Caledonian Forest
Encyclopedia
The Caledonian Forest is the name of a type of woodland
that once covered vast areas of Scotland
. Today, however, only 1% of the original forest survives, covering 180 square kilometres (44,478.9 acre) in 84 locations. The forests are home to a wide variety of wildlife
, much of which is not found elsewhere in the British Isles
.
. Tree
s began to recolonise what is now the British Isles over a land bridge
which is now beneath the English Channel
. Forests of this type were found all over what is now the island of Great Britain
for a short period, before the climate
began to slowly warm and the pinewood
s retreated north into the Scottish Highlands
, the last remaining climatic region suitable for them in the British Isles
(see Climate of Scotland
).
The native
pinewoods which formed this westernmost outpost of the boreal forest
of Europe
are estimated to have covered 15000 km² (3,706,577.4 acre) as a vast wilderness
of Scots pine
, birch
, rowan
, aspen
, juniper
, oak
and a few other species. On the west coast, oak and birch predominated in a temperate rainforest
ecosystem
rich in fern
s, moss
es and lichen
s.
The forest takes its name from the Romans
, who called Scotland
Caledonia
, deriving from the early Celtic
word '*caleto-' meaning 'hard, strong'. A name recorded as being used by a local tribe or tribal confederation of native Picts
or Britons called the Caledonii who were first recorded in a panegyric by the Roman poet Eumenius
in AD 297.
Today less than 1% of the original native pinewood forest survives, in isolated remnants.
's Twelve Battles, according to the Historia Brittonum, in which the battle is called Cat Coit Celidon. Scholars Rachel Bromwich
and Marged Haycock suggest that the army of trees animated by sorcerers in the Old Welsh poem Cad Goddeu
(The Battle of the Trees) are intended to be the Caledonian Forest.
In related Merlin
literature, the figure of Myrddin Wyllt
retreated to these woods in his madness after the battle of Arfderydd in the year 573. He fled from the alleged wrath of the king of Strathclyde
, Rhydderch Hael
, after the slaying of Gwenddoleu ap Ceidio
. This is written in the two Merlinic poems in Middle Welsh Yr Oinau and Yr Afallenau in the Black Book of Carmarthen
. The forest is also the retreat of another character named Lailoken
from the Vita Kentigerni
, who also fled into the woods in a fit of madness and who may be the original model for Myrddin Wyllt.
In the Middle Welsh story Culhwch ac Olwen, the main character Culhwch
is the son of a king named Celyddon Wledig who may or may not be related to the forest in name. Another figure from the same story, Cyledyr Wyllt hints at a close relationship of the forest being a retreat for people who suffered from a special kind of madness or Gwyllt (Geilt in Irish). In line 994 to 996 of the story, it is briefly explained, "...a Chyledyr Wyllt y uab, a llad Nwython a oruc a diot y gallon, a chymhell yssu callon y dat, ac am hynny yd aeth Kyledyr yg gwyllt" ("...and his son Kyledyr the Wild. Gwynn killed Nwython and cut out his heart, and forced Kyledyr to eat his father's heart, and that is how Kyledyr went mad"). Though not named directly, the very name Kyledyr Wyllt is close to the two related notions of the forest of Celyddon being where people suffering madness or Gwyllt hide.
Being a unique ecosystem
in the British Isles, the Caledonian Pinewoods are home to some of the country's rare
st wildlife
. It is considered to be one of the last remaining wildernesses in the British Isles.
Breeding bird species in Caledonian pine forests found breeding nowhere else in the British Isles:
Breeding bird species in Caledonian pine forests rare elsewhere in the British Isles:
Mammal species present in Caledonian pine forests:
Mammal species extinct in Caledonian pine forests:
. The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds
(RSPB) and the Forestry Commission
also own several areas of pinewood on their reserves. One of the largest remaining areas is Ballochbuie Forest on the Balmoral Estate
, which is protected as a Special Area of Conservation
under the European Union Habitats Directive.
Trees for Life
has been involved in practical work to regenerate and restore the Caledonian Forest since 1989. Its long term aim is to return an area of 1500 km² (370,657.7 acre) to a condition of natural forest.
