Fern hollows
Tarbert Woods
Size: 1599ha Conservation Rating: SAC, 4 SSSIs: Ardpatrick and Dunmore Woods; Artilligan and Abhain Strathain Burns (Caledonian Forest Reserve); Glen Ralloch to Baravalla Woods; Tarbert to Skipness Coast
Core profile
Where West Loch Tarbert almost slices the Knapdale and Kintyre peninsula in two, several lush Atlantic oakwoods soften the slopes between Tarbert and Ardpatrick. Passengers on the boats to and from Gigha, Islay and Jura can appreciate these from a distance as they sail past. These woods (and the ones along the Artilligan and Strathain burns beside Loch Fyne) form the Core Forest ‘Tarbert Woods’.
Close to, they are rich in sessile oak and downy birch, with a good understorey of hazel and holly. In places – especially along streams – ash and elm are the principal trees, and there are areas of alder and willow near the coast.
What’s special about them?
Many burns that have cut channels (some of the deep) cross the woods. These ravines, and the sheltered south-east aspect, create brilliant conditions for the moisture-loving mosses and liverworts - ‘bryophytes’ – that give the Tarbert Woods international importance. Some 180 bryophyte species have been recorded here, including nearly 50 that have a particular liking for damp ‘Atlantic’ conditions.
Hay-scented buckler fern is abundant on the woodland floors and there are also various filmy ferns (again a sign of cool, moist conditions) and beech fern. Among the open glades and other areas at the woodland edges are bogs where the pale butterwort (scarce in Scotland) grows.
What was up?
- Rhododendron spreading and shading out native trees
- Spread of exotic sycamore and beech from invasion and past planting displacing native trees
- Overgrazing by roe and red deer a dominant threat
- Scattered exotic conifers at Abhain Strathain contributing to loss and fragmentation of native woodland
What’s been done?
- Eradication of Rhododendron (3ha)
- Removal of exotic broadleaves (41ha)
- Deer cull to reduce to less than 10 per hectare (c.62)
- Removal of exotic conifers (34ha)
What’s next?
Core connections
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