end of the last Ice Age, much of the Scottish Highlands were covered in woodland, mainly composed of Scots pine and birch. Around 4,000 years ago, the climate began to change. The natural tree line lowered, peat bogs expanded and woodland cover began to decline.
Deforestation
At around the same time, humans began to significantly change the landscape around them. Trees were felled to make room for crops and graze livestock, to harvest timber and fuelwood. By the 1700s, the great Caledonian Forest was reduced to small, isolated pockets of the Highlands. Much of the wildlife that thrived here, like lynx, bears and wolves, were lost.
Overgrazing
In the 18th and 19th century, when much of the landscape had already been cleared of forests, estate owners began to clear the land of people. Known as the Highland Clearances, local people were forcibly evicted from their homes, entire villages were cleared, to make way for sheep grazing. Today, a combination of sheep farming, unsustainable numbers of deer and intensive land management for sporting purposes is restricting the ability of native woodlands to regenerate on their own. Reforestation with native species is therefore vital to restore this unique habitat.
Reforesting Scotland
The journey
the team behind the project
Hannah Kirkland, Conservation Biologist at Mossy Earth
Innes MacNeill, Reserve Manager at Alladale Wilderness Reserve
Planting Team at Alexander Forestry
Sources & further reading
- “This is the potential CO2 sequestered in above ground biomass in the Scottish Highlands over a period of 100 years” - Trees for Life
- “Rewilding–a new paradigm for nature conservation in Scotland?” - Taylor & Francis Online