Scientific research continues on the ecology of the Caledonian Forest and its restoration. Populations of the rare groundcover, Linnaea borealis, may be too isolated from one another to produce viable seed. Diversity of fungi has also been affected by the decrease in habitat. Fire
appears to increase the natural recruitment of Scots pine seedlings.
, back into Caledonian pine forests. Corporations have been set up to persuade the government to allow this. The long-running campaign to reintroduce European beaver
s to Knapdale
in Argyll
has been successful, and there is some support for the reintroduction of the Grey Wolf and Eurasian Lynx
.
Recently, some landowners have announced plans to build large game reserve
s on their land and release the species within them. Paul Lister plans to release Eurasian Lynx
, Brown Bear
, Grey Wolf
, Elk
, Wild Boar and species already present in Scotland into a huge 200 km² (49,421 acre) enclosure at his estate, Alladale, although releasing top predators such as wolves and bears has become a difficult proposition with local and national regulations. An initial trial enclosure of 5.5 km² (1,359.1 acre) was built with Elk
, Wild Boar, Red Deer
and Roe Deer
.
Woodland
Ecologically, a woodland is a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade. Woodlands may support an understory of shrubs and herbaceous plants including grasses. Woodland may form a transition to shrubland under drier conditions or during early stages of...
that once covered vast areas of Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. Today, however, only 1% of the original forest survives, covering 180 square kilometres (44,478.9 acre) in 84 locations. The forests are home to a wide variety of wildlife
Wildlife
Wildlife includes all non-domesticated plants, animals and other organisms. Domesticating wild plant and animal species for human benefit has occurred many times all over the planet, and has a major impact on the environment, both positive and negative....
, much of which is not found elsewhere in the British Isles
British Isles
The British Isles are a group of islands off the northwest coast of continental Europe that include the islands of Great Britain and Ireland and over six thousand smaller isles. There are two sovereign states located on the islands: the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and...
.
History
The Caledonian Forests were formed at the end of the last ice ageWisconsin glaciation
The last glacial period was the most recent glacial period within the current ice age occurring during the last years of the Pleistocene, from approximately 110,000 to 10,000 years ago....
. Tree
Tree
A tree is a perennial woody plant. It is most often defined as a woody plant that has many secondary branches supported clear of the ground on a single main stem or trunk with clear apical dominance. A minimum height specification at maturity is cited by some authors, varying from 3 m to...
s began to recolonise what is now the British Isles over a land bridge
Land bridge
A land bridge, in biogeography, is an isthmus or wider land connection between otherwise separate areas, over which animals and plants are able to cross and colonise new lands...
which is now beneath the English Channel
English Channel
The English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...
. Forests of this type were found all over what is now the island of Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
for a short period, before the climate
Climate
Climate encompasses the statistics of temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure, wind, rainfall, atmospheric particle count and other meteorological elemental measurements in a given region over long periods...
began to slowly warm and the pinewood
Pinewood
Pinewood may refer to:* Pine, a species of tree* Pinewood Studios, a major British film studio in Buckinghamshire-Places:in England* Pinewood, Suffolkin the United States* Pinewood, Florida* Pinewood, Minnesota...
s retreated north into the Scottish Highlands
Scottish Highlands
The Highlands is an historic region of Scotland. The area is sometimes referred to as the "Scottish Highlands". It was culturally distinguishable from the Lowlands from the later Middle Ages into the modern period, when Lowland Scots replaced Scottish Gaelic throughout most of the Lowlands...
, the last remaining climatic region suitable for them in the British Isles
British Isles
The British Isles are a group of islands off the northwest coast of continental Europe that include the islands of Great Britain and Ireland and over six thousand smaller isles. There are two sovereign states located on the islands: the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and...
(see Climate of Scotland
Climate of Scotland
The climate of Scotland is temperate , and tends to be very changeable, but rarely extreme. It is warmed by the Gulf Stream from the Atlantic, and given its northerly latitude it is much warmer than areas on similar latitudes, for example Labrador in Canada—where the sea freezes over in winter and...
).
