Skip to content

Project to conserve Scotland's rare 'wee trees' secures funding

News imageSCOTLAND: The Big Picture A conservationist uses a clipper on a long pole attachment to reach a tree on a rocky crag to take a cutting. The surround landscape is open moor and mountains.SCOTLAND: The Big Picture
Cuttings are to be taken of some of the trees for growing in a nursery

A project set up to protect some of Scotland's rare "wee trees" - woodland that grows high up on mountainsides - has secured key funding.

The trees, which include juniper and globally-endangered whortle-leaved willow, do not grow to full height due to the harsh mountain conditions and they remain small and shrub-like.

Landscape restoration partnership, Loch Abar Mòr, will use a £108,000 award from the Scottish government to map the woodland in Lochaber.

The money will also support the Wee Trees Lochaber project's development of a nursery.

Abel McLinden, partnership manager for Loch Abar Mòr, said less than 37 acres (11ha) of the woodland was known to survive in Lochaber.

"Due to historic land management, including overgrazing, mountain woodland is one of Scotland's rarest and most fragmented habitats," he said.

McLinden said the woodlands supported ecosystems, stabilised slopes and helped to regulate water flow.

He added: "But these habitats are now restricted to isolated crags and gullies with little or no natural regeneration.

"Without targeted intervention, the remaining populations will further decline, threatening the unique upland ecosystems and the species that rely on them."

News imageEllie Corsie A small tree growing on the side of a steep slope in LochaberEllie Corsie
The woodlands have been described as some of the rarest in Scotland

Some of Scotland's remotest and most difficult to access landscapes are to be mapped for the trees, including Creag Meagaidh, Glen Roy, Ben Nevis and Corrour.

Seeds and cuttings will also be collected so more trees can be grown in the nursery.

Dr Katherine Leys, NatureScot's head of biodiversity, said: "Mountain woodland supports a huge range of plant and animal species while helping to relieve flooding and erosion.

"Without targeted action, we're at risk of losing this rare and incredibly important habitat."

News imageSCOTLAND: The Big Picture A conservationist takes a cutting of a tree high in Lochaber's mountains.SCOTLAND: The Big Picture
Sarah Watts, pictured, is a researcher in mountain woodland restoration

Trees have been found at heights of more than 3,281ft (1,000m) on some of Scotland's highest peaks.

The trees reach the mountains as seeds - often blown on winds or deposited in bird droppings after being eaten.

Scotland's hilltops were once a landscape full of woodlands but tree cover disappeared over thousands of years due to human activity.