Thousands of acres of ancient woodland in the Highlands will be brought back from the brink with the launch of restoration projects in the region this weekend.
The Woodland Trust Scotland’s £1.9 million Heritage Lottery-funded initiative will involve working with owners in two priority areas – the Great Glen and Three Firths, and the Cairngorms and hinterland.
More than 1,500 hectares of planted ancient woodland in each area will be in a process of restoration by the end of the four year project.
Woodland owners and land managers will be able to access free specialist support and advice to help them manage and restore planted ancient woodland, and protect some of Scotland’s rarest species.
This will include the production of wood fuel, improving game management, providing shelter for livestock and making woods more resilient to climate change and disease.
The focus will be on woodland that has been planted with non-native trees and impacted with invasive species like rhododendron.
Gradually removing these species to allow more light to penetrate the forest canopy, can enable the last fragments of this habitat to recover, reversing decades of decline.
Conversion of 40% of the UK’s ancient woodland for timber reserves between World War 1 and the 1980s compounded the scarcity of ancient woodland.
Duncan Bryden, convener of the Cairngorms National Park Authority, said: “Enhancing woodlands in the park is one of the key objectives in the Cairngorms Nature Action Plan, so we are delighted it has been chosen as one of the two project areas in Scotland.
“Conifer plantations make up nearly half of the total woodland in the Park and more than a third of these are on Ancient Woodland sites. The project is a fantastic opportunity to build on the years of sensitive and considered management in many of the well-managed plantations which still retain features of our native pinewoods.”