The native
Indigenous (ecology)
In biogeography, a species is defined as native to a given region or ecosystem if its presence in that region is the result of only natural processes, with no human intervention. Every natural organism has its own natural range of distribution in which it is regarded as native...
pinewoods which formed this westernmost outpost of the boreal forest
Taiga
Taiga , also known as the boreal forest, is a biome characterized by coniferous forests.Taiga is the world's largest terrestrial biome. In North America it covers most of inland Canada and Alaska as well as parts of the extreme northern continental United States and is known as the Northwoods...
of Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
are estimated to have covered 15000 km² (3,706,577.4 acre) as a vast wilderness
Wilderness
Wilderness or wildland is a natural environment on Earth that has not been significantly modified by human activity. It may also be defined as: "The most intact, undisturbed wild natural areas left on our planet—those last truly wild places that humans do not control and have not developed with...
of Scots pine
Scots Pine
Pinus sylvestris, commonly known as the Scots Pine, is a species of pine native to Europe and Asia, ranging from Scotland, Ireland and Portugal in the west, east to eastern Siberia, south to the Caucasus Mountains, and as far north as well inside the Arctic Circle in Scandinavia...
, birch
Birch
Birch is a tree or shrub of the genus Betula , in the family Betulaceae, closely related to the beech/oak family, Fagaceae. The Betula genus contains 30–60 known taxa...
, rowan
Sorbus aucuparia
Sorbus aucuparia , is a species of the genus Sorbus, native to most of Europe except for the far south, and northern Asia...
, aspen
Populus tremula
Populus tremula, commonly called aspen, common aspen, Eurasian aspen, European aspen, trembling poplar, or quaking aspen, is a species of poplar native to cool temperate regions of Europe and Asia, from the British Isles east to Kamchatka, north to inside the Arctic Circle in Scandinavia and...
, juniper
Juniperus communis
Juniperus communis, the Common Juniper, is a species in the genus Juniperus, in the family Cupressaceae. It has the largest range of any woody plant, throughout the cool temperate Northern Hemisphere from the Arctic south in mountains to around 30°N latitude in North America, Europe and Asia.-...
, oak
Oak
An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus Quercus , of which about 600 species exist. "Oak" may also appear in the names of species in related genera, notably Lithocarpus...
and a few other species. On the west coast, oak and birch predominated in a temperate rainforest
Temperate rain forest
Temperate rainforests are coniferous or broadleaf forests that occur in the temperate zone and receive high rainfall.-Definition:For temperate rain forests of North America, Alaback's definition is widely recognized:-Global distribution:...
ecosystem
Ecosystem
An ecosystem is a biological environment consisting of all the organisms living in a particular area, as well as all the nonliving , physical components of the environment with which the organisms interact, such as air, soil, water and sunlight....
rich in fern
Fern
A fern is any one of a group of about 12,000 species of plants belonging to the botanical group known as Pteridophyta. Unlike mosses, they have xylem and phloem . They have stems, leaves, and roots like other vascular plants...
s, moss
Moss
Mosses are small, soft plants that are typically 1–10 cm tall, though some species are much larger. They commonly grow close together in clumps or mats in damp or shady locations. They do not have flowers or seeds, and their simple leaves cover the thin wiry stems...
es and lichen
Lichen
Lichens are composite organisms consisting of a symbiotic organism composed of a fungus with a photosynthetic partner , usually either a green alga or cyanobacterium...
s.
The forest takes its name from the Romans
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
, who called Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
Caledonia
Caledonia
Caledonia is the Latinised form and name given by the Romans to the land in today's Scotland north of their province of Britannia, beyond the frontier of their empire...
, deriving from the early Celtic
Celtic languages
The Celtic languages are descended from Proto-Celtic, or "Common Celtic"; a branch of the greater Indo-European language family...
word '*caleto-' meaning 'hard, strong'. A name recorded as being used by a local tribe or tribal confederation of native Picts
Picts
The Picts were a group of Late Iron Age and Early Mediaeval people living in what is now eastern and northern Scotland. There is an association with the distribution of brochs, place names beginning 'Pit-', for instance Pitlochry, and Pictish stones. They are recorded from before the Roman conquest...
or Britons called the Caledonii who were first recorded in a panegyric by the Roman poet Eumenius
Eumenius
Eumenius , was one of the Roman panegyrists and author of a speech transmitted in the collection of the Panegyrici Latini .-Life:...
in AD 297.
Today less than 1% of the original native pinewood forest survives, in isolated remnants.
Legend and folklore
In Arthurian lore and early literature, the forest is the site of one of King ArthurKing Arthur
King Arthur is a legendary British leader of the late 5th and early 6th centuries, who, according to Medieval histories and romances, led the defence of Britain against Saxon invaders in the early 6th century. The details of Arthur's story are mainly composed of folklore and literary invention, and...
's Twelve Battles, according to the Historia Brittonum, in which the battle is called Cat Coit Celidon. Scholars Rachel Bromwich
Rachel Bromwich
Rachel Bromwich was a British scholar. Her focus was on medieval Welsh literature, and was Emeritus Reader in Celtic Languages and Literature at the Department of Anglo-Saxon, Norse and Celtic at Cambridge until her death...
and Marged Haycock suggest that the army of trees animated by sorcerers in the Old Welsh poem Cad Goddeu
Cad Goddeu
Cad Goddeu is a medieval Welsh poem preserved in the 14th-century manuscript known as the Book of Taliesin. The poem refers to a traditional story in which the legendary enchanter Gwydion animates the trees of the forest to fight as his army...
(The Battle of the Trees) are intended to be the Caledonian Forest.
In related Merlin
Merlin
Merlin is a legendary figure best known as the wizard featured in the Arthurian legend. The standard depiction of the character first appears in Geoffrey of Monmouth's Historia Regum Britanniae, written c. 1136, and is based on an amalgamation of previous historical and legendary figures...
literature, the figure of Myrddin Wyllt
Myrddin Wyllt
Myrddin Wyllt , Merlinus Caledonensis or Merlin Sylvestris is a figure in medieval Welsh legend, known as a prophet and a madman...
retreated to these woods in his madness after the battle of Arfderydd in the year 573. He fled from the alleged wrath of the king of Strathclyde
Strathclyde
right|thumb|the former Strathclyde regionStrathclyde was one of nine former local government regions of Scotland created by the Local Government Act 1973 and abolished in 1996 by the Local Government etc Act 1994...
, Rhydderch Hael
Riderch I of Alt Clut
Riderch I , commonly known as Riderch or Rhydderch Hael , was a ruler of Alt Clut and the greater region later known as Strathclyde, a Brittonic kingdom that existed on the valley of the River Clyde in Scotland during the British Sub-Roman period...
, after the slaying of Gwenddoleu ap Ceidio
Gwenddoleu ap Ceidio
Gwenddoleu ap Ceidio or Gwenddolau was a Brythonic king who ruled in Arfderydd . This is in what is now south-west Scotland and north-west England in the area around Hadrian's Wall and Carlisle during the sub-Roman period in Britain...
. This is written in the two Merlinic poems in Middle Welsh Yr Oinau and Yr Afallenau in the Black Book of Carmarthen
Black Book of Carmarthen
The Black Book of Carmarthen is thought to be the earliest surviving manuscript written entirely or substantially in Welsh. Written in around 1250, the book's name comes from its association with the Priory of St. John the Evangelist and Teulyddog at Carmarthen, and is referred to as black due to...
. The forest is also the retreat of another character named Lailoken
Lailoken
Lailoken was a Northern Brythonic fool or prophet of the late 6th century. The Life of St Kentigern talks of A certain foolish man, who was called Laleocen who lived at or near the village of Peartnach within the Kingdom of Strathclyde...
from the Vita Kentigerni
Saint Mungo
Saint Mungo is the commonly used name for Saint Kentigern . He was the late 6th century apostle of the Brythonic Kingdom of Strathclyde in modern Scotland, and patron saint and founder of the city of Glasgow.-Name:In Wales and England, this saint is known by his birth and baptismal name Kentigern...
, who also fled into the woods in a fit of madness and who may be the original model for Myrddin Wyllt.
In the Middle Welsh story Culhwch ac Olwen, the main character Culhwch
Culhwch
Culhwch , in Welsh mythology, is the son of Cilydd son of Celyddon and Goleuddydd, a cousin of Arthur and the protagonist of the story Culhwch and Olwen...
is the son of a king named Celyddon Wledig who may or may not be related to the forest in name. Another figure from the same story, Cyledyr Wyllt hints at a close relationship of the forest being a retreat for people who suffered from a special kind of madness or Gwyllt (Geilt in Irish). In line 994 to 996 of the story, it is briefly explained, "...a Chyledyr Wyllt y uab, a llad Nwython a oruc a diot y gallon, a chymhell yssu callon y dat, ac am hynny yd aeth Kyledyr yg gwyllt" ("...and his son Kyledyr the Wild. Gwynn killed Nwython and cut out his heart, and forced Kyledyr to eat his father's heart, and that is how Kyledyr went mad"). Though not named directly, the very name Kyledyr Wyllt is close to the two related notions of the forest of Celyddon being where people suffering madness or Gwyllt hide.
Wildlife
Ecosystem
An ecosystem is a biological environment consisting of all the organisms living in a particular area, as well as all the nonliving , physical components of the environment with which the organisms interact, such as air, soil, water and sunlight....
in the British Isles, the Caledonian Pinewoods are home to some of the country's rare
Rare species
A rare species is a group of organisms that are very uncommon or scarce. This designation may be applied to either a plant or animal taxon, and may be distinct from the term "endangered" or "threatened species" but not "extinct"....
st wildlife
Wildlife
Wildlife includes all non-domesticated plants, animals and other organisms. Domesticating wild plant and animal species for human benefit has occurred many times all over the planet, and has a major impact on the environment, both positive and negative....
. It is considered to be one of the last remaining wildernesses in the British Isles.
Breeding bird species in Caledonian pine forests found breeding nowhere else in the British Isles:
- Black-throated Diver
- CapercaillieCapercaillieThe Western Capercaillie , also known as the Wood Grouse, Heather Cock or Capercaillie , is the largest member of the grouse family, reaching over 100 cm in length and 6.7 kg in weight. The largest one ever recorded in captivity had a weight of 7.2 kg....
- Common GoldeneyeCommon GoldeneyeThe Common Goldeneye is a medium-sized sea duck of the genus Bucephala, the goldeneyes. Their closest relative is the similar Barrow's Goldeneye....
- Crested TitCrested TitThe Crested Tit, Lophophanes cristatus , is a passerine bird in the tit family Paridae. It is a widespread and common resident breeder in coniferous forests throughout central and northern Europe and in deciduous woodland in France and the Iberian peninsula...
- Golden EagleGolden EagleThe Golden Eagle is one of the best known birds of prey in the Northern Hemisphere. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. Once widespread across the Holarctic, it has disappeared from many of the more heavily populated areas...
- GreenshankGreenshankThe Common Greenshank is a wader in the large family Scolopacidae, the typical waders. Its closest relative is the Greater Yellowlegs, together with which and the Spotted Redshank it forms a close-knit group...
- Slavonian Grebe
- Parrot CrossbillParrot CrossbillThe Parrot Crossbill is a small passerine bird in the finch family Fringillidae.This bird breeds in the pine forests of northwest Europe and into western Russia...
- Red-throated Diver
- RedwingRedwingThe Redwing is a bird in the thrush family Turdidae, native to Europe and Asia, slightly smaller than the related Song Thrush.-Taxonomy:...
- Scottish CrossbillScottish CrossbillThe Scottish Crossbill is a small passerine bird in the finch family Fringillidae. It is endemic to the Caledonian Forests of Scotland, and is the only vertebrate unique to the United Kingdom...
- Temminck's StintTemminck's StintTemminck's Stint, Calidris or Erolia temminckii, is a small wader.This stint's breeding habitat is bogs and marshes in the taiga of Arctic northern Europe and Asia. It will breed in southern Scandinavia and occasionally Scotland. It has a distinctive hovering display flight. It nests in a scrape...
- Wood SandpiperWood SandpiperThe Wood Sandpiper, Tringa glareola, is a small wader. This Eurasian species is the smallest of the shanks, which are mid-sized long-legged waders of the family Scolopacidae.- Description and systematics :...
Breeding bird species in Caledonian pine forests rare elsewhere in the British Isles:
- Black GrouseBlack GrouseThe Black Grouse or Blackgame is a large bird in the grouse family. It is a sedentary species, breeding across northern Eurasia in moorland and bog areas near to woodland, mostly boreal...
- Common CrossbillCommon CrossbillThe Common Crossbill is a small passerine bird in the finch family Fringillidae. It breeds in the spruce forests of North America, where it is known as Red Crossbill, as well as Europe and Asia; some populations breed in pine forests in certain areas of all three continents, and in North...
- GoosanderCommon MerganserThe Common Merganser or Goosander Mergus merganser is a large duck, of rivers and lakes of forested areas of Europe, northern and central Asia, and North America. It eats fish and nests in holes in trees...
- SiskinEurasian SiskinThe Eurasian Siskin is a small passerine bird in the finch family Fringillidae. It is also called the European Siskin, Common Siskin or just Siskin. Other names include Black-headed Goldfinch, barley bird and aberdevine. It is very common throughout Europe and Asia...
- RedpollLesser RedpollThe Lesser Redpoll is a small passerine bird belonging to the genus Carduelis in the finch family, Fringillidae. It is the smallest, brownest and most streaked of the redpolls...
- OspreyOspreyThe Osprey , sometimes known as the sea hawk or fish eagle, is a diurnal, fish-eating bird of prey. It is a large raptor, reaching more than in length and across the wings...
- Red-breasted MerganserRed-breasted MerganserThe Red-breasted Merganser is a diving duck.-Taxonomy:The Red-breasted Merganser was one of the many species originally described by Linnaeus in his 18th-century work, Systema Naturae.-Description:...
- Long-eared OwlLong-eared OwlThe Long-eared Owl - Asio otus is a species of owl which breeds in Europe, Asia, and North America. This species is a part of the larger grouping of owls known as typical owls, family Strigidae, which contains most species of owl...
Mammal species present in Caledonian pine forests:
- European BeaverEuropean BeaverThe Eurasian beaver or European beaver is a species of beaver, which was once widespread in Eurasia, where it was hunted to near extinction both for fur and for castoreum, a secretion of its scent gland believed to have medicinal properties...
- Feral goatFeral goatThe feral goat is the domestic goat when it has become established in the wild. Feral goats occur in Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, Great Britain, Hawaii, the Galapagos and in many other parts of the world...
- Mountain HareMountain HareThe Mountain Hare , also known as Blue Hare, Tundra Hare, Variable Hare, White Hare, Alpine Hare and Irish Hare, is a hare, which is largely adapted to polar and mountainous habitats. It is distributed from Fennoscandia to eastern Siberia; in addition there are isolated populations in the Alps,...
- Pine MartenPine MartenThe European Pine Marten , known most commonly as the pine marten in Anglophone Europe, and less commonly also known as Pineten, baum marten, or sweet marten, is an animal native to Northern Europe belonging to the mustelid family, which also includes mink, otter, badger, wolverine and weasel. It...
- Red DeerRed DeerThe red deer is one of the largest deer species. Depending on taxonomy, the red deer inhabits most of Europe, the Caucasus Mountains region, Asia Minor, parts of western Asia, and central Asia. It also inhabits the Atlas Mountains region between Morocco and Tunisia in northwestern Africa, being...
- Red FoxRed FoxThe red fox is the largest of the true foxes, as well as being the most geographically spread member of the Carnivora, being distributed across the entire northern hemisphere from the Arctic Circle to North Africa, Central America, and the steppes of Asia...
- Red SquirrelRed SquirrelThe red squirrel or Eurasian red squirrel is a species of tree squirrel in the genus Sciurus common throughout Eurasia...
- Roe DeerRoe DeerThe European Roe Deer , also known as the Western Roe Deer, chevreuil or just Roe Deer, is a Eurasian species of deer. It is relatively small, reddish and grey-brown, and well-adapted to cold environments. Roe Deer are widespread in Western Europe, from the Mediterranean to Scandinavia, and from...
- WildcatWildcatWildcat is a small felid native to Europe, the western part of Asia, and Africa.-Animals:Wildcat may also refer to members of the genus Lynx:...
Mammal species extinct in Caledonian pine forests:
- AurochsAurochsThe aurochs , the ancestor of domestic cattle, were a type of large wild cattle which inhabited Europe, Asia and North Africa, but is now extinct; it survived in Europe until 1627....
- Brown BearBrown BearThe brown bear is a large bear distributed across much of northern Eurasia and North America. It can weigh from and its largest subspecies, the Kodiak Bear, rivals the polar bear as the largest member of the bear family and as the largest land-based predator.There are several recognized...
- Eurasian LynxEurasian LynxThe Eurasian lynx is a medium-sized cat native to European and Siberian forests, South Asia and East Asia. It is also known as the European lynx, common lynx, the northern lynx, and the Siberian or Russian lynx...
- Grey WolfGray WolfThe gray wolf , also known as the wolf, is the largest extant wild member of the Canidae family...
- ElkMooseThe moose or Eurasian elk is the largest extant species in the deer family. Moose are distinguished by the palmate antlers of the males; other members of the family have antlers with a dendritic configuration...
- TarpanTarpanTarpan is an extinct subspecies of wild horse. The last individual of this subspecies died in captivity in Russia in 1909....
(wild horseWild HorseThe wild horse is a species of the genus Equus, which includes as subspecies the domesticated horse as well as the undomesticated Tarpan and Przewalski's Horse. The Tarpan became extinct in the 19th century, and Przewalski's Horse was saved from the brink of extinction and reintroduced...
) - Wild Boar
Conservation
Much of remaining Caledonian pine forest is fully protected, and much of the forest now lies within the Cairngorms National ParkCairngorms National Park
The Cairngorms National Park is a national park in north east Scotland, established in 2003. It was the second of two national parks established by the Scottish Parliament, after Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park, set up in 2002. The park covers the Cairngorms range of mountains, and...
. The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds
Royal Society for the Protection of Birds
Bird Notes and News was first published in April 1903.The title changed to 'Bird Notes' in 1947. In the 1950s, there were four copies per year . Each volume covered two years, spread over three calendar years...
(RSPB) and the Forestry Commission
Forestry Commission
The Forestry Commission is a non-ministerial government department responsible for forestry in Great Britain. Its mission is to protect and expand Britain's forests and woodlands and increase their value to society and the environment....
also own several areas of pinewood on their reserves. One of the largest remaining areas is Ballochbuie Forest on the Balmoral Estate
Balmoral Castle
Balmoral Castle is a large estate house in Royal Deeside, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It is located near the village of Crathie, west of Ballater and east of Braemar. Balmoral has been one of the residences of the British Royal Family since 1852, when it was purchased by Queen Victoria and her...
, which is protected as a Special Area of Conservation
Special Area of Conservation
A Special Area of Conservation is defined in the European Union's Habitats Directive , also known as the Directive on the Conservation of Natural Habitats and of Wild Fauna and Flora...
under the European Union Habitats Directive.
Trees for Life
Trees for Life (Scotland)
Trees for Life is a registered charity in Findhorn, Moray, formed in 1989 by Alan Watson Featherstone, as a direct result of the inspiration and example of Richard St. Barbe Baker, the 'Man of the Trees'...
has been involved in practical work to regenerate and restore the Caledonian Forest since 1989. Its long term aim is to return an area of 1500 km² (370,657.7 acre) to a condition of natural forest.
Scientific research continues on the ecology of the Caledonian Forest and its restoration. Populations of the rare groundcover, Linnaea borealis, may be too isolated from one another to produce viable seed. Diversity of fungi has also been affected by the decrease in habitat. Fire
Wildfire
A wildfire is any uncontrolled fire in combustible vegetation that occurs in the countryside or a wilderness area. Other names such as brush fire, bushfire, forest fire, desert fire, grass fire, hill fire, squirrel fire, vegetation fire, veldfire, and wilkjjofire may be used to describe the same...
appears to increase the natural recruitment of Scots pine seedlings.
Reintroductions
In recent years, there has been a growing interest to reintroduce animals which are currently extinct in Great BritainGreat Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
, back into Caledonian pine forests. Corporations have been set up to persuade the government to allow this. The long-running campaign to reintroduce European beaver
European Beaver
The Eurasian beaver or European beaver is a species of beaver, which was once widespread in Eurasia, where it was hunted to near extinction both for fur and for castoreum, a secretion of its scent gland believed to have medicinal properties...
s to Knapdale
Knapdale
Knapdale forms a rural district of Argyll and Bute in the Scottish Highlands, adjoining Kintyre to the south, and divided from the rest of Argyll to the north by the Crinan Canal. It includes two parishes, North Knapdale and South Knapdale....
in Argyll
Argyll
Argyll , archaically Argyle , is a region of western Scotland corresponding with most of the part of ancient Dál Riata that was located on the island of Great Britain, and in a historical context can be used to mean the entire western coast between the Mull of Kintyre and Cape Wrath...
has been successful, and there is some support for the reintroduction of the Grey Wolf and Eurasian Lynx
Eurasian Lynx
The Eurasian lynx is a medium-sized cat native to European and Siberian forests, South Asia and East Asia. It is also known as the European lynx, common lynx, the northern lynx, and the Siberian or Russian lynx...
.
Recently, some landowners have announced plans to build large game reserve
Game reserve
A game reserve is an area of land set aside for maintenance of wildlife for tourism or hunting purposes. Many game reserves are located in Africa. Most are open to the public, and tourists commonly take sightseeing safaris or hunt wild game....
s on their land and release the species within them. Paul Lister plans to release Eurasian Lynx
Eurasian Lynx
The Eurasian lynx is a medium-sized cat native to European and Siberian forests, South Asia and East Asia. It is also known as the European lynx, common lynx, the northern lynx, and the Siberian or Russian lynx...
, Brown Bear
Brown Bear
The brown bear is a large bear distributed across much of northern Eurasia and North America. It can weigh from and its largest subspecies, the Kodiak Bear, rivals the polar bear as the largest member of the bear family and as the largest land-based predator.There are several recognized...
, Grey Wolf
Gray Wolf
The gray wolf , also known as the wolf, is the largest extant wild member of the Canidae family...
, Elk
Moose
The moose or Eurasian elk is the largest extant species in the deer family. Moose are distinguished by the palmate antlers of the males; other members of the family have antlers with a dendritic configuration...
, Wild Boar and species already present in Scotland into a huge 200 km² (49,421 acre) enclosure at his estate, Alladale, although releasing top predators such as wolves and bears has become a difficult proposition with local and national regulations. An initial trial enclosure of 5.5 km² (1,359.1 acre) was built with Elk
Moose
The moose or Eurasian elk is the largest extant species in the deer family. Moose are distinguished by the palmate antlers of the males; other members of the family have antlers with a dendritic configuration...
, Wild Boar, Red Deer
Red Deer
The red deer is one of the largest deer species. Depending on taxonomy, the red deer inhabits most of Europe, the Caucasus Mountains region, Asia Minor, parts of western Asia, and central Asia. It also inhabits the Atlas Mountains region between Morocco and Tunisia in northwestern Africa, being...
and Roe Deer
Roe Deer
The European Roe Deer , also known as the Western Roe Deer, chevreuil or just Roe Deer, is a Eurasian species of deer. It is relatively small, reddish and grey-brown, and well-adapted to cold environments. Roe Deer are widespread in Western Europe, from the Mediterranean to Scandinavia, and from...
.
Remaining pinewoods
- Abernethy ForestAbernethy ForestAbernethy Forest is a remnant of the Caledonian Forest near Aviemore, Badenoch and Strathspey, Highland, Scotland. It is an RSPB reserve, close to Loch Garten Osprey Centre, which is also owned by the RSPB. There is approximately 4,000 hectares of forest within the reserve, and just under half of...
- Achnashellach ForestAchnashellach ForestAchnashellach Forest is a large area of the Scottish Highlands lying between Glen Carron and Loch Monar....
- Ardgour Pinewoods
- Ballochbuie Forest - Balmoral Castle
- Einig Wood
- Glen AffricGlen Affricright|300px|thumb|Glen AffricGlen Affric is a glen south-west of the village of Cannich in the Highland region of Scotland, some to the west of Loch Ness. The River Affric runs along its length, passing through Loch Affric and Loch Beinn a' Mheadhoin .It used to be part of the lands of the Clan...
- Glenmore Forest ParkGlenmore Forest ParkGlenmore Forest Park is a remnant of the Caledonian Forest near Aviemore, Badenoch and Strathspey, Highland, Scotland. It is located in the Cairngorms National Park.The park surrounds Loch Morlich, and is below the rise of the Cairngorms....
- Inshriach Forest
- Ordiequish
- Rothiemurchus ForestRothiemurchus ForestRothiemurchus Forest is a remnant of the Caledonian Forest at near Aviemore, Badenoch and Strathspey, Highland, Scotland.The forest is popular for recreation, but contains some of the most important wildlife in Europe, including the osprey, Scottish crossbill, capercaillie, crested tit and wild...